Thor D. Stein, MD, PhD

Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Background:
Dr. Stein is Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Leader of the Neuropathology Core at the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. He is also staff neuropathologist at VA Boston and VA Bedford Healthcare Systems. He completed his MD/PhD training at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison and his residency and fellowship training in neuropathology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

Research Interests:
His research focuses on neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). He investigates the molecular and pathological underpinnings of these conditions, particularly how trauma contributes to their onset and progression. He has published extensively on the development and modeling of age- and trauma-related neuropathologies. Some of these studies include the most comprehensive analysis to date on beta-amyloid deposition, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, Lewy body disease, and TDP-43 pathology following repetitive mild traumatic brain injury. He works on the epigenetic and gene network mechanisms involved in the development of neuropathology. Dr. Stein is the Principal Investigator on numerous grants, including VA Merit Awards on the role of traumatic brain injury in the development of AD, ALS, and CTE as well as multiple NIH R01s focused on determining the link between epigenetic modifications, lipidomic profiles, and pathological changes in the brain as they relate to cognitive decline.

Dr. Stein leads the Neuropathology Core at the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research and CTE Center, where he oversees neuropathological analyses and diagnoses. He manages the processing, preservation, and storage of brain tissue for research studies worldwide. He is also a neuropathologist for numerous other brain banks, including Framingham Heart Study, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) National ALS Biorepository, as well as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ALS, Gulf War Veterans Illnesses, and PTSD biorepositories.

Publications

  • Published 4/9/2025

    Han X, Zhang Y, Petrosky JN, Bald S, Sherva RM, Labadorf A, Cherry JD, Chung J, Farrell K, Abdolmohammadi B, Durape S, Martin BM, Palmisano JN, Farrell JJ, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, Dwyer B, Daneshvar DH, Dams-O'Connor K, Jun GR, Lunetta KL, Goldstein LE, Katz DI, Cantu RC, Shenton ME, Cummings JL, Reiman EM, Stern RA, Alosco ML, Tripodis Y, Farrer LA, Stein TD, Crary JF, McKee AC, Mez J. A structural haplotype in the 17q21.31 MAPT region is associated with increased risk for chronic traumatic encephalopathy endophenotypes. Cell Rep Med. 2025 Apr 09; 102084. PMID: 40239644.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/28/2025

    Labonte J, Sugarman MA, Pettway E, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Ashton NJ, Karikari TK, Aparicio HJ, Frank B, Tripodis Y, Martin B, Palmisano JN, Steinberg EG, Simkin I, Farrer LA, Jun GR, Turk KW, Budson AE, O'Connor MK, Au R, Goldstein LE, Stern RA, Stein TD, McKee AC, Qiu WQ, Mez J, Banks SJ, Alosco ML. Sex differences on tau, astrocytic, and neurodegenerative plasma biomarkers. J Alzheimers Dis. 2025 Mar 28; 13872877251329468. PMID: 40151917.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/6/2025

    Emrani S, Koutures A, Tripodis Y, Uretsky M, Abdolmohammadi B, Nowinski C, Daneshvar DH, Dwyer B, Katz DI, Goldstein LE, Cantu RC, Martin BM, Palmisano JN, Dams-O'Connor K, Crary JF, Stern RA, Mez J, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, McKee AC, Stein TD, Alosco ML. Characterizing white matter and vascular pathologies in brain donors exposed to repetitive head impacts. Acta Neuropathol. 2025 Mar 06; 149(1):24. PMID: 40047953.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/5/2025

    Cantu RC, Sills AK, Alosco ML, Arbogast KB, Bazarian JJ, Bieniek KF, Crandall JR, Iverson GL, Katz DI, Keene CD, Leddy JJ, Mack CD, McKee AC, Meehan WP, Mez J, Nowinski CJ, Okonkwo DO, Solomon GS, Stein TD, Tartaglia MC, Zafonte RD, Daneshvar DH. Prevention of concussion and long-term effects of repetitive traumatic brain injury: Unanimous consensus from the Cantu Concussion Summit. PM R. 2025 May; 17(5):563-566. PMID: 40040623.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/1/2025

    Miner AE, Groh JR, Farris C, Hattiangadi S, Cui A, Brickman AM, Alshikho M, Rabinovici GD, Rosen HJ, Cobigo Y, Asken B, Nowinski CJ, Bureau S, Shahrokhi F, Tripodis Y, Ly M, Altaras C, Lenio S, Stern RA, Rosen G, Kelley H, Huber BR, Stein TD, Mez J, McKee AC, Alosco ML. Does white matter and vascular injury from repetitive head impacts lead to a novel pattern on T2 FLAIR MRI? A hypothesis proposal and call for research. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Mar; 21(3):e70085. PMID: 40145364.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 190 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

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

Websites

Education

  • University of Wisconsin Madison, MD
  • University of Wisconsin Madison, PhD
  • University of Wisconsin Madison, BS

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