Josepheen De Asis-Cruz, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Director, Imaging and Analytics
Josepheen De Asis-Cruz, M.D., Ph.D., is Research Director, Imaging and Analytics, and she joined the Developing Brain Institute (DBI) in September 2014. Dr. De Asis-Cruz’s research focuses on characterizing neurodevelopment in fetuses and neonates using resting state functional MRI (fMRI). She joined DBI after finishing her Ph.D. at Baylor College of Medicine where she studied neural markers of impaired social cognition in autism spectrum disorders using fMRI.
Key Studies
| March 2026 | Kim JH, De Asis-Cruz J, Andescavage NN, Kapse K, Donofrio M, Vezina G, du Plessis A, Limperopoulos C. Atypical Development of Functional Brain Networks in Neonates With Congenital Heart Disease. JNeurosci. 2026 Mar 9:e1846252026. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1846-25.2026. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41802866. | view |
| March 2026 | Cook KM, De Asis-Cruz J, Kapse K, Christoffel K, McDermott C, Andescavage N, Limperopoulos C. Prenatal Experience of Greater Neighborhood Disadvantage Is Associated With Altered Fetal Volumetric Brain Growth in Utero. Cerebral Cortex. 2026 Mar 3;36(3):bhag017. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhag017. PMID: 41772840 | view |
| October 2025 | Chirumamilla VC, Mulkey SB, Anwar T, Baker R, Maxwell GL, Asis-Cruz J, Kapse K, Limperopoulos C, Plessis AD, Govindan RB. Directional Flow of Brain Connections and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Healthy Full-Term Newborns. Neuroscience Letters. 2025 Sep 3;866:138371. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2025.138371. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40889547 | view |
| 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. 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 |
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