Curriculum Vitae - Boston College

EDUCATION
Jessica Marjorie Black, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Graduate School of Social Work, Boston College
140 Commonwealth Ave., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
T (617) 552-1866 F (617) 552-2686 Email: j.black@bc.edu
2010 Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA
Department: Psychiatry, Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research
Program: Neuroscience, T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Emphasis: Reading and Developmental Dyslexia, Humor, Child Development
Years: April 2008 - August 2010
2008 Ph.D. Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Program: Education; Field of Study: Educational Psychology
Minor: Psychology
Dissertation: Academic Self-Concept, Subjective Task Value, and Beliefs about
Intelligence in Dual-Language and English-Only Elementary School Students
2006 M.A. Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Program: Education; Field of Study: Social Sciences in Education
Thesis: Fit to Belong: Self-Esteem in Context
1998 B.A. University of California, Berkeley, CA
Summa Cum Laude with Highest Distinction in General Scholarship
Major: Psychology
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Educational Neuroscience, Child and Adolescent Development, Dyslexia and Special
Education, Motivation, Humor and Resilience
HONORS AND AWARDS
Motivation SIG Travel Award, American Educational Research Association, 2008, 2009
Spencer Research Training Grant, 2007-2008
Post Candidacy Travel Fellowship, Stanford University School of Education, 2005, 2008
School of Education Fellowship and Research Award, Stanford University, 2002-2007
Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha of California at the University of California, 1998
Summa Cum Laude, University of California, Berkeley, 1998
Alumni Scholar, University of California, Berkeley, 1997, 1998
Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society, 1997
Golden Key National Honor Society, 1997
Jessica M. Black CV- Fall 2013 Page 1 of 12

TRAINING
2011 52 nd Annual Short Course on Experimental and Mammalian Genetics, Jackson
Laboratory
2010 NIH Summer Institute on Transdisciplinary Research (Social Work/Genetics),
Participant
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2010-
present
Assistant Professor
Graduate School of Social Work, Boston College, MA
Courses: SW721 Human Behavior and the Social Environment. Content covers
major biopsychosocial developmental milestones throughout the life course.
SW726 The Neuroscience of Human Relationships and Development. Designed
new course for graduate students in social work interested in learning more
about the relationships between environment and the neurobiology of
development throughout the life course. For both courses design of course
materials, in-class assignments; use of course website and lectures using
PowerPoint, video, group activities, pair shares and small group discussions.
2009 Lecturer
School of Education (SUSE), Stanford University, CA
Courses: EDUC144 Child Development in and Beyond Schools and EDUC240
Adolescent Development and Learning. Taught graduate students in the
elementary and secondary teacher-credentialing program. Design of course
materials, assignments; use of course website and lectures using PowerPoint,
video, group activities and small group discussions.
2006 Lecturer, Department of Child and Adolescent Development
College of Education, San José State University, CA
Course: Social and Emotional Development in Childhood and Adolescence;
four classes totaling 120 students; upper-division undergraduate majors and
minors, majority on teacher credential track; use of PowerPoint; course website;
design of group projects and assessment materials.
1991-2006 Math Teacher
Head of Summer School Math Department 2003-2007
Crystal Springs Uplands School Summer Enrichment, Hillsborough, CA
Design of curriculum and courses; multi-grade classrooms (4, 5, 6 and 7, 8, 9);
students come from a wide variety of public and private schools and with
varying math knowledge; some students have IEP’s or 504’s.
Jessica M. Black CV- Fall 2013 Page 2 of 12

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
2008-2010 Postdoctoral Fellow, Neuroimaging, Reading, Motivation
Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR), Stanford
University
Project Manager for the Reading Brain Study, a longitudinal study of
kindergarteners with high-risk for developing reading disabilities.
Responsibilities included: assessment decisions, recruitment, Near Infrared
Spectroscopy (NIRS), home observation, MRI (3.0T) and analyses
(functional, structural, DTI) using SPM (2) (5), and (8). Project Coordinator
for the Humor Study in Children examined the neural development and
behavioral characteristics of humor in young children. Supervision, training
and evaluation of undergraduate and graduate students.
2007-2008 Research Assistant, Dyslexia Neuroimaging
Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Stanford
University
Analysis of reading and motivation-related behavioral and imaging data for
dyslexic and typical adolescent readers in longitudinal study. Use of Matlab
and SPM.
2007 Research Associate, Developing Success Attributes in Students with
Dyslexia
Thrive Foundation for Youth
Identified characteristics of successful students with learning differences
such as developmental dyslexia. Design of school-based curriculum to foster
resiliency and support gifts and talents of students identified as learning
disabled.
2006-2007
2002-2004
Research Assistant, School Transitions and Motivation
Dr. Deborah Stipek, Dean, Stanford University School of Education
Generated qualitative codebooks and coded parent interviews related to
elementary school transitions, family and school environments, and
achievement motivation; training and supervision of undergraduate research
assistants.
2005 Research Assistant, Teacher Credentialing
Dr. Connie Juel, Stanford University School of Education
Collaborated on design of a study of students in teacher credentialing
programs; survey questions related to teacher motivation, satisfaction,
expectations and retention.
2004-2005 Research Assistant, Dyslexia and fMRI
Dr. John Gabrieli, Stanford University Psychology Department
Recruitment, delivery of reading battery assessment (pre/post), data analysis,
and fMRI of school-aged subjects for two studies examining computer-based
interventions for poor readers and dyslexic students; structural MRI and
fMRI using 1.5T and 3.0T; use of MatLab and SPM.
Jessica M. Black CV- Fall 2013 Page 3 of 12

2001-2002 Senior Research Associate
Kensington Research Group, Kensington, CA
Program evaluator; grant-writer; Project Director of Career Ladder in West
Contra Costa School District, a program assisting Instructional Assistants in
public school classrooms to enter college to become full-time classroom
teachers in their communities; Project Coordinator for Even Start, a familybased
literacy program.
1998-2001 Research Assistant, Psychophysiology
Dr. Robert Levenson, U.C. Berkeley Department of Psychology
Utilized polygraphs and video recording to assess the relationship among job
stress, job pleasure, marital stress, and marital pleasure with married couples
in law enforcement; developed coding manual; piloted coding system for
study on facial expression of emotion.
1999 Research Assistant, Schooling
Dr. Rhona S. Weinstein, U.C. Berkeley Department of Psychology
Literature reviews, data entry, and manuscript editing for work on selffulfilling
prophecies in schooling and prevention of school failure. Book
title: Reaching Higher: The Power of Expectations in Schooling, Harvard
University Press, 2002.
1998 Independent Research, Culture, Gender, and Math Achievement
Course in Community Psychology, U.C. Berkeley Department of
Psychology
Explored the relationship among cultural values, gender, grade level, and
math achievement in a sample of seventy students in an ethnically-diverse,
school-aged population.
1997-1998 Research Assistant, Language and Numerical Representation
Institute of Human Development, U.C. Berkeley Department of
Psychology
Conducted experiments with 10- and 11-month infants to explore the
relationship between numerical representation and word comprehension;
designed apparatuses to be used in experiments; conducted parent phone
interviews; reliability coded for looking time in videotapes; entered data.
PUBLICATIONS
*Vricka, P., *Black, J. M., & Reiss, A. L. (2013). The neural basis of humor processing.
Nature Reviews Neuroscience. (*equal contributors). In Press.
Vrticka, P., Black, J.M., Neely, M., Walter-Shelly, E., Reiss, A. (2013). Humor processing
in children: Influence of temperament, age and IQ. Neuropsychologia, 51(13): 2799-
2811.
Jessica M. Black CV- Fall 2013 Page 4 of 12

Vrticka, P., Neely, M., Walter-Shelly, E., Black, J. M., Reiss, A. (2013). Sex-differences
during humor appreciation in child-sibling pairs. Social Neuroscience, 8(4): 291-
304.
Ashkenazi, S., Black, J. M., Abrams, D. A., Hoeft, F., & Menon, V. (2013).
Neurobiological underpinnings of math and reading learning disabilities. Journal of
Learning Disabilities. 46(6): 549-69.
Hosseini, H., Black, J. M., Bugescu, N., Martinez, R., & Hoeft, F. (2013). Topological
properties of large-scale structural brain networks in children with familial risk of
developmental dyslexia. NeuroImage. 71: 260-74.
Black, J. M., & Hoeft, F. (2012). Prediction of children’s reading skills: Understanding the
interplay among environment, brain, and behavior. In Developmental Dyslexia:
Early Precursors, Neurobehavioral Markers and Biological Substrates, A. Benasich,
& R. H. Fitch (Eds.) Baltimore: Brookes Publishing.
Neely, M., Walter, E., Black, J. M. & Reiss, A. L. (2012). Neural correlates of humor
detection and appreciation in children. Journal of Neuroscience, 32(5): 1784-1790.
Black, J. M., Tanaka, H., Stanley, L., Nagamine, M., Zakerani, N., Thurston, A., Kesler, S.,
Hulme, C., Lyytinen, H., Glover, G. H., Serrone, C., Raman, M. M., Reiss, A. L. &
Hoeft, F. (2012). Maternal history of reading difficulty is associated with reduced
language-related gray matter in beginning readers. NeuroImage, 59(3): 3021-3032.
*Tanaka, H., *Black, J. M., Hulme, C., Stanley, L., Kesler, S. R., Whitfield-Gabrieli, S.,
Reiss, A. L., Gabrieli, J. D. E. & Hoeft, F. (2011). The brain basis of the
phonological deficit in dyslexia is independent of IQ. Psychological Science, 22(11):
1442-1451. (*equal contribution)
Hoeft, F., McCandliss, B., Black, J. M., Gantman, A., Zakerani, N., Hulme, C., Lyytinen,
H., Whitfield-Gabrieli, S., Glover, G. H., Reiss, A. L. & Gabrieli, J. D. E. (2011).
Neural systems predicting long-term outcome in dyslexia. Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, USA, 108(1): 361-366.
Hoeft, F., Meyler, A., Hernandez, A., Juel, C., Taylor-Hill, H., Martindale, J. L., McMillon,
G., Kolchugina, G., Black, J. M., Faizi, A., Deutsch, G.K., Siok, W. T., Reiss, A. L.,
Whitfield-Gabrieli, S. & Gabrieli, J. D. E. (2007). Functional and morphometric
brain dissociation between dyslexia and reading ability. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, USA, 104(10): 4234-4239.
MANUSCRIPTS UNDER REVIEW OR IN PREPARATION
Black, J. M., Gimenez, P., Tamburello, N., Casto, B., Nagamine, M., Glover, G., Reiss, A.
L., & Hoeft, F. (in preparation). Grey matter volume in left language regions
predicts reading achievement in young children.
Jessica M. Black CV- Fall 2013 Page 5 of 12

Black, J. M., Stanley, L. M., Tanaka, H., Gabrieli, J. D. E., & Hoeft, F. (in preparation).
Neuroanatomical evidence for the double-deficit hypothesis of developmental
dyslexia.
Black, J. M. (in preparation). Through the lens of language: Exploring intelligence beliefs
among dual-language and English-only students.
Black, J. M., Reiss, A. L., & Hoeft, F. (in preparation). Differential associations with
socioeconomic status and brain activation in adolescents with and without dyslexia.
Black, J. M., & Stipek, D.J. (in preparation). Adolescents’ self-esteem as a function of the
classroom context: Feeling like you belong matters.
Farris, E., Black, J. M., Heitzmann, J., Gabrieli, J. D. E., & Hoeft, F. (in preparation). Brain
basis of reading comprehension in children with and without developmental
dyslexia.
Gimenez, P., Bugescu, N., Black, J. M., Pugh, K., Nagamine, M., Mazaika, P., McCandliss,
B., & Hoeft, F. (in preparation). The writing brain: neuroimaging associations with
graphomotor skills as children learn to read and write.
Townsend, J. D., Black, J. M., Nagamine, M., Hulme, C., Kutner, E., Casto, B., & Hoeft, F.
(in preparation). fMRI of rapid automatized naming in kindergarten children with
familial risk for developing dyslexia and its use in predicting reading outcome.
PEER-REVIEWED ABSTRACTS PRESENTED AT PROFESSIONAL
CONFERENCES
Casto, B., Bugescu, N., Kaminetskaya, M., Black, J. M., Hendren, R., & Hoeft, F.
(February, 2014). Brain mechanisms underlying typical reading despite poor
phonological processing. Poster session to be presented at the annual meeting of the
International Neuropsychological Society, Seattle.
Kutner, E., Black, J. M., & Hoeft, F. (August, 2013). Predicting self-concept in young
children with a behavioral risk of reading disorder. Poster session presented at the
annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Honolulu.
Myers, C., Farris, E., Drahos, M., Black, J. M., & Hoeft, F. (May, 2013). Left temporoparietal
white matter development in beginning readers is predicted by maternal and
not paternal reading history. Poster session presented at the annual convention of the
Association for Psychological Science, Washington, D.C.
Vricka, P., Black, J. M., Neely, M., Walter, E., & Reiss, A. L. (2013, April). Sex
differences during humor appreciation in child sibling-pairs. Poster session presented
at the annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, San Francisco.
Jessica M. Black CV- Fall 2013 Page 6 of 12

Bugescu, N., Gimenez, P., Black, J. M., Tanaka, H., Casto, B., Soriano, T., & Hoeft, F.
(February, 2013). Neurobiological correlates of handwriting skill in readers with and
without developmental dyslexia. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of
the International Neuropsychological Society, Waikoloa, HI.
Tanaka, H., Gimenez, P., Black, J. M., Eide, B., Eide, F. Soriano, T., Tumber, M.,
Martinez, R., Thurston, A., & Hoeft, F. (February, 2013). Neurobiological signatures
of IQ-reading discrepancy in average readers. Poster session presented at the annual
meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, Waikoloa, HI.
Black, J. M. (2012, November). Advancing students' understanding of neurobiological
perspectives in HBSE: Integration and course development. Poster presented at the
Annual Program Meeting for the Council on Social Work Education, Washington,
D.C.
Soriano, T. J., Black, J. M., Serrone, C., Yates, E., Sawyer, C., & Hoeft, F. (October, 2012).
Left temporo-parietal region and the default-mode network in dyslexia. Poster
session presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry, San Francisco.
Black, J. M. (February, 2012). Through the lens of language: Examining achievement
motivation and academic achievement in Latino children enrolled in dual language
schools. Paper presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Themed
Meeting: Positive Development of Minority Children, Tampa.
Black, J. M. (January, 2012). Adolescents’ motivation-related self-perceptions and
achievement in high school math and English classes. Paper presented at the Hawaii
International Conference on Education, Honolulu.
Hoeft, F., Black, J. M., Thurston, A., Bugescu N., Martinez, R., Kesler, S., & Hosseini, H.
(November, 2011). Brain morphometric patterns derived from graph analysis and
support vector machine algorithms predict children at-risk for developing dyslexia.
Paper presented at the Society for Neuroscience Research, Washington D.C.
Black, J. M. (2011, October). Practical techniques for integrating neuroscience and
genetics research into social work education. Electronic poster presented at the
Annual Program Meeting for the Council on Social Work Education, Atlanta.
Black, J. M., & Hoeft, F. (2011, July). Morphometric and functional neuroanatomy of rapid
naming, phonological processing and word identification in children with a wide
range of reading ability: implications for the double-deficit hypothesis of
developmental dyslexia. Poster presented at the 52 nd Annual Short Course on
Mammalian and Experimental Genetics, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor.
Hoeft, F., & Black, J. M. (2011, June). Will brain imaging replace behavioral and cognitive
assessment in predicting academic achievement? Paper presented at The
International Mind, Brain and Education Conference, Los Angeles.
Jessica M. Black CV- Fall 2013 Page 7 of 12

Black, J. M. (2011, February). Brain basis of developmental dyslexia and implications for
educational neuroscience. Invited talk presented at the McLean Hospital Research
Forum, Belmont, MA.
Gelbach, H., Nolen, S., Turner, J., & Black, J. M. (2010, May). A new mix of
methodological perspectives on studying motivation. Discussant: Deborah Stipek.
Symposium presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research
Association, Denver.
Black, J. M. (2009, August). Affect and competency separation within academic selfconcept:
Just age effects? Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the
American Psychological Association, Toronto.
Black, J. M., Digby, N. P., Reiss, A. L., & Hoeft, F. (2009, June). Socioeconomic status
and brain activation are differentially associated for dyslexic versus typicallyreading
adolescents. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the
Scientific Study of Reading, Boston.
Black, J. M., Nagamine, M., Mazaika, P.K., Tanaka, H., Stanley, L. M., Heitzmann, J.,
Zakerani, N., Red, S., Digby, N. P., Saleh, M., Glover, G. H., Reiss, A. L., & Hoeft,
F. (2009, June). Differential brain activation in 5- and 6-year-olds with and without
family history of reading difficulty. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of
the Organization for Human Brain Mapping, San Francisco.
Nagamine, M., Black, J. M., Mazaika, P.K., Tanaka, H., Stanley, L. M., Heitzmann, J.,
Zakerani, N., Red, S., Digby, N. P., Saleh, M., Glover, G. H., Reiss, A. L., & Hoeft,
F. (2009, June). Neural basis of phonological processing in kindergarten children at
risk for dyslexia. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Organization
for Human Brain Mapping, San Francisco.
Hoeft, F., Black, J. M., Hulme, C., Tanaka, H., Reiss, A. L., & Hoeft, F. (2009, June).
Neural correlates of low achievement (LA), aptitude-achievement discrepancy
(AAD) and response to intervention (RTI) models in poor reading children. Paper
presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading,
Boston.
Tanaka, H., Black, J. M., Reiss, A. L., & Hoeft, F. (2009, May). Neural correlates of
phonological processing in children with low achievement, aptitude-achievement
discrepancy and no reading impairment. Poster session presented at the annual
meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, San Francisco.
Black, J. M. (2009, April). Children’s academic task value differentiation: The influence of
grade level, native language and language of instruction. Poster session presented at
the biannual meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Denver.
Black, J. M. (2009, April). Academic self-concepts of children in diverse language
contexts: measurement and dimension. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the
American Educational Research Association, San Diego.
Jessica M. Black CV- Fall 2013 Page 8 of 12

Black, J. M., Nagamine, M., Reiss, A. L., Gabrieli, J. D. E., & Hoeft, F. (2009, March).
Morphometric and functional neuroanatomy of rapid naming, phonological
processing and word identification in children with a wide range of reading ability:
Implications for the double-deficit hypothesis of developmental dyslexia. Poster
session presented at the annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, San
Francisco.
Black, J. M. (2008, August). Task value and perceived competency: Age, gender and
language effects. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American
Psychological Association, Boston.
Black, J. M., Ho, C., Zakerani, N., Heitzmann, J., Reiss, A. L., & Hoeft, F. (2008, August).
Reading and gender: Outcomes of typical and dyslexic adolescent readers. Poster
session presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association,
Boston.
Ho, C., Black, J. M., Heitzmann, J., Zakerani, N., Reiss, A. L., & Hoeft, F. (2008, August).
Predictors of reading gains in adolescents with dyslexia. Poster session presented at
the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Boston.
Black, J. M., Ho, C. S., Heitzmann, J., Zakerani, N., Reiss, A. L., & Hoeft, F. (2008, June).
Differential associations with socioeconomic status and brain activation in dyslexic
versus typical adolescent readers. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of
the Organization for Human Brain Mapping, Melbourne, Australia.
Ho, C. S., Gantman, A., Black, J. M., Heitzmann, J., Zakerani, N., Reiss, A. L., & Hoeft, F.
(2008, June). Neuroanatomical correlates of reading development in adolescents
with dyslexia: A longitudinal study. Poster session presented at the annual meeting
of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping, Melbourne, Australia.
Zakerani, N., McCandliss B., Ho, C., Heitzmann, J., Black, J. M., Ojo, X. R., Reiss, A. L.,
& Hoeft, F. (2008, April). Predicting gains in reading abilities using diffusion tensor
imaging (DTI) in adolescents with dyslexia. Poster session presented at the annual
meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, San Francisco.
Black, J. M. (2008, March). Through the lens of language: Exploring intelligence beliefs
among dual-language and English-only students. Poster session presented at the
annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York.
Black, J. M. (2008, March). Global or differentiated? Examining the factor structure of
intelligence beliefs by academic subject and language. Poster session presented at
the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York.
Black, J. M. (2007, October). Indicators of thriving among students with learning
differences. Paper presentation at the Forum on Thriving, Minneapolis, MN.
Jessica M. Black CV- Fall 2013 Page 9 of 12

Black, J. M., Maeda, F., Taylor, H., Kolchugina, G., Faizi, A., Martindale, J., McMillion,
G., Hernandez, A., Meyler, A., & Gabrieli, J. D. E. (2005, April). Combined
neuroimaging (fMRI, VBM and DTI) and psychophysical evidence of dyslexia in an
adolescent population. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the
Cognitive Neuroscience Society, New York.
Black, J. M. (2005, April). Fit to belong: Self-esteem in context. Poster session presented at
the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal,
Canada.
Black, J. M. (1999, May). Family influence on student math achievement. Paper presented
at the annual UCLA Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference, Los Angeles,
CA.
Black, J. M. (1999, April). A cultural perspective of the relationship between gender and
math achievement. Poster presented at the Western Psychology Conference for
Undergraduate Research, Santa Clara, CA.
Black, J. M. (1998, May). Culture, ethnicity, and math achievement in a school-aged
population. Paper presented at the Research Symposium in Community Psychology:
Addressing Issues of Ethnic-Cultural Diversity, University of California, Berkeley,
CA.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Educational Research Association; American Psychological Association;
Association for Psychological Science; Cognitive Neuroscience Society; Council for Social
Work Education; International Dyslexia Association; International Reading Association;
Organization for Human Brain Mapping; Society for Neuroscience; Society for Research in
Child Development; Society for Scientific Study of Reading; Society for Social Work and
Research
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Ad Hoc Reviewer: Brain Structure and Function; The Open Medical Imaging Journal; The
Journal of Biological Psychiatry; Neuropsychologia; NeuroImage; Human Brain Mapping;
Brain and Language; Journal of Mind, Brain and Education; Developmental Cognitive
Neuroscience; Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
Editorial Board: Frontiers in Educational Psychology (2011-present)
UNIVERSITY SERVICE
Diversity Committee, Graduate School of Social Work, 2012 - 2013
Faculty Search Committee, Graduate School of Social Work, 2011– 2014
Health/Mental Health Concentration, Graduate School of Social Work, 2010 – present
Children, Youth & Families Concentration, Graduate School of Social Work, 2010 -
present
Jessica M. Black CV- Fall 2013 Page 10 of 12

GRANTS
Ongoing Research Support
Teaching and Mentoring Award (TAM), Boston College
Black (PI)
06/01/2012-5/31/2014
Integrating Neurobiological Perspectives on Development into Social Work Teaching and
Mentoring
The central aim of the project is to expand in innovative ways opportunities for students and
faculty to learn more about biological components of development. This project involves a
three-tiered approach to this integration including the development of: (1) two new elective
courses, (2) one Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) student club focused on
biological underpinnings of human development and experience/relationships, and (3)
review of selected GSSW foundation course syllabi to integrate neurobiological readings so
that a wider body of students may still benefit from knowledge of cutting-edge biological
research.
Faculty Research Incentive Grant (RIG), Boston College
Black (PI)
06/01/2012-5/31/2014
Prediction of Reading Achievement in Young Children
The purpose of the project is to identify regions of interest (ROIs) from Time 1 functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data and then to use those ROIs together with a
standard cognitive-behavioral battery to build models to predict reading outcome.
Completed Research Support
Faculty Research Expense Grant (REG), Boston College
Black (PI)
06/01/2011-5/31/2012
Genetics Methodology Short Course
The support was to attend an intensive two-week genetics workshop, the 52 nd Annual Short
Course on Medical and Mammalian Genetics, at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor,
Maine to allow Dr. Black to gain knowledge in cutting-edge genetics methodology.
Children’s Health Research Program Pediatric Research Fund
Reiss (PI)
01/01/201-12/31/2011
Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Stanford University
Neural Correlates of Humor During Childhood
The goal of this study was to advance our understanding of resilience during childhood by
investigating brain networks underlying humor appreciation in children, and the individual
differences that contribute to variation in activity of these networks.
Role: Co-Investigator
Jessica M. Black CV- Fall 2013 Page 11 of 12

NIH Research Training Grant (T32)
Reiss (PI)
06/2008 – 06/2010
Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Stanford University
Training in multi-modal neuroimaging, data acquisition and analyses, study design,
primarily related to cognitive functions in children.
Role: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Supervisor: Dr. Allan L. Reiss
Spencer Research Training Grant, Stanford University
Black (PI)
02/2007 - 02/2008
Academic Self-Concept, Subjective Task Value, and Beliefs about Intelligence in Dual-
Language and English-Only Elementary School Students
The goal of this study was to examine the achievement motivation-related self-perceptions
of students enrolled either in dual language or in English-only instructional programs to
determine the extent to which current theories hold for a linguistically diverse population.
Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Deborah Stipek
Jessica M. Black CV- Fall 2013 Page 12 of 12