Jennifer Wagner

Jennifer Wagner is an Associate Professor at the College of Staten Island (CSI), part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system. She leads the Cognitive Development Lab (located in 4S-104), which investigates early infant and child development using eye-tracking, neural, and autonomic measures. Her research spans social and emotional processing, learning and memory, and numerical perception, with a strong focus on identifying early markers of developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

• Research Focus: Social cognition in infants at risk for ASD, pupil response as an autonomic marker, electrophysiological correlates of memory, and numerical cognition in preschoolers.
• Lab: Cognitive Development Lab (4S-104), also known as the CSI Baby Lab.
• Education: Ph.D. from Stanford University; B.S. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Dr. Wagner’s research integrates behavioral, eye-tracking, and neuroimaging techniques (e.g., fNIRS, EEG) to study both typically developing children and those at risk for neurodevelopmental disorders. Her work frequently explores how early attentional and neural patterns predict later social and cognitive outcomes, particularly in the context of autism. She has published in high-impact journals such as Developmental Science, Infancy, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, and Cognition.

Her recent publications reveal a consistent focus on early biomarkers of autism, including differential attention to faces, pupil dilation in response to emotional stimuli, and functional brain connectivity. She also investigates foundational aspects of numerical cognition and language learning in infancy and early childhood. Collaborations with researchers like Charles A. Nelson and Helen Tager-Flusberg are central to her work.

• Scientific Awards: No awards mentioned in the provided text.

Dr. Wagner mentors students and collaborates on interdisciplinary projects related to cognitive development and neurodevelopmental disorders. While specific grants are not listed, her research implies funding support for lab operations and data collection. Her lab environment fosters empirical research on early development using advanced psychophysiological methods.