Yao Wu, Ph.D.
Research Faculty (Assistant Professor)
Yao Wu, Ph.D., is Developing Brain Institute at Children’s National Hospital Research Faculty (Tenure-Track Assistant Professor) whose research interests include studying early brain development using non-invasive, in-vivo imaging techniques. Dr. Wu leverages these sophisticated imaging tools to understand and to measure critical brain maturational changes that occur during the prenatal and postnatal periods to identify the onset and timing of aberrant brain development.
Key Studies
| June 2025 | Wu Y*, Merhar SL*, Bann CM, Newman JE, Kapse K, De Asis-Cruz J, Mack N, De Mauro SB, Ambalavanan N, Davis JM, Lorch SA, Wilson-Costello D, Poindexter BB, Peralta-Carcelen M, Limperopoulos C. (*Co-first authors.) Antenatal Opioid Exposure and Global and Regional Brain Volumes in Newborns. JAMA Pediatrics. 2025 Jun 1;179(6):639-646. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.0277. PMID: 40193106; PMCID: PMC11976647 | view |
| July 2024 | Wu Y, De Asis-Cruz J, Limperopoulos C. Brain Structural and Functional Outcomes in the Offspring of Women Experiencing Psychological Distress During Pregnancy. Molecular Psychiatry. 2024 Jul;29(7):2223-2240. doi: 10.1038/s41380-024-02449-0. Epub 2024 Feb 28. PMID: 38418579; PMCID: PMC11408260 | view |
| June 2020 | Wu Y, Stoodley C, Brossard-Racine M, Kapse K, Vezina G, Murnick J, du Plessis AJ, Limperopoulos C. Altered Local Cerebellar and Brainstem Development in Preterm Infants. NeuroImage. 2020 Jun;213:116702. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116702. Epub 2020 Mar 5. PMID: 32147366; PMCID: PMC7165064 | view |
| March 2020 | Wu Y, Kapse K, Jacobs M, Niforatos-Andescavage N, Donofrio MT, Krishnan A, Vezina G, Wessel D, du Plessis A, Limperopoulos C. Association of Maternal Psychological Distress With in Utero Brain Development in Fetuses With Congenital Heart Disease. JAMA Pediatrics. 2020 Mar 1;174(3):e195316. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.5316. Epub 2020 Mar 2. PMID: 31930365; PMCID: PMC6990726 | view |
Date: April 2022
Seed M, Limperopoulos C. In Utero Brain Growth Matters for Fetuses With Congenital Heart Disease. Circulation. 2022 Apr 12;145(15):1120-1122. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.058683. Epub 2022 Apr 11. PMID: 35404677
View: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35404677
Date: January 2010
Limperopoulos C, Tworetzky W, McElhinney DB, Newburger JW, Brown DW, Robertson RL Jr, Guizard N, McGrath E, Geva J, Annese D, Dunbar-Masterson C, Trainor B, Laussen PC, du Plessis AJ. Brain Volume and Metabolism in Fetuses With Congenital Heart Disease: Evaluation With Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy. Circulation. 2010 Jan 5;121(1):26-33. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.865568. Epub 2009 Dec 21. PMID: 20026783; PMCID: PMC2819908
View: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2819908
Date: February 2024
Wu Y, De Asis-Cruz J, Limperopoulos C. Brain Structural and Functional Outcomes in the Offspring of Women Experiencing Psychological Distress During Pregnancy. Molecular Psychiatry. 2024 Jul;29(7):2223-2240. doi: 10.1038/s41380-024-02449-0. Epub 2024 Feb 28. PMID: 38418579; PMCID: PMC11408260
View: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38418579
Date: April 2022
Wu Y, Espinosa KM, Barnett SD, Kapse A, Quistorff JL, Lopez C, Andescavage N, Pradhan S, Lu YC, Kapse K, Henderson D, Vezina G, Wessel D, du Plessis AJ, Limperopoulos C. Association of Elevated Maternal Psychological Distress, Altered Fetal Brain, and Offspring Cognitive and Social-Emotional Outcomes at 18 Months. JAMA Network Open. 2022 Apr 1;5(4):e229244. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.9244. PMID: 35486403; PMCID: PMC9055453
View: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35486403