Jesus Hernández Ortiz

Graduate Research Assistant

The intersection of machine learning, health disparities, severe mental illness, and patient-clinician interactions in historically underserved communities.

I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic, where I was exposed to poverty, inequity, and lack of access to adequate mental health care. This early exposure to health disparities motivated me to pursue a career in mental health. As an adolescent, I moved to New York, where I majored in psychology. After graduating, I moved to Boston, working in various settings, including research labs, hospitals, clinics, and community organizations.

My experiences in the Dominican Republic, New York, and Boston have shaped my understanding of mental health and the challenges individuals and communities face. At Mason, I am working under the mentorship of Dr. Natasha Tonge. I am committed to engaging my skills, knowledge, and the George Mason community to improve the lives of others and conduct culturally sensitive clinical psychological science.

Current Research

My primary research projects focus on using AI/ML to address health disparities in minoritized communities with severe mental illness.

Selected Publications

1. Kelly, A. G., Hernández Ortiz, J.M., Fenton, K., Brosof, L., & Tonge, N. (under review). Longitudinal examination of social anxiety safety behaviors in college students. American Journal of College Health.

2. Tonge, N. A., Michaels, P.-E. L., Hernández Ortiz, J. M., Kalejaiye, O., Fawole, O., Adhikari, B., Adeyemi, M., Smith, D., Doku, R., Burge, L., & Andy, A. (under review). Disclosure of anxiety concerns on social media: Do concerns vary by age and forum? JMIR Mental Health.

3. Lee, C. H. J., Hernández Ortiz, J.M., Glenn, C. R., Kleiman, E. M., & Liu, R. T. (2024). An evaluation of emotion recognition, emotion reactivity, and emotion dysregulation as prospective predictors of 12-month trajectories of non-suicidal self-injury in an adolescent psychiatric inpatient sample. Journal of Affective Disorders.

Expanded Publication List

1. Feeney, A., Hock, R. S., Fava, M., Hernández Ortiz, J.M., Iovieno, N., & Papakostas, G. I. (under review). Generalized anxiety disorder psychopharmacological treatment and the influence of placebo response. Journal of Affective Disorders.

2. Guidetti, C., Chaikali, S. E., Trivedi, M. H., Shelton, R. C., Iosifescu, D. V., Thase, M. E., Hernández Ortiz, J.M. ... & Papakostas, G. I. (2025). Effect of Augmentation with Aripiprazole or Augmentation with Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation versus Switching to the Antidepressant Venlafaxine Extended Release/Duloxetine on Cognition: a Comparative Effectiveness Research Trial for Antidepressant Incomplete and Non-responders with Treatment-Resistant Depression (ASCERTAIN-TRD). Journal of Affective Disorders, 119836.

3. Guidetti, C., Chaikali, S. E., Trivedi, M. H., Shelton, R. C., Iosifescu, D. V., Thase, M. E., Hernández Ortiz, J.M. ... & Papakostas, G. I. (2025). Comparative effectiveness research trial for antidepressant incomplete and non-responders with treatment-resistant depression (ASCERTAIN-TRD): Effect of aripiprazole or repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation augmentation versus switching to the antidepressant venlafaxine on quality of life. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

4. Guidetti, C., Feeney, A., Hock, R. S., Iovieno, N., Hernández Ortiz, J. M., Fava, M., & Papakostas, G. I. (2024). Antidepressants in the acute treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 10-1097.

5. Feeney, A., Hock, R. S., Fava, M., Hernández Ortiz, J.M., Iovieno, N., & Papakostas, G. I. (2022). Antidepressants in children and adolescents with major depressive disorder and the influence of placebo response: a meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 305, 55-64.

Grants and Fellowships

NIH's AIM-AHEAD Research Fellows Program in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

NSF's Center for Adaptive Brain and Body Interactions Fellowship

ABCT Mary Jane Eimer Student Convention Scholarship Award

Courses Taught

PSYC 300: Statistics in Psychology
PSYC 100: Basic Concepts in Psychology

Education

MA, George Mason University

ALM, Harvard University

BA, Binghamton University

AA, SUNY Suffolk

Recent Presentations

Hernández Ortiz, J. (2024, November 16-19). Detecting Major Depression Disparities in Black-Identifying Individuals with Comorbid Psychosis and Substance Use Disorder: A Machine Learning Approach. [Poster presentation]. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, PA, United States.

Hernández Ortiz, J. (2022, November 17-20). Associations between Gender Minority Status and Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts across Racial and Ethnic Identities in a Population-Based Sample of Youth. [Poster presentation]. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, NYC, NY, United States.

In the Media

Check out the Trust and Interpersonal Disclosure Lab (TIDL) website!