Developing Brain Imaging Lab

Shout out to our lab's very own graduate students, Jayse Weaver and Marissa DiPiero, who presented their work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Pediatrics Research Week yesterday! Stay tuned for all of the exciting work coming up soon from the Developing Brain Imaging Lab! 🧠

Congratulations to our rockstar undergraduate students, Patrik Goncalves Rodrigues, Sophia Roche, Elizabeth Bond, Rishi Mereddy, and Mckaylie Justman, for presenting their independent research projects at the UW Madison Undergraduate Research Symposium and Bio 152 Poster sessions! We are so proud of your hard work and impressive accomplishments and look forward to what future semesters hold! 🧠

The lab attended this year's ISMRM in London UK to showcase some of the work we've been up to! Awesome work Marissa, Jayse and Colleen!

And a big congratulations to Marissa for winning an award with the Diffusion Study Group for best diffusion imaging application!

The Developing Brain Imaging Lab is looking for mothers and babies to join the Brain Imaging of Baby Siblings study! Babies must be between 1 to 24 months of age and either have an older sibling who is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders or have no first- or second-degree relatives with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Study participation takes place over the course of a year and has three time points, each 6 months apart. At each time point, there is an MRI scan and a behavioral assessment for baby, and questionnaires for mom to complete. Families are compensated for their participation.

Let us know if you are interested in this opportunity!

Meet our lab’s research intern, Colleen!

Colleen graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2019 with a B.S. in Biology. Her current work with the Developing Brain Imaging Lab entails investigating new methods for analyzing imaging data from infant brains. Her research also involves using imaging programs to process MRI data and performing data analysis to determine the relationship between brain structure and cognition in young children. Colleen’s research interests include exploring the broad fields of neuroscience and psychology, and learning about different brain imaging techniques.

Additionally, Colleen uses brain imaging techniques to study Parkinson’s Disease with the Gallagher Lab at the VA hospital in Madison.

Outside of research, Colleen enjoys reading, spending time with friends and finding new places to hike.

Congratulations to our fabulous graduate student, Marissa DiPiero, on being accepted into the Waisman Center Morse Society Scholars program!

The Morse Society is a multidisciplinary group of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who are engaged in research activities related to various aspects of childhood psychopathology and developmental disabilities. In addition to providing graduate student fellowship support, the Morse Society meets regularly to discuss child development and psychiatry research, providing a unique atmosphere to learn from one another and build a community of young researchers. Scholars can come from all departments and schools at the University and aim to find ways to bridge gaps between their related fields of research. Marissa will begin her fellowship this September!

Marissa is a PhD student in the Neuroscience Training Program. She received her bachelor’s degree in Biology from Saint Joseph’s University in 2017. Before starting her graduate degree, Marissa worked as a research assistant for the Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She used MEG and MRI to study brain function and structure in children with developmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder. Currently, Marissa’s research is focused on using MRI to understand infant brain development in typically developing infants and infants at risk for developmental disorders. In her spare time, Marissa likes to travel to new cities and try new foods. She also enjoys spending time with her pet gecko and collecting house plants.

Meet our lab’s leader, Dr. Doug Dean!

Doug is an assistant professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Medical Physics. Originally from upstate New York, he earned his PhD in the Advanced Baby Imaging Lab (https://www.facebook.com/babyimaginglab) at Brown University and then completed his post-doctoral training at the Waisman Center (https://www.facebook.com/WaismanCenter) at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Doug is extremely experienced in the field of pediatric neuroimaging and has helped scan over 800 infants and young children. His research aims to investigate the complex interacting factors that affect the neurodevelopmental trajectories of infants and children using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. His research focuses in particular on the changes that occur in the white matter, which is made up of the connections between neurons, during early brain development, and how brain development diverges in individuals with intellectual and neurodevelopmental conditions.

Beyond teaching and research, Doug enjoys spending time with his wife, two kids and dogs.

Visit our lab website for more information our studies and publications!

https://infantbrain.waisman.wisc.edu

Welcome to the Developing Brain Imaging Lab!

We are a developmental neuroscience and pediatric neuroimaging lab at the Waisman Center lead by Principal Investigator Doug Dean, PhD. We combine disciplines of neuroscience, psychology, cognitive science and genetics with advanced neuroimaging techniques—primarily Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)—to study the earliest stages of brain development in infants and children. We are particularly interested in understanding how the brain typically develops and how this neurodevelopmental trajectory differs in individuals with intellectual and neurodevelopmental disorders, like Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Down Syndrome (DS).

One of our more recent studies have focused on examining early brain development in infants and young children who are at an increased risk for developing ASD. We have used MRI and Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), both of which are safe (no radiation), noninvasive imaging methods, to measure the brain structure and function of young children. Our studies have additionally involved behavioral and neurocognitive assessments and filling out questionnaires.

Please see our website for additional information about our lab: infantbrain.waisman.wisc.edu

Feel free to contact us via Facebook, email or phone with any questions!