Research

Computational neuroscience, biomedical data science, and machine learning applied to complex clinical datasets.

Publications
First-Author & Lead Contributions
Additional Publications
Ressa HJ, Newman BT, Jacokes Z, McPartland JC, Kleinhans NM, Druzgal TJ, Pelphrey KA, Van Horn JD.
Imaging Neuroscience. 2025;3.
Links between behavior and brain structure in autism shift with development, suggesting that apparent "subtypes" may reflect age-dependent changes rather than fixed categories.
Newman BT, Jacokes Z, Venkadesh S, Webb SJ, Kleinhans NM, McPartland JC, et al.
PLoS ONE. 2024;19(4):e0301964.
Uses advanced MRI-derived metrics to show that differences in signal transmission along white matter pathways may underlie variability in how information is processed in autism.
Van Horn J, Jacokes Z, Newman B, Henry T.
Neuroinformatics. 2023:1–3.
Argues that neuroscience needs stronger theoretical frameworks, not just wider data collection efforts, to meaningfully understand how brain connectivity relates to disorders and behavior.
Irimia A, Lei X, Torgerson CM, Jacokes Z, Abe S, Van Horn JD.
Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience. 2018;12:93.
Combines machine learning and imaging to show that sex meaningfully changes how autism-related brain differences appear, rather than simply adding variability.
Gupta R, Audhkhasi K, Jacokes Z, Rozga A, Narayanan S.
IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing. 2018;9(1):76–89.
Develops a method to recover reliable signals from inconsistent human annotations by treating each annotator as a noisy observer of an underlying truth.
Rodriguez M, Harmony T, Carrillo-Prado C, Van Horn JD, Irimia A, Torgerson C, Jacokes Z.
NeuroImage: Clinical. 2017;16:355–368.
Reviews how early brain imaging can be used to predict developmental outcomes in preterm infants, while highlighting the limits of current predictive approaches.
Irimia A, Torgerson C, Jacokes Z, Van Horn JD.
Scientific Reports. 2017;7:46401.
Shows that large-scale brain wiring differs between males and females with autism, helping explain differences in how the condition presents.
Hull J, Jacokes Z, Torgerson C, Dokovna L, Irimia A, Van Horn JD.
Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2017;7:205.
Synthesizes a fragmented literature on brain connectivity in autism, highlighting inconsistent findings and the need for more structured, theory-driven approaches.
Harrop C, Libsack E, Bernier R, Dapretto M, Jack A, McPartland J, Van Horn J, Webb S, Pelphrey K, GENDAAR Consortium.
Autism Research. 2021;14(5).
Demonstrates that sex and early development shape when autism is recognized, suggesting diagnostic timing is influenced by more than symptom severity alone.
Jack A, Sullivan C, Aylward E, Bookheimer S, Dapretto M, Gaab N, Van Horn J, Eilbott J, Jacokes Z, Torgerson C, et al.
Brain. 2021;awab064.
Integrates genetic and brain imaging data to investigate why autism is diagnosed less frequently in females, pointing to distinct biological pathways.
Lawrence K, Hernandez L, Eilbott J, Jack A, Aylward E, Gaab N, Van Horn J, et al.
Translational Psychiatry. 2020;10:178.
Shows that reward-related brain responses during social interactions differ in autistic females, offering insight into how social motivation varies across groups.
Van Horn JD, Irimia A, Torgerson C, Bhattrai A, Jacokes Z, Vespa P.
Journal of Neuroscience Research. 2018;96(4):652–660.
Case study linking early brain injury to later-life cognitive decline, illustrating how long-term structural changes can unfold over decades.

Full record: 14 journal articles, 1 book chapter, 15+ conference abstracts (OHBM 2016–2023). See Google Scholar for complete list.