Jennifer L. Cuzzocreo

The majority of my work has focused on clarifying the nature and extent of brain pathology in diseases and disorders that affect neural systems and correlating volumetric and functional imaging data with measures such as performance on neuropsychological assessments. This involves 1) intricate analyses of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain using medical imaging software, 2) collaborating with engineering, neurology, psychology, and radiology researchers and clinicians to develop neuroimaging analysis tools while helping to refine existing technology and methods, and 3) applying enhanced analysis techniques to a variety of scan modalities from a diverse range of patient populations and control participants.

I am interested in studying factors that influence resilience, including caregiver-child interactions, social adjustment, self-regulation abilities, cognitive and meta-cognitive processes, and the formation of adaptive coping skills in children, particularly those who are raised in challenging environments. In the future, I hope to use neuroimaging techniques and psychological research methods to investigate the impact of these factors on the structure and function of the brain. I intend to use this work in collaboration with investigators from many disciplines to enhance and promote evidence-based methods for successful individual and community mental healthcare interventions and primary prevention policies.