Research Overview

Dr. Rollins is a child neurologist focusing on understanding neurological outcomes in congenital heart disease. Her research lies at the intersection of neurology and cardiology, aiming to illuminate the neurobiological underpinnings of neurodevelopmental impairment in congenital heart disease. She is the Principal Investigator (PI) of a fetal MRI study that investigates fetal brain measurements in congenital heart disease to determine whether in utero markers of abnormal brain development can be identified. The ultimate goal of the study is to establish neurobiological targets for fetal neuroprotective intervention and identify those patients most likely to benefit from such therapy.

 

Research Background

As the child of a clinical psychologist and scientist, Dr. Rollins has always been interested in linking human experience with underlying biology. As part of the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Program, she works to support families as their infants grow into childhood and beyond. In order to do so, she works tirelessly to bring the latest in clinical research on cardioneurology to the precious children entrusted to her care and as well as to her peers within the the field of cardioneurology more widely so that they may provide the best care for their own patients.

 

Education

Undergraduate School

Harvard University
2002 Cambridge MA

Medical School

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
2007 Philadelphia PA

Residency

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
2009 Philadelphia PA

Residency

Pediatric Neurology Boston Children's Hospital
2012 Boston MA

Fellowship

Behavioral Neurology Boston Children's Hospital
2014 Boston MA

Publications

  1. Noncoding variants and sulcal patterns in congenital heart disease: Machine learning to predict functional impact. iScience. 2025 Feb 21; 28(2):111707. View Abstract
  2. Detailed delineation of the fetal brain in diffusion MRI via multi-task learning. ArXiv. 2024 Sep 12. View Abstract
  3. Detailed delineation of the fetal brain in diffusion MRI via multi-task learning. bioRxiv. 2024 Aug 30. View Abstract
  4. Meta-regression of sulcal patterns, clinical and environmental factors on neurodevelopmental outcomes in participants with multiple CHD types. Cereb Cortex. 2024 06 04; 34(6). View Abstract
  5. Divergent growth of the transient brain compartments in fetuses with nonsyndromic isolated clefts involving the primary and secondary palate. Cereb Cortex. 2024 01 31; 34(2). View Abstract
  6. Risk factors for health impairments in children after hospitalization for acute COVID-19 or MIS-C. Front Pediatr. 2023; 11:1260372. View Abstract
  7. Atypical fetal brain development in fetuses with non-syndromic isolated musculoskeletal birth defects (niMSBDs). Cereb Cortex. 2023 10 14; 33(21):10793-10801. View Abstract
  8. Factors Associated With Attendance for Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Evaluation. Pediatrics. 2023 09 01; 152(3). View Abstract
  9. Neurological and Psychological Sequelae Associated With Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 07 03; 6(7):e2324369. View Abstract
  10. Abnormal prenatal brain development in Chiari II malformation. Front Neuroanat. 2023; 17:1116948. View Abstract
  11. Abnormal development of transient fetal zones in mild isolated fetal ventriculomegaly. Cereb Cortex. 2023 02 07; 33(4):1130-1139. View Abstract
  12. Learning to segment fetal brain tissue from noisy annotations. Med Image Anal. 2023 04; 85:102731. View Abstract
  13. Fetal Brain Development in Congenital Heart Disease. Can J Cardiol. 2023 02; 39(2):115-122. View Abstract
  14. Quantification of sulcal emergence timing and its variability in early fetal life: Hemispheric asymmetry and sex difference. Neuroimage. 2022 11; 263:119629. View Abstract
  15. Sleep Patterns in Young Children with Congenital Heart Disease. J Pediatr. 2023 01; 252:198-203.e2. View Abstract
  16. Maternal Social Risk, Gestational Age at Delivery, and Cognitive Outcomes among Adolescents Born Extremely Preterm. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2022 09; 36(5):654-664. View Abstract
  17. Neurodevelopmental and Mental Health Outcomes in Patients With Fontan Circulation: A State-of-the-Art Review. Front Pediatr. 2022; 10:826349. View Abstract
  18. Fetal Brain Volume Predicts Neurodevelopment in Congenital Heart Disease. Circulation. 2022 04 12; 145(15):1108-1119. View Abstract
  19. Neurological features in infants with congenital heart disease. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2022 06; 64(6):762-770. View Abstract
  20. Optimal Method for Fetal Brain Age Prediction Using Multiplanar Slices From Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Front Neurosci. 2021; 15:714252. View Abstract
  21. Abnormal Right-Hemispheric Sulcal Patterns Correlate with Executive Function in Adolescents with Tetralogy of Fallot. Cereb Cortex. 2021 08 26; 31(10):4670-4680. View Abstract
  22. Association between Quantitative MR Markers of Cortical Evolving Organization and Gene Expression during Human Prenatal Brain Development. Cereb Cortex. 2021 07 05; 31(8):3610-3621. View Abstract
  23. A Deep Attentive Convolutional Neural Network for Automatic Cortical Plate Segmentation in Fetal MRI. IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2021 04; 40(4):1123-1133. View Abstract
  24. Tractography of the Cerebellar Peduncles in Second- and Third-Trimester Fetuses. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2021 01; 42(1):194-200. View Abstract
  25. Fetal Cortical Plate Segmentation Using Fully Convolutional Networks With Multiple Plane Aggregation. Front Neurosci. 2020; 14:591683. View Abstract
  26. Regional Brain Growth Trajectories in Fetuses with Congenital Heart Disease. Ann Neurol. 2021 01; 89(1):143-157. View Abstract
  27. Neurodevelopmental evaluation for school-age children with congenital heart disease: recommendations from the cardiac neurodevelopmental outcome collaborative. Cardiol Young. 2020 Nov; 30(11):1623-1636. View Abstract
  28. Neurodevelopmental evaluation strategies for children with congenital heart disease aged birth through 5 years: recommendations from the cardiac neurodevelopmental outcome collaborative. Cardiol Young. 2020 Nov; 30(11):1609-1622. View Abstract
  29. Association of Isolated Congenital Heart Disease with Fetal Brain Maturation. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2020 08; 41(8):1525-1531. View Abstract
  30. Spatiotemporal Differences in the Regional Cortical Plate and Subplate Volume Growth during Fetal Development. Cereb Cortex. 2020 06 30; 30(8):4438-4453. View Abstract
  31. Temporal Patterns of Emergence and Spatial Distribution of Sulcal Pits During Fetal Life. Cereb Cortex. 2020 06 01; 30(7):4257-4268. View Abstract
  32. In vivo characterization of emerging white matter microstructure in the fetal brain in the third trimester. Hum Brain Mapp. 2020 08 15; 41(12):3177-3185. View Abstract
  33. Quantitative In vivo MRI Assessment of Structural Asymmetries and Sexual Dimorphism of Transient Fetal Compartments in the Human Brain. Cereb Cortex. 2020 03 14; 30(3):1752-1767. View Abstract
  34. Early-Emerging Sulcal Patterns Are Atypical in Fetuses with Congenital Heart Disease. Cereb Cortex. 2019 07 22; 29(8):3605-3616. View Abstract
  35. Correction of d-Transposition of the Great Arteries Sooner Rather Than Later. Circulation. 2019 06 11; 139(24):2739-2741. View Abstract
  36. Early Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Children Supported with ECMO for Cardiac Indications. Pediatr Cardiol. 2019 Jun; 40(5):1072-1083. View Abstract
  37. Ascending Aorta Size at Birth Predicts White Matter Microstructure in Adolescents Who Underwent Fontan Palliation. J Am Heart Assoc. 2018 12 18; 7(24):e010395. View Abstract
  38. Automatic labeling of cortical sulci for the human fetal brain based on spatio-temporal information of gyrification. Neuroimage. 2019 03; 188:473-482. View Abstract
  39. Tract-Specific Group Analysis in Fetal Cohorts Using in utero Diffusion Tensor Imaging. Med Image Comput Comput Assist Interv. 2018 Sep; 11072:28-35. View Abstract
  40. Disorganized Patterns of Sulcal Position in Fetal Brains with Agenesis of Corpus Callosum. Cereb Cortex. 2018 09 01; 28(9):3192-3203. View Abstract
  41. Fetal brain growth portrayed by a spatiotemporal diffusion tensor MRI atlas computed from in utero images. Neuroimage. 2019 01 15; 185:593-608. View Abstract
  42. Genetic contribution to neurodevelopmental outcomes in congenital heart disease: are some patients predetermined to have developmental delay? Curr Opin Pediatr. 2017 10; 29(5):529-533. View Abstract
  43. Quantitative Folding Pattern Analysis of Early Primary Sulci in Human Fetuses with Brain Abnormalities. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2017 Jul; 38(7):1449-1455. View Abstract
  44. Temporal slice registration and robust diffusion-tensor reconstruction for improved fetal brain structural connectivity analysis. Neuroimage. 2017 08 01; 156:475-488. View Abstract
  45. A normative spatiotemporal MRI atlas of the fetal brain for automatic segmentation and analysis of early brain growth. Sci Rep. 2017 03 28; 7(1):476. View Abstract
  46. White Matter Volume Predicts Language Development in Congenital Heart Disease. J Pediatr. 2017 02; 181:42-48.e2. View Abstract
  47. A mixed bag: Differential influences of oxygenation and perfusion on brain development in congenital heart disease. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2016 10; 152(4):960-1. View Abstract
  48. Cardiology patient page. Neurodevelopmental outcomes in congenital heart disease. Circulation. 2014 Sep 30; 130(14):e124-6. View Abstract
  49. White matter microstructure and cognition in adolescents with congenital heart disease. J Pediatr. 2014 Nov; 165(5):936-44.e1-2. View Abstract
  50. Copy number variation plays an important role in clinical epilepsy. Ann Neurol. 2014 Jun; 75(6):943-58. View Abstract
  51. Overestimates of survival after HAART: implications for global scale-up efforts. PLoS One. 2008 Mar 05; 3(3):e1725. View Abstract
  52. Risk-adjusting outcomes of mental health and substance-related care: a review of the literature. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2007 Mar-Apr; 15(2):52-69. View Abstract
  53. Diagnostic accuracy of CD4 cell count increase for virologic response after initiating highly active antiretroviral therapy. AIDS. 2006 Aug 01; 20(12):1613-9. View Abstract
  54. Quality measurement in health care: a need for leadership amid a new federalism. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2003 Jul-Aug; 11(4):215-9. View Abstract

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