Jason Lerch

Jason Lerch is a Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Oxford, serving as Director of Preclinical Imaging at the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN). He retains adjunct roles as a scientist at the Mouse Imaging Centre (MICe) at the Hospital for Sick Children and as an Associate Professor in Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly autism spectrum disorder (ASD), sex/gender influences on brain structure/function, and MRI-based methods for studying brain plasticity. He combines preclinical mouse models with human neuroimaging to bridge mechanistic insights and clinical applications. Key areas include neuroanatomical subtyping of ASD and ADHD, sex-based disparities in mental health, and MRI methodology advancements.

Research Projects: He supervises DPhil candidates in neuroscience, engineering, computer science, and physics, emphasizing collaborative project design. His group explores translational approaches linking mouse experiments to human studies, including structural covariance analysis and cross-species comparisons.

Publications: Over 150 peer-reviewed articles, including high-impact studies on neurodevelopmental subtyping, sex chromosome effects on brain anatomy, and advanced MRI techniques. Recent work highlights genetic disruptions (e.g., PDZD8), brain asymmetry, and lithium's therapeutic potential in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Labs/Teams: Leads the Preclinical Imaging Group at WIN, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations in neuroimaging and computational neuroscience. Active in international consortia such as the Province of Ontario Neurodevelopmental Disorders Network (POND).