Jesse B. Mez, MD

Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Jesse Mez, MD, MS, is an Associate Professor of Neurology at Boston University (BU) Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. A neurologist with clinical training in aging and dementia and research training in biostatistics/statistical genetics and epidemiology, he is the Associate Director of the BU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC), Co-Director of Clinical Research of the BU Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center and co-leads the Framingham Heart Study Brain Aging Program Clinical Core. He is also an AD Genetic Consortium and AD Sequencing Project Investigator. His research seeks to understand the genetic, neuropathological, epidemiological, and clinical aspects of AD, CTE, and related dementias. He is an internationally recognized expert on CTE, having been a lead or co-author on several of the most highly cited manuscripts and an invited lecturer in national and international venues on the topic. Ongoing research themes include 1) the relationship between traumatic brain injury, exposure to repetitive head impacts from contact sports and military service, and dementia-related outcomes and their interaction with genetic factors, 2) clinicopathologic correlation in CTE with the goal to accurately diagnose CTE in life, 3) genetic architecture, neuropathology and clinical course of AD subtypes, as defined by variation in neuropsychological presentation and 4) interaction between genetic and environmental factors and risk for and resilience from AD. He is a Principal Investigator or Core/Project Leader, on six NIH and DOD-funded grants and is an author of more than 150 research articles, reviews, editorials, and book chapters. He also cares for patients with AD and related dementias, including those at risk for CTE in the BU/Boston Medical Center Memory and Aging Clinic.

He received his AB from Cornell University in Mathematics, his MD from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and his MS in Biostatistics with an emphasis on Statistical Genetics from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. He completed his Neurology Residency at the Harvard Mass General Brigham Program in Boston. This was followed by a Clinical Fellowship in Aging and Dementia and a Research Fellowship in Neuroepidemiology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Publications

  • Published 2/25/2026

    Emanuel OM, Miner AE, Lee SY, Matusz EF, Tanner JJ, Marsiske M, Holgerson A, Ly MT, Tuz-Zahra F, Tripodis Y, Adler CH, Balcer LJ, Bernick C, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Ashton NJ, Peskind ER, Banks SJ, Barr WB, Wethe JV, Cantu RC, Coleman MJ, Dodick DW, McClean MD, Mez J, Palmisano J, Martin B, Lin AP, Pasternak O, Koerte IK, Cummings JL, Reiman EM, Shenton ME, Stern RA, Bouix S, Alosco ML, Asken BM. Inflammation, Limbic White Matter Microstructure, and Clinical Symptoms in Retired American Football Players With Repetitive Head Impacts. Neurology. 2026 Mar 24; 106(6):e214646. PMID: 41740080.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/12/2026

    Li R, Berlowitz D, Mez J, Silver B, Wang X, Hu W, Goodwin R, Keating H, Liu W, Lin H, Yu H. Early prediction of Alzheimer's disease using longitudinal electronic health records of US military veterans. Commun Med (Lond). 2026 Jan 12; 6(1):23. PMID: 41526725.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/2/2026

    Burton R, Durape S, Price E, Chien-Young K, Joshi P, Yhang E, Liu Y, Devine S, Gurnani AS, Ang TFA, Katz DI, Alosco ML, Tripodis Y, Au R, Dams-O'Connor K, Mez J. Traumatic Brain Injury and All-Cause and Dementia-Related Mortality in the Framingham Heart Study. JAMA Netw Open. 2026 Jan 02; 9(1):e2555138. PMID: 41615690.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/1/2026

    Durant A, Mukherjee S, Lee ML, Choi SE, Scollard P, Klinedinst BS, Trittschuh EH, Mez J, Farrer LA, Gifford KA, Cruchaga C, Hassenstab J, Naj AC, Wang LS, Johnson SC, Engelman CD, Kukull WA, Keene CD, Saykin AJ, Cuccaro ML, Kunkle BW, Pericak-Vance MA, Martin ER, Bennett DA, Barnes LL, Schneider JA, Bush WS, Haines JL, Mayeux R, Vardarajan BN, Albert MS, Thompson PM, Jefferson AL, Crane PK, Dumitrescu L, Archer DB, Hohman TJ, Gaynor LS. Evaluating the association of apolipoprotein E genotype and cognitive resilience in SuperAgers. Alzheimers Dement. 2026 Jan; 22(1):e71024. PMID: 41542929.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/1/2025

    Stein T, Breen K, Aytan N, Hawkins S, Nicks R, Alvarez V, Mez J, Blusztajn J, Cherry J, McKee A, Lin H. Duration of contact sports play associated with aberrant DNA methylation in human frontal cortex. Res Sq. 2025 Dec 01. PMID: 41377989.

    Read at: PubMed

Other Positions

  • Investigator
    Framingham Heart Study
  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
    Boston University

Education

  • University of Maryland School of Medicine, MD
  • Columbia University School of Public Health, MS
  • Cornell University, BS