Information

Related Research Units

Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center Research
Neurology Research

Research Overview

My research interests and expertise include constructing and applying novel neuroimaging methods to understand brain development, with an emphasis on cognitive, neuropsychiatric, and neurodevelopmental disorders. My current work, in collaboration with the Center of Brain Circuit Therapeutics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, has leveraged ‘lesion network mapping’ and non-invasive neuromodulation to understand, diagnose, and treat symptoms seen in ASD, neurodevelopmental disorders, and intellectual disability.

Additionally, I have spearheaded efforts to develop new developmental age-related connectomes using publicly available data and continue to be actively engaged in developing high-quality, reproducible, and portable software tools to improve our ability to study brain development in children as Director of the Translational Neuroscience Center's new Data Organization Collaboration Service (DoCS).

Research Background

 I am a physician-scientist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. I received my B.A. in Biology and Biomedical Physics and my M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis where I focused on neuroimaging research that formed the basis for the Human Connectome Project. I then completed residency training in pediatrics and child neurology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and a clinical fellowship in pediatric behavioral neurology followed by a T32 postdoc fellowship translational research in neurodevelopmental disorders here at Boston Children’s Hospital.

My current research focuses on identifying which brain circuits are involved in specific symptoms seen in autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders using network neuroimaging techniques and coming up with ways to modulate these brain circuits with non-invasive neuromodulation such as TMS and real-time fMRI neurofeedback. My work has been supported by the Child Neurology Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative.

I also care for patients in the Autism Spectrum Center and Behavioral Neurology Clinic as part of the new multidisciplinary Brain, Mind, and Behavior Center at Two Brookline Place.

Education

Medical School

Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
2011 St. Louis MO

Internship

Mayo Clinic
2012 Rochester MN

Residency

Mayo Clinic
2016 Rochester NY

Fellowship

Boston Children's Hospital
2018 Boston MA

Publications

  1. Prediction of stroke severity: systematic evaluation of lesion representations. Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2024 Dec; 11(12):3081-3094. View Abstract
  2. Heterogenous brain activations across individuals localize to a common network. Commun Biol. 2024 Oct 05; 7(1):1270. View Abstract
  3. Mapping Lesion-Related Human Aggression to a Common Brain Network. Biol Psychiatry. 2024 Oct 04. View Abstract
  4. Localization of stuttering based on causal brain lesions. Brain. 2024 Jun 03; 147(6):2203-2213. View Abstract
  5. The past, present, and future of the brain imaging data structure (BIDS). Imaging Neurosci (Camb). 2024 Mar 01; 2:1-19. View Abstract
  6. Timing the clinical onset of epileptic spasms in infantile epileptic spasms syndrome: A tertiary health center's experience. Epilepsia. 2024 Apr; 65(4):984-994. View Abstract
  7. The Past, Present, and Future of the Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS). ArXiv. 2024 Jan 09. View Abstract
  8. Brain Circuits Involved in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Response in Adults Are Connected to a Similar Prefrontal Target in Children. Biol Psychiatry. 2024 Mar 01; 95(5):e9-e11. View Abstract
  9. Mapping Lesion-Related Epilepsy to a Human Brain Network. JAMA Neurol. 2023 09 01; 80(9):891-902. View Abstract
  10. Multiple sclerosis lesions that impair memory map to a connected memory circuit. J Neurol. 2023 Nov; 270(11):5211-5222. View Abstract
  11. Network Localization of Awareness in Visual and Motor Anosognosia. Ann Neurol. 2023 09; 94(3):434-441. View Abstract
  12. Reply to "Is There an Association between Tuber Involvement of the Fusiform Face Area in Autism Diagnosis?" Ann Neurol. 2023 06; 93(6):1220-1222. View Abstract
  13. A Lesion-Derived Brain Network for Emotion Regulation. Biol Psychiatry. 2023 10 15; 94(8):640-649. View Abstract
  14. Tubers Affecting the Fusiform Face Area Are Associated with Autism Diagnosis. Ann Neurol. 2023 03; 93(3):577-590. View Abstract
  15. Brain lesions disrupting addiction map to a common human brain circuit. Nat Med. 2022 06; 28(6):1249-1255. View Abstract
  16. Using causal methods to map symptoms to brain circuits in neurodevelopment disorders: moving from identifying correlates to developing treatments. J Neurodev Disord. 2022 03 12; 14(1):19. View Abstract
  17. Regional Distribution of Brain Injury After Cardiac Arrest: Clinical and Electrographic Correlates. Neurology. 2022 03 22; 98(12):e1238-e1247. View Abstract
  18. Network Localization of Unconscious Visual Perception in Blindsight. Ann Neurol. 2022 02; 91(2):217-224. View Abstract
  19. Reducing the Effects of Motion Artifacts in fMRI: A Structured Matrix Completion Approach. IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2022 01; 41(1):172-185. View Abstract
  20. Reply: Looking beyond indirect lesion network mapping of prosopagnosia: direct measures required. Brain. 2021 10 22; 144(9):e76. View Abstract
  21. A Neural Circuit for Spirituality and Religiosity Derived From Patients With Brain Lesions. Biol Psychiatry. 2022 02 15; 91(4):380-388. View Abstract
  22. Matched neurofeedback during fMRI differentially activates reward-related circuits in active and sham groups. J Neuroimaging. 2021 09; 31(5):947-955. View Abstract
  23. Lesion network mapping predicts post-stroke behavioural deficits and improves localization. Brain. 2021 05 07; 144(4):e35. View Abstract
  24. Face-Processing Performance is an Independent Predictor of Social Affect as Measured by the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule Across Large-Scale Datasets. J Autism Dev Disord. 2022 Feb; 52(2):674-688. View Abstract
  25. Tuber Locations Associated with Infantile Spasms Map to a Common Brain Network. Ann Neurol. 2021 04; 89(4):726-739. View Abstract
  26. Mapping mania symptoms based on focal brain damage. J Clin Invest. 2020 10 01; 130(10):5209-5222. View Abstract
  27. Reply: The influence of sample size and arbitrary statistical thresholds in lesion-network mapping. Brain. 2020 05 01; 143(5):e41. View Abstract
  28. Mapping migraine to a common brain network. Brain. 2020 02 01; 143(2):541-553. View Abstract
  29. Cortical lesions causing loss of consciousness are anticorrelated with the dorsal brainstem. Hum Brain Mapp. 2020 04 15; 41(6):1520-1531. View Abstract
  30. Looking beyond the face area: lesion network mapping of prosopagnosia. Brain. 2019 12 01; 142(12):3975-3990. View Abstract
  31. Pediatric postoperative cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome follows outflow pathway lesions. Neurology. 2019 10 15; 93(16):e1561-e1571. View Abstract
  32. Response to "smoking, co-morbidities and narcolepsy". Sleep Med. 2018 12; 52:237. View Abstract
  33. Response to "High fatigue frequency in narcolepsy type 1 and type 2 in a Brazilian Sleep Center". Sleep Med. 2018 12; 52:235. View Abstract
  34. De Novo DNM1L Variant in a Teenager With Progressive Paroxysmal Dystonia and Lethal Super-refractory Myoclonic Status Epilepticus. J Child Neurol. 2018 09; 33(10):651-658. View Abstract
  35. Comorbidities in a community sample of narcolepsy. Sleep Med. 2018 03; 43:14-18. View Abstract
  36. Intractable Epilepsy and Progressive Cognitive Decline in a Young Man. JAMA Neurol. 2017 06 01; 74(6):737-740. View Abstract
  37. BIDS apps: Improving ease of use, accessibility, and reproducibility of neuroimaging data analysis methods. PLoS Comput Biol. 2017 03; 13(3):e1005209. View Abstract
  38. NeuroDebian Virtual Machine Deployment Facilitates Trainee-Driven Bedside Neuroimaging Research. J Child Neurol. 2017 01; 32(1):29-34. View Abstract
  39. Case of a two-year-old boy with recurrent seizures, abnormal movements, and central hypoventilation. Semin Pediatr Neurol. 2014 Jun; 21(2):114-8. View Abstract
  40. Parcellating an individual subject's cortical and subcortical brain structures using snowball sampling of resting-state correlations. Cereb Cortex. 2014 Aug; 24(8):2036-54. View Abstract
  41. Functional network organization of the human brain. Neuron. 2011 Nov 17; 72(4):665-78. View Abstract
  42. Parcellation in left lateral parietal cortex is similar in adults and children. Cereb Cortex. 2012 May; 22(5):1148-58. View Abstract
  43. Prediction of individual brain maturity using fMRI. Science. 2010 Sep 10; 329(5997):1358-61. View Abstract
  44. A parcellation scheme for human left lateral parietal cortex. Neuron. 2010 Jul 15; 67(1):156-70. View Abstract
  45. Identifying Basal Ganglia divisions in individuals using resting-state functional connectivity MRI. Front Syst Neurosci. 2010; 4:18. View Abstract
  46. Role of the anterior insula in task-level control and focal attention. Brain Struct Funct. 2010 Jun; 214(5-6):669-80. View Abstract
  47. Functional brain networks develop from a "local to distributed" organization. PLoS Comput Biol. 2009 May; 5(5):e1000381. View Abstract
  48. Resting-state functional connectivity in the human brain revealed with diffuse optical tomography. Neuroimage. 2009 Aug 01; 47(1):148-56. View Abstract
  49. Mapping the human brain at rest with diffuse optical tomography. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2009; 2009:4070-2. View Abstract
  50. Control networks in paediatric Tourette syndrome show immature and anomalous patterns of functional connectivity. Brain. 2009 Jan; 132(Pt 1):225-38. View Abstract
  51. Defining functional areas in individual human brains using resting functional connectivity MRI. Neuroimage. 2008 May 15; 41(1):45-57. View Abstract
  52. The maturing architecture of the brain's default network. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Mar 11; 105(10):4028-32. View Abstract
  53. A dual-networks architecture of top-down control. Trends Cogn Sci. 2008 Mar; 12(3):99-105. View Abstract
  54. Development of distinct control networks through segregation and integration. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Aug 14; 104(33):13507-12. View Abstract
  55. Distinct brain networks for adaptive and stable task control in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Jun 26; 104(26):11073-8. View Abstract
  56. A method for using blocked and event-related fMRI data to study "resting state" functional connectivity. Neuroimage. 2007 Mar; 35(1):396-405. View Abstract
  57. Tyrosine-phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated isoforms of alpha-dystrobrevin: roles in skeletal muscle and its neuromuscular and myotendinous junctions. J Cell Biol. 2003 Mar 03; 160(5):741-52. View Abstract

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