Sandra Jacobson

Sandra Jacobson is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Wayne State University, specializing in neurodevelopmental consequences of prenatal exposures. Her research focuses on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), environmental contaminant effects, and cognitive/behavioral outcomes in infants and children.

• Key research areas: Prenatal Alcohol Exposure, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Neuroimaging (fMRI, DTI), Iron Homeostasis, and Environmental Toxicants (PCBs, Mercury).
• Current work examines genetic-environmental interactions and maternal nutritional interventions to mitigate prenatal alcohol effects.

Recent publications (2024-2025) emphasize:

• Brain structure-function relationships in FASD (cortical volumes, connectivity, arithmetic processing)
• Environmental contaminant mixtures (lead, mercury, PCBs) and cognitive deficits
• Maternal choline supplementation trials for neuroprotection
• Placental gene expression and developmental outcomes
• Advanced statistical modeling of exposure-response curves

Collaborators include Joseph Jacobson (epidemiology), Mark Stanton (EBC methods), and Ernesta Meintjes (Cape Town neuroimaging).