Judy Mahmalji, M.A.
Pronouns: she, her, hers
Doctoral Student
Clinical Psychology (JDP)
SDSU / UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology
SDSU / UC San Diego
Bio
My research interest is understanding the behavioral and neural mechanisms that underlie early childhood development. More specifically, I am interested in using multimodal neuroimaging and neurobehavioral methods to examine the neural and behavioral links between sensory processing, social-cognitive outcomes, and developmental trajectories in children with and without neurodevelopmental disorders.
Education
M.A., San Diego State University, San Diego.
Major: Psychology
B.S., University of California San Diego, La Jolla.
Major: Clinical Psychology, Track: Neuropsychology
Areas of Specialization
Early Childhood Development, Autism, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Brain Imaging
Mentors
Awards & Honors
- University Graduate Fellowship, SDSU. (May 2026)
- Grace Hoover Sciences Scholarship, SDSU. (May 2026)
Presentations
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- Mahmalji, J., Boxberger, A., Herrera, M., Campos, G., Mueller, A., Fishman, I., Linke A. (2026, September) Reduced responses to complex sounds in primary auditory cortex are associated with lower language skills in toddlers and preschoolers with autism [Poster Presentation]. The Society for Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience FLUX Congress, San Diego, CA, United States.
- Mahmalji, J., Rios, A., Herrera, M., Olson, L., Chen, B., Linke, A., Fishman, I. (2025, September) Early brain connectivity patterns and language skills in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder [Oral & Poster Presentation]. The Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (SDBP), San Diego, CA, United States.
- Mahmalji, J., Rios, A., Olson, L., Chen, B., Herrera, M., Linke, A., Fishman, I. (2024, September) Early brain connectivity patterns and language skills in typically developing preschoolers [Poster Presentation]. The Society for Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience FLUX Congress, Baltimore, MD, United States.
- Mahmalji, J., Rios, A., Salmina, M., Chen, B., Olson, L., Linke, A., Fishman, I. (2023, September) Early brain connectivity patterns predict language skills in preschoolers with ASD [Poster Presentation]. The Society for Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience FLUX Congress, Santa Rosa, CA, United States.
Publications
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- Boxberger, A., Chen, B., Olson, L., Cordova, M., Mahmalji, J., Rios, A., Linke A.C., Fishman, I. (in press). Functional connectivity patterns differ as a function of co-occurring attentional problems in preschoolers with autism. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders.
- Linke, A.C., Chen, B., Olson, L., Cordova, M., Wilkinson, M., Wang, T., Herrera, M., Salmina, M., Rios, A., Mahmalji, J., Do, T., Vu, J., Budman, M., Walker, A., & Fishman, I. (in press). Altered development of the Hurst Exponent in medial prefrontal cortex in preschoolers with autism. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging.