Jed Elison

Jed Elison is the Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Development and Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development. His research focuses on developmental social neuroscience, structural brain development, and early autism detection.

• BA in Psychology and English (2005), University of Utah
• PhD in Psychology (2011), University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
• Postdoc in Social Neuroscience (2013), California Institute of Technology

Elison’s work examines how attentional orienting drives early cognitive and social development using eye tracking and neuroimaging (MRI, DWI). Key areas include autism, emerging psychopathology, and white matter microstructure. Recent studies model longitudinal trajectories in ASD and explore social-emotional competence.

His 2025 articles address infant brain imaging datasets, gesture-vocabulary relationships in autism, and adaptive functioning in corpus callosum agenesis. Collaborative work spans Developmental Science, Pediatrics, and Autism Research.

• Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Development
• Distinguished McKnight University Professor

Elison advises PhD students in the Cognition and Neurodevelopmental Studies (CNS) Lab, collaborating with Dr. Megan Swanson. The CNS Lab investigates infant brain-behavior associations, particularly in high-risk populations like those with corpus callosum agenesis or congenital CMV. Techniques include MRI, EEG, and behavioral assessments.