Meet the Team — ISLA Network

Principal Investigators

Andy Alexander, PhD

Dr. Andrew Alexander is Co-Director of the Waisman Brain Imaging Lab and is a Professor of Medical Physics and Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his PhD in Optical Sciences from the University of Arizona and completed postdoctoral training in MRI physics at the University of Utah where he developed a research program on diffusion tensor imaging of the human brain. His research is focused on the development, evaluation, and application of quantitative MRI methods for characterizing brain structure, microstructure, and function.

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Janet Lainhart, MD

Dr. Janet Lainhart is the Director of the ACE ISLA-A Network. She is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with more than 30 years’ experience as a clinician scientist focusing on autism. She has received multiple grants on brain, behavior and genetics in autism and has co-authored more than 80 peer-reviewed original research publications. Dr. Lainhart developed and led the original ISLA study at the University of Utah before moving to Wisconsin.

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Brandon Zielinski, MD, PhD

Dr. Brandon Zielinski is chief of pediatric neurology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He earned his MD from University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver and his PhD in Neuroscience from Georgetown University. He led ISLA research activities for 10 years at the University of Utah before relocating to Gainesville. He researches structure-function relationships in developing brain networks with a particular focus in autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions.

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