Jessica Girault, PhD

Dr. Jessica Girault is an assistant professor of psychiatry affiliated with the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a brain science researcher with more than 10 years of experience leading large child brain imaging studies, alongside an active research program studying brain and behavior development in autism spectrum disorder and genetic conditions, such as fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome. Her technical expertise includes long-term analysis of complex brain scans, as well as quantitative studies of clinical and behavioral data in infants and toddlers. Her recent work focuses on studying how the visual system develops in infants with a higher family likelihood for autism.

Jessica is an investigator with several team research projects, including the Infant Brain Imaging Study Network, a large study tracking brain and behavior development from infancy through adolescence across multiple sites. As part of this network, she oversees the collection of biological samples, such as blood and saliva, as well as biological measurement tools, including brain wave recordings, eye-tracking technology, and brain scans. She also serves on the network’s genetics committee, which guides stem cell and gene research projects. Additionally, Jessica is an investigator with the international Baby Siblings Research Consortium and the ENIGMA ORIGINs workgroup, and serves as co-principal investigator for the UNC Early Brain Development Study, which has tracked individuals from birth into early adulthood.