Mariana Cerqueira Aokalani, M.D., Psy.D., (she/ella)
T32 Research Postdoctoral Fellow
Mariana Cerqueira Aokalani, M.D., Psy.D., joined the Developing Brain Institute (DBI) in September 2024 as a T32 Research Postdoctoral Fellow. Dr. Aokalani’s research interests center on the mental health of infants with medical complexities, focusing on enhancing parent-child relationships, adapting caregiver-infant support groups for those with infants hospitalized in intensive care units and addressing perinatal mental health for caregivers of medically fragile infants.
Key Studies
| April 2026 | Aokalani MC, Wisner KL, Andescavage NN, Limperopoulos C, Stuart BK. Implementing Outpatient Therapeutic Playgroups for NICU Families: A Quality Improvement Project. Behavioral Sciences. 17 April 2026; 16(4):600. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16040600 | view |
| April 2026 | Aokalani MC, Flynn L, Maldonado A, Wisner KL, Limperopoulos C, Andescavage NN. Early Dyadic Interventions for Critically Ill Neonates: A Scoping Review. Maternal Health, Neonatology and Perinatology. 2026 Apr 2;12(1):11. doi: 10.1186/s40748-026-00252-z. PMID: 41923116; PMCID: PMC13045093 | 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