Julius S. Ngwa, Ph.D. Research faculty (Assistant Professor) and Biostatistician
Julius S. Ngwa, Ph.D., is a Biostatistician and Research Faculty (Assistant Professor) in the Developing Brain Institute (DBI) at Children’s National Hospital. Dr. Ngwa also is an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at the George Washington University, Children’s National academic partner. At DBI, he collaborates with investigators at various stages of the research process, from study design and proposal development to study conduct and information management, through data analyses and results interpretation. Prior to joining the DBI, Dr. Ngwa had
![Julius S. Ngwa_no background Julius S. Ngwa_no background](https://developingbrainresearchlab.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Julius-S.-Ngwa_no-background.png)
coursework training in theoretical and applied statistics and practical training in biological sciences at Boston University. He has research experience in modeling longitudinal and survival data and has been actively involved in research with the Framingham Heart Study (FHS), a multi-generational study launched by the National Institutes of Health in 1948. Dr. Ngwa’s research in FHS has included substantive work on risk factors for myocardial infarction, statistical methods in determining the relationship between diet and later development of cardiovascular disease. He has collaborated with the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium and the Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT) Consortium and has co- authored numerous articles in leading peer-reviewed journals such as Nature Genetics, the Journal of Human Molecular Genetics and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Dr. Ngwa had research training in Statistical Genetics as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with an emphasis in Genome-wide association studies and Whole Genome Sequencing using data from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Consortium. His professional memberships include the American Statistical Association, American Society of Human Genetics, Eastern North American Region and National Honorary Society for Statistics.
Research, Education and Innovation Week 2024 awards
Kocher K, Ngwa J, Galla JT, Basu SK, Ottolini K, Andescavage N, du Plessis A, Limperopoulos C. Early epigenetic biomarkers of accelerated aging in extremely versus very preterm infants. Children’s National Hospital 14th Annual Research, Education and Innovation Week. Washington, D.C. April 2024. (Certificate of Excellence awarded to lead author, Kristen Kocher. Basic Science: Fellow Award.)
Recent publications & presentations
2024 | September
Jacobwitz M, Kapse K, Ngwa J, De Asis-Cruz J, Wu Y, Govindan R, Donofrio MT, Wessel DL, du Plessis AJ, Limperopoulos C, Andescavage A. “In-Vivo Placental Volumes and Placental Growth Trajectories are Abnormal in Fetuses with Congenital Heart Disease.” International Federation of Placental Associations 2024 Conference. Montreal, Quebec. September 2024. (NIH travel award)
Jacobwitz M, Kapse K, Ngwa J, Donofrio MT, Wessel DL, du Plessis AJ, Limperopoulos C, Andescavage M. “Impaired Feto-Placental Growth in Congenital Heart Disease Detected Prenatally via Quantitative MRI.” International Federation of Placental Associations 2024 Conference. Montreal, Quebec. September 2024.
2024 | April
Pishghadam M, Kapse K, Ngwa JS, Henderson D, Limperopoulos C, Niforatos-Andescavage N.
Non-invasive placental perfusion imaging in pregnant women exposed to COVID-19. Children’s National Hospital 14th Annual Research, Education and Innovation Week. Washington, D.C. April 2024.
Hui S, Andescavage N, Ngwa J, Kapse K, Kasper M, Saulino P, Limperopoulos C. Brain metabolite concentrations in neonates with Congenital Heart Disease before and after cardiac surgery. Children’s National Hospital 14th Annual Research, Education and Innovation Week. Washington, D.C. April 2024.
Kocher K, Ngwa J, Andescavage N, Henderson D, Limperopoulos C. Prenatal exposure to COVID-19 pandemic is linked with epigenetic age acceleration in newborns. Children’s National Hospital 14th Annual Research, Education and Innovation Week. Washington, D.C. April 2024.
Ngwa JS, Govindan R, Galla J, Kapse K, Basu S, Andescavage N, du Plessis AJ, Limperopoulos C. The impact of conventional and high-frequency oscillatory ventilation on heart rate metrics in preterm infants. Children’s National Hospital 14th Annual Research, Education and Innovation Week. Washington, D.C. April 2024.
Weiner S, Wu Y, Vozar T, Ngwa JS, Kapse K, Henderson D, Andescavage N, Limperopoulos C.
It's all in the timing: effects of maternal anxiety on neurodevelopment
Diribe C, Petersen C, Brechot C, Ngwa J, Andescavage N, Henderson D, Saleem N, Bassa M, Keller J, Le H, Limperopoulos C. Elevated maternal mental distress in low-resourced Black and African American pregnant women in DC. Children’s National Hospital 14th Annual Research, Education and Innovation Week. Washington, D.C. April 2024.
Jacobwitz M, Kapse K, Ngwa J, De Asis-Cruz J, Govindan R, Donofrio MT, Wessel D, du Plessis A, Limperopoulos C, Andescavage N. In-vivo placental volumes and placental growth trajectories are abnormal in fetuses with Congenital Heart Disease. Children’s National Hospital 14th Annual Research, Education and Innovation Week. Washington, D.C. April 2024.
Rich C, Kapse K, Ngwa J, Galla JT, Basu S, Ottolini K, Andescavage N, du Plessis A, Limperopoulos C. Altered regional cerebral blood flow in preterm infants with patent ductus arteriosus. Children’s National Hospital 14th Annual Research, Education and Innovation Week. Washington, D.C. April 2024.
Fungwe TV, Ngwa JS, Johnson SP, Turner JV, Ramirez Ruiz MI, Ogunlana OO, Bedada FB, Nadarajah S, Ntekim OE, Obisesan TO. Systolic blood pressure is associated with increased brain amyloid load in mild cognitively impaired participants: Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiatives Study. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2023;52(1):39-46. doi: 10.1159/000528117.
Epub 2023 Feb 20. PMID: 36808103; PMCID: PMC10219843
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36808103/
Ngwa JS, Yanek LR, Kammers K, Kanchan K, Taub MA, Scharpf RB, Faraday N, Becker LC, Mathias RA, Ruczinski I. Secondary analyses for genome-wide association studies using expression quantitative trait loci. Genet Epidemiol. 2022 Apr;46(3-4):170-181. doi: 10.1002/gepi.22448. Epub 2022 Mar 21. PMID: 35312098; PMCID: PMC9086181
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35312098/
Ngwa JS, Nwulia E, Ntekim O, Bedada FB, Kwabi-Addo B, Nadarajah S, Johnson S, Southerland WM, Kwagyan J, Obisesan TO. Aerobic exercise training-induced changes on DNA methylation in mild cognitively impaired elderly African Americans: Gene, Exercise, and Memory Study - GEMS-I. Front Mol Neurosci. 2022 Jan 17;14:752403. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2021.752403. PMID: 35110995; PMCID: PMC8802631
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35110995/
Ngwa JS, Cabral HJ, Cheng DM, Gagnon DR, LaValley MP, Cupples LA. Generating survival times with time-varying covariates using the Lambert W Function. Commun Stat Simul Comput. 2019;2019:10.1080/03610918.2019.1648822. doi: 10.1080/03610918.2019.1648822. Epub 2019 Aug 8. PMID: 33311841; PMCID: PMC7731987
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33311841/
Ngwa JS, Cabral HJ, Cheng DM, Gagnon DR, LaValley MP, Cupples LA. Revisiting methods for modeling longitudinal and survival data: Framingham Heart Study. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2021 Feb 10;21(1):29. doi: 10.1186/s12874-021-01207-y. PMID: 33568059; PMCID: PMC7876802
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33568059/
Gandotra C, Basam M, Mahajan A, Ngwa J, Ortega G, Tran D, Fullum TM, Sherif ZA. Characteristics and resolution of hypertension in obese African American bariatric cohort. Sci Rep. 2021 Jan 18;11(1):1683. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-81360-y. PMID: 33462353; PMCID: PMC7814052
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33462353/