Jerod Rasmussen, BS, MS

His academic interests over the past 11 years have focused on the application of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) physics to biomedical research questions. His research has covered a diverse range of topics including the application of MRI and PET methods to Alzheimer Disease, ADHD, language development, imaging genetics, and- most recently – the developmental trajectories of brain and body composition in human newborns and infants. His current research aims relate to neuroimaging-based biomarkers of obesity-related health and disease risk. Specifically, he is developing measures of energy homeostasis brain circuitry using anatomical, diffusion and functional MRI and quantifying their prospective association with infant adiposity outcome. By identifying the role and determinants of energy homeostasis-related brain circuitry in the human newborn, he hopes his findings will provide the basis for the subsequent development of strategies aimed at the primary prevention of childhood obesity.