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 6/7/2026

    Miner AE, Kmiecik MJ, Namburi N, Dunckley N, Adler CH, Driver-Dunckley ED, Nowinski CJ, Gottesman J, Tripodis Y, Stern RA, McKee AC, Stein TD, Mez J, Briggs FBS, Alosco ML. Associations Between Cumulative Head Trauma and Self-Reported Parkinsonism and Parkinson's Disease in Former Soccer Players. Mov Disord. 2026 Jun 07. PMID: 42252813.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 6/2/2026

    Mez J, Abdolmohammadi B, Durape S, Dwyer B, Alosco ML, Yew B, Pritchett A, Fernández NB, Hicks A, Uretsky M, Ryder M, Faheem F, Nosek S, Martin B, Palmisano J, Nowinski C, Tripodis Y, O'Connor KD, Goldstein LE, Katz DI, Cantu RC, Kowall NW, Stern RA, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, Crary JF, Stein TD, McKee AC, Daneshvar DH. Validity of the NINDS traumatic encephalopathy syndrome criteria for predicting chronic traumatic encephalopathy. medRxiv. 2026 Jun 02. PMID: 42282171.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/30/2026

    Prasad M, Pulukuri S, Sampani K, Yarala R, Mittal R, Xia W, Stein TD, Aytan N, Chen X, Ness S, Siegel NH, Subramanian ML. Association of plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein and neurofilament light chain with retinal cell layer thickness: A cross-sectional study of ophthalmic surgical patients. J Alzheimers Dis. 2026 May 30; 13872877261452676. PMID: 42216665.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/20/2026

    Fisher N, Xue L, Smith KK, Tao B, Cunha JA, Ladenheim S, Moreira-Bouchard JD, Milstone ZJ, Zhebrun A, Zhang X, Jun GR, Stein TD, Ang TFA, Farrer LA, Farb MG, Padera RF, Benjamin EJ, Levy D, Gopal DM, Isaac RS, Lenburg ME, Choi SH, Fetterman JL. Mitochondrial genetic variation across tissues of the human body. Nucleic Acids Res. 2026 May 20; 54(10). PMID: 42179041.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/1/2026

    Tao Q, Han J, Ang TFA, Hou L, Liu C, Murabito JM, Lunetta KL, Mez J, Alosco ML, Stein TD, Zhang X, Au R, Farrer L, Palmisano JN, Hamburg NM, Qiu WQ. Peripheral vascular function, including endothelium-dependent measures, and dementia risk: The Framingham Heart Study. Alzheimers Dement. 2026 May; 22(5):e71396. PMID: 42050369.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 227 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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