Neil W. Kowall, MD

Emeritus Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Neil W. Kowall was born in Calgary, Canada and graduated with his MD from the University of British Columbia. He moved to Boston for postgraduate training in Internal Medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital followed by a Neurology residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. After finishing his clinical training, he completed a postdoctoral research fellowship and was appointed Assistant Professor of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He moved to the VA and Boston University in 1992 where he is currently Professor of Neurology and Pathology, Chief of Neurology at VA Boston Healthcare System, Director of the VA New England Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center and Director of the NIH-funded Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Center. He has published over 199 original reports. His major research interests are human neuroanatomy and neuropathology and the use of animal models to test novel therapies for neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Kowall’s research interests include the following: human neuroanatomy, immunocytochemistry and enzyme histochemistry of the brain, neuropathological basis of neurological disorders, animal models of neurological diseases, geriatric neurology, and cognitive decline in the elderly.

Publications

  • Published 1/31/2025

    Wang L, Hu W, Dong F, Sheng C, Wu J, Han Y, Jiang J, Weiner MW, Aisen P, Petersen R, Jack CR, Jagust W, Trojanowski JQ, Toga AW, Beckett L, Green RC, Saykin AJ, Morris J, Shaw LM, Khachaturian Z, Sorensen G, Kuller L, Raichle M, Paul S, Davies P, Fillit H, Hefti F, Holtzman D, Mesulam MM, Potter W, Snyder P, Schwartz A, Montine T, Thomas RG, Donohue M, Walter S, Gessert D, Sather T, Jiminez G, Harvey D, Bernstein M, Thompson P, Schuff N, Borowski B, Gunter J, Senjem M, Vemuri P, Jones D, Kantarci K, Ward C, Koeppe RA, Foster N, Reiman EM, Chen K, Mathis C, Landau S, Cairns NJ, Householder E, Taylor-Reinwald L, Lee V, Korecka M, Figurski M, Crawford K, Neu S, Foroud TM, Potkin SG, Shen L, Faber K, Kim S, Nho K, Thal L, Buckholtz N, Albert M, Frank R, Hsiao J, Kaye J, Quinn J, Lind B, Carter R, Dolen S, Schneider LS, Pawluczyk S, Beccera M, Teodoro L, Spann BM, Brewer J, Vanderswag H, Fleisher A, Heidebrink JL, Lord JL, Mason SS, Albers CS, Knopman D, Johnson K, Doody RS, Villanueva-Meyer J, Chowdhury M, Rountree S, Dang M, Stern Y, Honig LS, Bell KL, Ances B, Carroll M, Leon S, Mintun MA, Schneider S, Oliver A, Marson D, Griffith R, Clark D, Geldmacher D, Brockington J, Roberson E, Grossman H, Mitsis E, de Toledo-Morrell L, Shah RC, Duara R, Varon D, Greig MT, Roberts P, Onyike C, D'Agostino D, Kielb S, Galvin JE, Cerbone B, Michel CA, Rusinek H, de Leon MJ, Glodzik L, De Santi S, Doraiswamy P, Petrella JR, Wong TZ, Arnold SE, Karlawish JH, Wolk D, Smith CD, Jicha G, Hardy P, Sinha P, Oates E, Conrad G, Lopez OL, Oakley M, Simpson DM, Porsteinsson AP, Goldstein BS, Martin K, Makino KM, Ismail M, Brand C, Mulnard RA, Thai G, McAdams-Ortiz C, Womack K, Mathews D, Quiceno M, Diaz-Arrastia R, King R, Weiner M, Martin-Cook K, DeVous M, Levey AI, Lah JJ, Cellar JS, Burns JM, Anderson HS, Swerdlow RH, Apostolova L, Tingus K, Woo E, Silverman DHS, Lu PH, Bartzokis G, Graff-Radford NR, Parfitt F, Kendall T, Johnson H, Farlow MR, Hake AM, Matthews BR, Herring S, Hunt C, van Dyck CH, Carson RE, MacAvoy MG, Chertkow H, Bergman H, Hosein C, Hsiung GR, Feldman H, Mudge B, Assaly M, Bernick C, Munic D, Kertesz A, Rogers J, Trost D, Kerwin D, Lipowski K, Wu CK, Johnson N, Sadowsky C, Martinez W, Villena T, Turner RS, Johnson K, Reynolds B, Sperling RA, Johnson KA, Marshall G, Frey M, Lane B, Rosen A, Tinklenberg J, Sabbagh MN, Belden CM, Jacobson SA, Sirrel SA, Kowall N, Killiany R, Budson AE, Norbash A, Johnson PL, Allard J, Lerner A, Ogrocki P, Hudson L, Fletcher E, Carmichae O, Olichney J, DeCarli C, Kittur S, Borrie M, Lee TY, Bartha R, Johnson S, Asthana S, Carlsson CM, Preda A, Nguyen D, Tariot P, Reeder S, Bates V, Capote H, Rainka M, Scharre DW, Kataki M, Adeli A, Zimmerman EA, Celmins D, Brown AD, Pearlson GD, Blank K, Anderson K, Santulli RB, Kitzmiller TJ, Schwartz ES, Sink KM, Williamson JD, Garg P, Watkins F, Ott BR, Querfurth H, Tremont G, Salloway S, Malloy P, Correia S, Rosen HJ, Miller BL, Mintzer J, Spicer K, Bachman D, Pasternak S, Rachinsky I, Drost D, Pomara N, Hernando R, Sarrael A, Schultz SK, Ponto LLB, Shim H, Smith KE, Relkin N, Chaing G, Raudin L, Smith A, Fargher K, Raj BA, Neylan T, Grafman J, Davis M, Morrison R, Hayes J, Finley S, Friedl K, Fleischman D, Arfanakis K, James O, Massoglia D, Fruehling J, Harding S, Peskind ER, Petrie EC, Li G, Yesavage JA, Taylor JL, Furst AJ. Dynamic proportional loss of functional connectivity revealed change of left superior frontal gyrus in subjective cognitive decline: an explanatory study based on Chinese and Western cohorts. Geroscience. 2025 Jan 31. PMID: 39888585.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/2/2024

    Abdolmohammadi B, Tuz-Zahra F, Uretsky M, Nicks R, Mosaheb S, Labonte J, Yhang E, Durape S, Martin B, Palmisano J, Nowinski C, Cherry JD, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, Dams-O'Connor K, Crary J, Dwyer B, Daneshvar DH, Goldstein LE, Au R, Katz DI, Kowall NW, Cantu RC, Stern RA, Alosco ML, Stein TD, Tripodis Y, McKee AC, Mez J. Duration of Ice Hockey Play and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Dec 02; 7(12):e2449106. PMID: 39630446.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 11/27/2024

    Uretsky M, Nair E, Burton R, Cronin SW, Rousseau D, Tuz-Zahra F, Durape S, Abdolmohammadi B, Baucom Z, Saltiel N, Shah A, Martin B, Palmisano J, Cherry JD, Daneshvar D, Dwyer B, Dams-O'Connor K, Crary J, Goldstein L, Huber B, Katz D, Kowall N, Cantu RC, Alvarez VE, Stern RA, Stein TD, Tripodis Y, McKee AC, Alosco ML, Mez J. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, Family History of Mental Illness, and Aggression in Brain Donors With Repetitive Head Impact Exposure. Neurology. 2024 Dec 24; 103(12):e210056. PMID: 39602665.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 4/15/2024

    Culhane JE, Jackson CE, Tripodis Y, Nowinski CJ, Dams-O'Connor K, Pettway E, Uretsky M, Abdolmohammadi B, Nair E, Martin B, Palmisano J, Katz DI, Dwyer B, Daneshvar DH, Goldstein LE, Kowall NW, Cantu RC, Stern RA, Huber BR, Crary JF, Mez J, Stein TD, McKee AC, Alosco ML. Lack of Association of Informant-Reported Traumatic Brain Injury and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. J Neurotrauma. 2024 Jun; 41(11-12):1399-1408. PMID: 38445389.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 2/26/2024

    Alexander A, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, Alosco ML, Mez J, Tripodis Y, Nicks R, Katz DI, Dwyer B, Daneshvar DH, Martin B, Palmisano J, Goldstein LE, Crary JF, Nowinski C, Cantu RC, Kowall NW, Stern RA, Delalle I, McKee AC, Stein TD. Cortical-sparing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CSCTE): a distinct subtype of CTE. Acta Neuropathol. 2024 Feb 26; 147(1):45. PMID: 38407651.

    Read at: PubMed

Other Positions

  • Professor, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Director of Alzheimer's Disease Center, Dean’s Office
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
    Boston University
  • Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students)
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences

Education

  • University of British Columbia, MD
  • University of British Columbia, BS