Janitza Montalvo-Ortiz, PhD
Assistant Professor of PsychiatryCards
About
Titles
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Biography
My research interests include the study of the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms associated with psychiatry disorders. I investigate how trauma-related events increase the vulnerability to develop mental disorders later in life.
Last Updated on June 12, 2025.
Appointments
Psychiatry
Assistant ProfessorPrimaryBiomedical Informatics & Data Science
Associate Professor on TermSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- PhD
- Northwestern University, Neuroscience (2014)
- BA
- University of Puerto Rico, Biology (2009)
Research
Publications
2026
A systematic review of substance use disorder methylome-wide association studies in postmortem human brain
White J, Zillich L, Zillich E, Sosnowski D, Foo J, Walss-Bass C, Lohoff F, Stratford J, Edenberg H, Montalvo-Ortiz J, Maher B, Clark S. A systematic review of substance use disorder methylome-wide association studies in postmortem human brain. Translational Psychiatry 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-026-04375-x.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsExtending genome-wide association studies to admixed cohorts with high degrees of relatedness
Tan T, Vergara-Lope A, Martínez-Magaña J, Shah N, Lin Y, Yuan K, Berumen J, Alegre-Díaz J, Kuri-Morales P, Tapia-Conyer R, Gelenter J, Montalvo-Ortiz J, Zhou W, Torres J, Atkinson E. Extending genome-wide association studies to admixed cohorts with high degrees of relatedness. Nature Genetics 2026, 58: 1822-1830. PMID: 42477114, PMCID: PMC13411139, DOI: 10.1038/s41588-026-02689-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchDecoding the role of transcriptomic clocks in the human prefrontal cortex
Martínez-Magaña J, Vlot A, Sullivan K, Jacobson D, Krystal J, Girgenti M, Núnez-Ríos D, Andrade-Brito D, Merlet J, Townsend A, Wells A, Alvarez C, Lane M, Holtzheimer P, Group T, Walss-Bass C, Montalvo-Ortiz J. Decoding the role of transcriptomic clocks in the human prefrontal cortex. IScience 2026, 29: 116439. PMID: 42491807, PMCID: PMC13378135, DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.116439.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchA large-scale meta-analysis of DNA methylation signatures of alcohol use disorder in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium
Zillich L, D’Augello S, Avetyan D, Delgado G, Gizer I, Jung J, Katrinli S, Kleber M, Merrill N, Moissl-Blanke A, Núñez-Rios D, Otto J, Zillich E, Friedel E, Hancock D, Johnson E, Martínez-Magaña J, Sosnowski D, White J, Aberg K, Copeland W, Diazgranados N, Fani N, Gelernter J, Goldman D, Foo J, Kranzler H, Levey D, März W, Penninx B, Polimanti R, Powers A, Smith A, Spanagel R, van den Oord E, Wilhelmsen K, Witt S, Domschke K, Schiele M, Maher B, Montalvo Ortiz J, Clark S, Lohoff F. A large-scale meta-analysis of DNA methylation signatures of alcohol use disorder in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. Nature Mental Health 2026, 4: 1088-1098. DOI: 10.1038/s44220-026-00666-w.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchIdentifying novel gene dysregulation associated with opioid overdose death: a meta-analysis of differential gene expression in human prefrontal cortex
Carter J, Quach B, Willis C, Minto M, Hancock D, Montalvo-Ortiz J, Corradin O, Logan R, Walss-Bass C, Maher B, Johnson E. Identifying novel gene dysregulation associated with opioid overdose death: a meta-analysis of differential gene expression in human prefrontal cortex. Translational Psychiatry 2026, 16: 335. PMID: 42103735, PMCID: PMC13338397, DOI: 10.1038/s41398-026-03977-9.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAdvancing substance use disorder biology by studying underlying gene x environment interactions
Sidamon-Eristoff A, Rivera-Hernandez M, Huckins L, Montalvo-Ortiz J, Brennand K. Advancing substance use disorder biology by studying underlying gene x environment interactions. Current Opinion In Genetics & Development 2026, 97: 102443. PMID: 41702263, PMCID: PMC12919645, DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2026.102443.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsBuilding epigenetic risk scores of opioid use disorder: Insights from human postmortem brain data
Heredia-Negrón F, Nagamatsu S, Carrasquillo-Carrion K, Hurd Y, Rompala G, Melín K, Garcia-Vassallo G, Roche-Lima A, Montalvo-Ortiz J. Building epigenetic risk scores of opioid use disorder: Insights from human postmortem brain data. Translational Psychiatry 2026, 16: 62. PMID: 41513637, PMCID: PMC12873295, DOI: 10.1038/s41398-025-03792-8.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2025
Pandemic Perceptions and Healthcare Decisions: Exploring Perceived COVID-19 Threat’s Impact on Perinatal Healthcare in Florida
Ulfat F, Thayagabalu S, Iglesias A, Xu K, Reeder C, Smith E, Cardel M, Loop M, Rodriguez P, Montalvo-Ortiz J, Hall J, Silva L, Rodriguez M, Wen T, Smulian J, Louis-Jacques A, Francois M, Shenkman E, Lemas D. Pandemic Perceptions and Healthcare Decisions: Exploring Perceived COVID-19 Threat’s Impact on Perinatal Healthcare in Florida. Journal Of Prenatal And Perinatal Psychology And Health 2025, 38: 58-74. PMID: 39867431, PMCID: PMC11759499, DOI: 10.62858/apph241203.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchComputational whole-body-exposome models for global precision brain health
Ibáñez A, Duran-Aniotz C, Migeot J, Báez S, Fittipaldi S, Coronel-Oliveros C, Eyre H, Udeh-Momoh C, Zetterberg H, Alladi S, Sandi C, Robertson I, Franzen S, Farombi T, Montalvo Ortiz J, Seshadri S, Court F, Valdes-Sosa P, Xu J, Yu C, Grinberg L, Lawlor B, Sachdev P, Yaffe K, Hachinski V, Friston K, Tagliazucchi E, Santamaría-García H. Computational whole-body-exposome models for global precision brain health. Nature Communications 2025, 16: 11078. PMID: 41372244, PMCID: PMC12698732, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-67448-3.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsMapping DNA Methylation Signatures to Identify Epigenetic Variation Across Subcortical Regions of the Human Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Brain
Li H, Liu Y, Shi Y, Wang J, Nguyen T, Xie Y, Zheng W, Cheng Y, Cruz D, Modliszewski J, Terwilliger R, Sliby A, Martínez-Magaña J, Montalvo-Ortiz J, Roache J, Averill L, Young-McCaughan S, Shiroma P, Huber B, Lewis D, Glausier J, Holtzheimer P, Friedman M, Zhang J, Peterson A, Abdallah C, Valizadeh A, Zhang X, Xu K, Krystal J, Duman R, Zhao H, Corcoran D, Williamson D, Girgenti M. Mapping DNA Methylation Signatures to Identify Epigenetic Variation Across Subcortical Regions of the Human Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Brain. Biological Psychiatry 2025, 100: 76-87. PMID: 41192574, PMCID: PMC12862789, DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.10.032.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
News
News
- September 18, 2026
Montalvo-Ortiz Awarded Grant by Yale-USP Strategic Partnership Initiative
- August 27, 2026
Rivera-Hernández Awarded Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral National Research Service Award by NIDA
- April 22, 2025
Groundbreaking Study Highlights Critical Gap in Global Mental Health Research
- September 18, 2024
Montalvo-Ortiz Featured on Atlas of Inspiring Hispanic/Latinx Scientists