Christopher B. Brady, PhD

Assistant Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Kit Brady is a a licensed neuropsychologist and Co-Principal Investigator/Director of Scientific Operations of the VA-funded VA Biorepository Brain Bank (VABBB), and Co-Investigator/Director of Scientific Operations for the Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Biorepository and National PTSD Brain Bank. He is also Assistant Professor in the Departments of Neurology and the Program in Behavioral Neuroscience at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. He has been conducting research on the effects of aging and neurodegenerative diseases on cognition for over twenty years. Specifically, his research examines whether declining health and neurodegenerative diseases have specific deleterious effects on higher-order cognitive functions that have been suggested to be mediated by the frontal lobes of the brain (e.g., executive cognitive functions), compared with cognitive functions largely mediated by other brain regions (e.g., memory, visuospatial functions).

Dr. Brady's recent work has focused on the effects of ALS on cognition and behavior, and the relation of these cognitive and behavioral changes on caregivers of persons with ALS. His work with the Boston VA ALS clinic staff has provided insight into the need to better delineate cognitive/behavioral subtypes in ALS and whether different patterns of deficits are related to higher levels of caregiver burden. This work has also highlighted the importance of effective interventions to reduce strain/burden in the caregivers of persons with ALS. Furthermore, to conduct this research he has developed in-person, mail- and telephone-based cognitive and psychological assessments for use with persons with ALS, Gulf-War Illness, PTSD, kidney disease, and aging control participants in various settings in cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. Conducting this research requires the use of both cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs, and the integration of multiple collaborating disciplines, including cognitive neuroscience, linguistics, behavioral neurology, neuroimaging, geriatrics, and statistics.

His current clinical training responsibilities involve clinical supervision in neuropsychological assessment with predoctoral interns and postdoctoral fellows in the APA-approved Boston Consortium in Clinical Psychology Internship Training Program. Dr. Brady's other clinical work involves conducting cognitive assessments at the Boston ALS clinic.

Publications

  • Published 7/18/2024

    Pless Kaiser A, Brady CB, Spiro A. Do appraisals of military service indicate current distress in aging Vietnam War combat veterans? Psychol Trauma. 2025 Feb; 17(2):438-445. PMID: 39023945.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 6/4/2022

    Colvin LE, Foster ZW, Stein TD, Thakore-James M, Salajegheh MK, Carr K, Spencer KR, Abdul Rauf N, Adams L, Averill JG, Walker SE, Robey I, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, McKee AC, Kowall NW, Brady CB. Utility of the ALSFRS-R for predicting ALS and comorbid disease neuropathology: The Veterans Affairs Biorepository Brain Bank. Muscle Nerve. 2022 Aug; 66(2):167-174. PMID: 35585776.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/19/2022

    Alvia M, Aytan N, Spencer KR, Foster ZW, Rauf NA, Guilderson L, Robey I, Averill JG, Walker SE, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, Mathais R, Cormier KA, Nicks R, Pothast M, Labadorf A, Agus F, Alosco ML, Mez J, Kowall NW, McKee AC, Brady CB, Stein TD. MicroRNA Alterations in Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Front Neurosci. 2022; 16:855096. PMID: 35663558.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 10/14/2021

    Brady CB, Robey I, Stein TD, Huber BR, Riley J, Abdul Rauf N, Spencer KR, Walt G, Adams L, Averill JG, Walker S, McKee AC, Thomson SP, Kowall NW. The Department of Veterans Affairs Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses Biorepository: Supporting Research on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses. Brain Sci. 2021 Oct 14; 11(10). PMID: 34679413.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 10/1/2021

    Johnson JO, Chia R, Miller DE, Li R, Kumaran R, Abramzon Y, Alahmady N, Renton AE, Topp SD, Gibbs JR, Cookson MR, Sabir MS, Dalgard CL, Troakes C, Jones AR, Shatunov A, Iacoangeli A, Al Khleifat A, Ticozzi N, Silani V, Gellera C, Blair IP, Dobson-Stone C, Kwok JB, Bonkowski ES, Palvadeau R, Tienari PJ, Morrison KE, Shaw PJ, Al-Chalabi A, Brown RH, Calvo A, Mora G, Al-Saif H, Gotkine M, Leigh F, Chang IJ, Perlman SJ, Glass I, Scott AI, Shaw CE, Basak AN, Landers JE, Chiò A, Crawford TO, Smith BN, Traynor BJ, Smith BN, Ticozzi N, Fallini C, Gkazi AS, Topp SD, Scotter EL, Kenna KP, Keagle P, Tiloca C, Vance C, Troakes C, Colombrita C, King A, Pensato V, Castellotti B, Baas F, Ten Asbroek ALMA, McKenna-Yasek D, McLaughlin RL, Polak M, Asress S, Esteban-Pérez J, Stevic Z, D'Alfonso S, Mazzini L, Comi GP, Del Bo R, Ceroni M, Gagliardi S, Querin G, Bertolin C, van Rheenen W, Rademakers R, van Blitterswijk M, Lauria G, Duga S, Corti S, Cereda C, Corrado L, Sorarù G, Williams KL, Nicholson GA, Blair IP, Leblond-Manry C, Rouleau GA, Hardiman O, Morrison KE, Veldink JH, van den Berg LH, Al-Chalabi A, Pall H, Shaw PJ, Turner MR, Talbot K, Taroni F, García-Redondo A, Wu Z, Glass JD, Gellera C, Ratti A, Brown RH, Silani V, Shaw CE, Landers JE, Dalgard CL, Adeleye A, Soltis AR, Alba C, Viollet C, Bacikova D, Hupalo DN, Sukumar G, Pollard HB, Wilkerson MD, Martinez EM, Abramzon Y, Ahmed S, Arepalli S, Baloh RH, Bowser R, Brady CB, Brice A, Broach J, Campbell RH, Camu W, Chia R, Cooper-Knock J, Ding J, Drepper C, Drory VE, Dunckley TL, Eicher JD, England BK, Faghri F, Feldman E, Floeter MK, Fratta P, Geiger JT, Gerhard G, Gibbs JR, Gibson SB, Glass JD, Hardy J, Harms MB, Heiman-Patterson TD, Hernandez DG, Jansson L, Kirby J, Kowall NW, Laaksovirta H, Landeck N, Landi F, Le Ber I, Lumbroso S, MacGowan DJL, Maragakis NJ, Mora G, Mouzat K, Murphy NA, Myllykangas L, Nalls MA, Orrell RW, Ostrow LW, Pamphlett R, Pickering-Brown S, Pioro EP, Pletnikova O, Pliner HA, Pulst SM, Ravits JM, Renton AE, Rivera A, Robberecht W, Rogaeva E, Rollinson S, Rothstein JD, Scholz SW, Sendtner M, Shaw PJ, Sidle KC, Simmons Z, Singleton AB, Smith N, Stone DJ, Tienari PJ, Troncoso JC, Valori M, Van Damme P, Van Deerlin VM, Van Den Bosch L, Zinman L, Landers JE, Chiò A, Traynor BJ, Angelocola SM, Ausiello FP, Barberis M, Bartolomei I, Battistini S, Bersano E, Bisogni G, Borghero G, Brunetti M, Cabona C, Calvo A, Canale F, Canosa A, Cantisani TA, Capasso M, Caponnetto C, Cardinali P, Carrera P, Casale F, Chiò A, Colletti T, Conforti FL, Conte A, Conti E, Corbo M, Cuccu S, Dalla Bella E, D'Errico E, DeMarco G, Dubbioso R, Ferrarese C, Ferraro PM, Filippi M, Fini N, Floris G, Fuda G, Gallone S, Gianferrari G, Giannini F, Grassano M, Greco L, Iazzolino B, Introna A, La Bella V, Lattante S, Lauria G, Liguori R, Logroscino G, Logullo FO, Lunetta C, Mandich P, Mandrioli J, Manera U, Manganelli F, Marangi G, Marinou K, Marrosu MG, Martinelli I, Messina S, Moglia C, Mora G, Mosca L, Murru MR, Origone P, Passaniti C, Petrelli C, Petrucci A, Pozzi S, Pugliatti M, Quattrini A, Ricci C, Riolo G, Riva N, Russo M, Sabatelli M, Salamone P, Salivetto M, Salvi F, Santarelli M, Sbaiz L, Sideri R, Simone I, Simonini C, Spataro R, Tanel R, Tedeschi G, Ticca A, Torriello A, Tranquilli S, Tremolizzo L, Trojsi F, Vasta R, Vacchiano V, Vita G, Volanti P, Zollino M, Zucchi E. Association of Variants in the SPTLC1 Gene With Juvenile Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. JAMA Neurol. 2021 10 01; 78(10):1236-1248. PMID: 34459874.

    Read at: PubMed

Other Positions

  • Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students)
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences

Education

  • Washington University in St. Louis, PhD
  • University of Pittsburgh, MA
  • University of Pittsburgh, BA