Catherine Limperopoulos, Ph.D.
Director & Chief
Catherine Limperopoulos, Ph.D., directs the Center for Prenatal, Neonatal & Maternal Health Research and is Director & Chief of the Developing Brain Institute at Children’s National. Dr. Limperopoulos is also (tenured) Professor of Radiology, Neurology and Pediatrics and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences. She studies the causes and consequences of adverse prenatal environments and brain and placental development in high-risk fetal, preterm and infant populations.
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 | Weiner S, Wu Y, Cheng JJ, Liggett M, McCants C, Adegbulugbe E, Mears A, Henderson D, Andescavage N, Limperopoulos C. The COVID Generation: The Neurodevelopmental Consequences of in Utero COVID-19 Exposure. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2026 Jan 1:106238. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2025.106238. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41483846 | 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
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