Overview
Dr. Jia Guo is an Assistant Professor of Neurobiology in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University and is affiliated with the Department of Biomedical Engineering. His research integrates advanced neuroimaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), artificial intelligence, and translational neuroscience to develop imaging biomarkers for schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, brain aging, and other neuropsychiatric disorders. His laboratory combines MRI, MRS, and deep learning to bridge molecular, circuit, and systems-level brain dysfunction from animal models to human disease, enabling earlier diagnosis and precision therapeutics.
Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated
- Dementia
- Psychosis
Academic Appointments
- Assistant Professor of Neurobiology (in Psychiatry)
Gender
- Male
Credentials & Experience
Honors & Awards
- BBRF Young Investigator Award
- Columbia University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Development Award
- AFAR–Hevolution Foundation New Investigator Award
- Hearing Health Foundation Emerging Research Grant
Research
Dr. Guo's laboratory develops next-generation neuroimaging technologies that combine artificial intelligence with advanced MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy to investigate brain disorders across species. His research focuses on cerebral blood volume (CBV) imaging, functional and structural MRI, metabolic imaging, brain age estimation, and deep learning for quantitative image analysis. A central goal of the laboratory is to identify molecular mechanisms—particularly glutamatergic dysfunction—that underlie schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and brain aging, and to translate these discoveries into clinically useful imaging biomarkers. His group develops novel AI methods for image reconstruction, disease prediction, precision psychiatry, and multimodal imaging integration.
Grants
- SNF Center for Precision Psychiatry & Mental Health Seed Grant — GRIN2A Risk and Precision Therapeutics in Schizophrenia; Principal Investigator, 2026–2027. Guo_NIH_OS-3.2.26_signed.pdf
- NIH/NIA Program Project Grant (P01AG090268) — SORL1 and Its Involvement in Alzheimer's Disease Pathogenesis and Pathophysiology; Investigator, 2025–2030. Guo_NIH_OS-3.2.26_signed.pdf
- Simons Foundation — Interorgan Communication and the Plasticity of the Aging Brain; Investigator, 2025–2030. Guo_NIH_OS-3.2.26_signed.pdf
- Michael J. Fox Foundation — Mapping Vulnerable Brain Regions in an LRRK2 Mouse Model; Co-Principal Investigator, 2024–2027. Guo_NIH_OS-3.2.26_signed.pdf
- NIH/NIMH R01MH123142 — Glutamatergic Mechanisms of Psychosis and Target Engagement; Investigator, 2020–2027. Guo_NIH_OS-3.2.26_signed.pdf
- NIH/NIMH U01MH135436 — Deep Transcranial Interference Stimulation for Social and Affective Dysfunction in Schizophrenia; Investigator, 2024–2028. Guo_NIH_OS-3.2.26_signed.pdf
- Alzheimer's Association — Understanding the Neurodegenerative Atrophy of Alzheimer's Disease; Investigator, 2024–2026.
Selected Publications
1. Provenzano, F.A., Guo, J., Wall, M.M. et al. (2020) 'Hippocampal pathology in clinical high-risk patients and the onset of schizophrenia', Biological Psychiatry, 87(3), pp. 234–242.
2. Guo, J., Gang, Z., Sun, Y., Laine, A.F., Small, S.A. and Rothman, D.L. (2018) 'In vivo detection and automatic analysis of GABA in the mouse brain with MEGA-PRESS at 9.4 T', NMR in Biomedicine, 31(1), e3837.
3. Wu, C.J., Kegeles, L.S., Rothman, D.L. and Guo, J. (2026) 'Q-MRS: Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Spectral Analysis Using Deep Learning', NMR in Biomedicine, 39(5), e70279. https://doi.org/10.1002/nbm.70279
4. Liu, C., Zhu, N., Sun, H. et al. (2022) 'Deep learning of MRI contrast enhancement for mapping cerebral blood volume from single-modal non-contrast scans of aging and Alzheimer's disease brains', Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 14, 923673.
5. Zhang, J., Rao, V.M., Tian, Y., Yang, Y., Acosta, N., Wan, Z., Lee, P.-Y., Zhang, C., Kegeles, L.S., Small, S.A. and Guo, J. (2023) 'Detecting schizophrenia with 3D structural brain MRI using deep learning', Scientific Reports, 13, 14433. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41359-z
2. Guo, J., Gang, Z., Sun, Y., Laine, A.F., Small, S.A. and Rothman, D.L. (2018) 'In vivo detection and automatic analysis of GABA in the mouse brain with MEGA-PRESS at 9.4 T', NMR in Biomedicine, 31(1), e3837.
3. Wu, C.J., Kegeles, L.S., Rothman, D.L. and Guo, J. (2026) 'Q-MRS: Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Spectral Analysis Using Deep Learning', NMR in Biomedicine, 39(5), e70279. https://doi.org/10.1002/nbm.70279
4. Liu, C., Zhu, N., Sun, H. et al. (2022) 'Deep learning of MRI contrast enhancement for mapping cerebral blood volume from single-modal non-contrast scans of aging and Alzheimer's disease brains', Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 14, 923673.
5. Zhang, J., Rao, V.M., Tian, Y., Yang, Y., Acosta, N., Wan, Z., Lee, P.-Y., Zhang, C., Kegeles, L.S., Small, S.A. and Guo, J. (2023) 'Detecting schizophrenia with 3D structural brain MRI using deep learning', Scientific Reports, 13, 14433. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41359-z