معرفی
Jared Nielsen serves as an Assistant Professor in the Psychology department at Brigham Young University, affiliated with the interdisciplinary Neuroscience program administered through the College of Life Sciences. He directs the Nielsen Brain and Behavior Lab, which employs advanced MRI analytical techniques to investigate brain organization disruptions in neurological and psychiatric disorders.
His academic credentials include:
- Postdoctoral Fellowship in Neuroscience at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital (2018)
- Postdoctoral Fellowship in Neuroscience at the University of Utah (2014)
- PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Utah (2013)
- BS in Neuroscience and Psychology from Brigham Young University (2009)
Dr. Nielsen's research program centers on quantitative neuroimaging analysis to understand brain structure-function relationships in conditions like autism spectrum disorder, anxiety disorders, and OCD. His lab develops computational methods including convolutional neural networks for brain age prediction and investigates neural correlates of religious experiences. Current work emphasizes transdiagnostic approaches through large-scale collaborations like the ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group, aiming to translate neuroimaging findings into clinical applications for improved diagnosis and treatment.
His publication record shows strong methodological innovation in precision brain morphometry and machine learning classification of psychiatric conditions, with increasing focus on individual differences in brain aging and network lateralization abnormalities across neurodevelopmental disorders.
Key recognitions include:
- Outstanding Emerging Investigator award from University of Utah’s Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences (2017)
- National Institutes of Health T32 Training Grant Fellowship (2009-2011)
Dr. Nielsen maintains active leadership in major neuroscience consortia and professional organizations, contributing to methodological standards in functional connectomics and large-scale neuroimaging meta-analyses. His lab trains graduate and undergraduate researchers in advanced neuroimaging analytics through BYU's Neuroscience program.
The Nielsen Brain and Behavior Lab operates within BYU's Mary Lou Fulton Building, utilizing high-performance computing resources for MRI data processing. Current projects include longitudinal brain aging studies in anxiety disorders, network analyses of 16p11.2 deletion syndrome, and investigations into neural mechanisms underlying religious fundamentalism using lesion-symptom mapping approaches.
