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 7/15/2026

    Hyeon SJ, Kim SC, Chu J, Kim Y, Kim C, Park U, Tufail Z, Thi Thanh Nguyen P, Eom A, Kim S, Kim Y, Lee E, Kim S, Lee SE, Woo J, Lee JA, Lee KE, Stein TD, Lee H, Lee J, Ryu H. Targeting the microglial phosphatidylethanolamine synthesis pathway promotes GABARAP-associated phagocytosis and Aß clearance in Alzheimer's disease. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2026 Jul 15; 11(1). PMID: 42457676.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 7/1/2026

    Miner AE, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Groh JR, Singh A, Dieckhoff K, Tripodis Y, Adler CH, Balcer LJ, Bernick C, Peskind E, Asken BM, Tanner JA, Rabinovici GD, Banks SJ, Barr WB, Wethe JV, Cantu RC, Dodick DW, Mez J, Palmisano JN, Martin B, Stein TD, McKee AC, Cummings JL, Shenton ME, Reiman EM, Stern RA, Ashton NJ, Alosco ML. Plasma Phosphorylated Tau 217 in Participants at Risk for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. JAMA Netw Open. 2026 Jul 01; 9(7):e2622966. PMID: 42440317.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 6/23/2026

    Tuz-Zahra F, Hallowell E, Tilton C, Alvarez VE, Aytan N, Hawkins S, Mez J, Alosco M, McKee AC, Tripodis Y, Stein TD, Cherry JD. CTE has multiple pathologic variants that might relate to different clinical symptom presentation. Acta Neuropathol. 2026 Jun 23; 151(1). PMID: 42334639.

    Read at: PubMed

  • 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

View All 231 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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