Judith M. Ford

Judith M. Ford, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She co-directs the Brain Imaging and Electroencephalography (EEG) Laboratory, focusing on neurophysiological mechanisms underlying schizophrenia, particularly corollary discharge dysfunction linked to auditory hallucinations. Her work integrates EEG, fMRI, and metabolic approaches to understand sensory prediction failures and their clinical implications.

Dr. Ford’s research emphasizes the role of metabolic dysfunction in psychiatric disorders, advocating for novel therapies like ketogenic diets. She has held leadership roles including former Director of the Schizophrenia Biological Research Center at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System and academic appointments at Stanford and Yale. Her contributions span neuroimaging methodologies, computational neuroscience, and translational research.

• Awards: 2003 BBRF Independent Investigator Grant, Scientific Council Member (President) of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.
• Key Focus Areas: EEG-fMRI fusion, neural reward processing, thalamic dysconnectivity, and metabolic psychiatry frameworks.
• Lab Innovations: Developed methods for capturing dynamic functional connectivity and nonlinear network interactions in schizophrenia.

Her articles explore biomarkers for psychosis risk, EEG signatures of agency deficits, and multi-scale imaging fusion techniques. Ongoing work investigates the link between brain energy metabolism and mental health outcomes.