{"id":18624,"date":"2022-04-29T21:20:18","date_gmt":"2022-04-30T01:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/ppb\/?post_type=profile&p=18624"},"modified":"2025-11-04T07:27:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T12:27:09","slug":"marcia-h-ratner-phd-dabt","status":"publish","type":"profile","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/ppb\/profile\/marcia-h-ratner-phd-dabt\/","title":{"rendered":"Marcia H. Ratner, Ph.D., DABT"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr.\u00a0Marcia Ratner\u00a0earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Boston University. While an undergraduate at BU, she also completed her pre-medical requirements, made the Dean’s list, and was a member of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology. She went on to earn her Doctorate in Behavioral Neuroscience<\/a> from the Boston University\u00a0Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine where she trained in the Department of Neurology under the supervision of Drs. Robert G. Feldman and Raymon Durso. She\u00a0subsequently completed a three year NIH\/NIA Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the Biochemistry of Aging<\/a> under the guidance of Dr. David H. Farb<\/a>\u00a0here in the Department Pharmacology, Physiology and Biophysics. Dr. Ratner is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology<\/a>. She is also certified to administer and score the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)<\/a>\u00a0which allows researchers and healthcare professionals to detect cognitive deficits due to age-related mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and other forms of dementia.<\/p>\n

Research Interests<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Ratner is the Director of the Laboratory of Neurotoxicology<\/a>. Her research is focused on interdisciplinary\u00a0investigations looking at the effects of neurotoxicants and drugs on the subclinical progression and onset of age-related neurodegenerative diseases associated with learning and memory deficits such as Alzheimer\u2019s disease and age-related mild cognitive impairment. Her interdisciplinary translational approach to understanding the role of chemicals in neurodegenerative disease onset and progression is reflected in her publication history<\/a>\u00a0and her NIH iCite translation score<\/a>. \u00a0She continues to collaborate with her former mentor Dr. David Farb, Director of the Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology.<\/a>\u00a0 She is using in vivo<\/em> electrophysiological techniques<\/a> in her preclinical studies of how chemicals (drugs and neurotoxicants) modulate neural network activity in wild type and transgenic animal models of age-related neurodegenerative disease (Hippocampus 2015;<\/a>\u00a0Heliyon 2021;<\/a> Geroscience 2025<\/a>) Dr. Ratner is the only board-certified toxicologist<\/a> listed on Google Scholar<\/a> who is also an expert in the use of in vivo<\/em> electrophysiology as a preclinical research and drug discovery tool. \u00a0 Her work has played a key role in promoting and advancing the use of in vivo<\/em> electrophysiology as an applied science in preclinical neurotoxicology research (Frontiers in Toxicology, 2022<\/a>). \u00a0She also collaborates with several clinical colleagues to bring her observations from the bench to the clinic (AJIM, 2018<\/a>; JOEM, 2019; <\/a>Toxicol Comm, 2020<\/a>; AJIM, 2021<\/a>; Neuroimmunology Reports, 2022<\/a>; Front Toxicol, 2024<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Teaching<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Ratner is a member of the teaching faculty of the\u00a0Division of Graduate Medical Sciences<\/a> (GMS) and a core faculty member of the\u00a0Behavioral Neurosciences Program.<\/a>\u00a0 She is the Course Director for the Basic Neuroscience Courses (BN 777, 778 and 779<\/a>) taught through this program. \u00a0Dr. Ratner is available to serve as a primary mentor and committee member to doctoral students enrolled in GMS doctoral programs. \u00a0She has also taught courses in Forensic Toxicology (BT 450) and Introductory Toxicology offered through the Biomedical Laboratory and Clinical Sciences Program<\/a>\u00a0which\u00a0prepares students for careers in the fields of biotechnology and clinical research. Dr. Ratner has served as a\u00a0mentor to undergraduate students enrolled in\u00a0Bioscience Academy. One of Dr. Ratner\u2019s former Bioscience Academy\u00a0students, Zainab Mahmod, was\u00a0awarded the Paul Queenan Memorial Award<\/a> for academic excellence. \u00a0Highly qualified students from these various programs are invited to seek graduate training and internship opportunities under her supervision in the Laboratory of Neurotoxicology.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Committees and Administrative Duties<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Ratner is the Research Compliance Manager of the Department in which capacity she oversees compliance with safety and regulatory policies. She\u00a0<\/em>previously served as a\u00a0departmental representative to the\u00a0Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee<\/a> (IACUC). She is available to provide assistance to all departmental faculty, students and research staff with their IACUC protocol submissions and associated training and compliance issues.<\/p>\n

Professional Society and Editorial\u00a0<\/strong>Contributions<\/b><\/p>\n

Dr. Ratner\u00a0<\/span>is currently an active member of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology<\/a>\u00a0where she currently serves as a representative to the Scientific Liaison Coalition (SLC).<\/a> She also serves as the Chair of the Animal Models and Alternatives Working Group of the SLC. \u00a0Her work with the SLC has led to a publication about the use of new approach methods<\/a> aimed at advancing the\u00a0principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) in the fields of toxicology and pharmacology. She has previously served as a Councilor on the executive committee of the Neurotoxicology Specialty Section<\/a> of the Society of Toxicology<\/a>. \u00a0Dr. Ratner is also a member of the American Academy of Neurology<\/a>,\u00a0American Psychological Association<\/a><\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0International Neurotoxicology Association<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Ratner serves on the editorial boards of\u00a0Toxicology Communications<\/a> and\u00a0Frontiers in Toxicology<\/a>. \u00a0She has served as a topic editor for She is an ad hoc reviewer for several other professional toxicology and medical journals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Advocacy and\u00a0Extracurricular Work<\/strong><\/p>\n

In her spare time Dr. Ratner regularly engages in advocacy work on behalf of the Michael J. Fox Foundation<\/a> and DifferentBrains.org<\/a>. She has traveled to Washington, DC for “Hill Day” with the MJFF. She has lobbied congress for increased funding for neurodegenerative disease research and for improved access to care as an ally of persons living with Parkinson’s disease<\/a>. She is a regular blogger<\/a> and serves as the Volunteer Director of Research<\/a> at DifferentBrains.org. In addition,\u00a0<\/span>Dr. Ratner has also served as a scientific advisor to the Workplace Safety Insurance Board of Ontario, Canada<\/a>. Her contributions to the field of occupational and environmental neurotoxicology are recognized in the popular books \u201cPoisoned: How a Crime-Busting Prosecutor Turned His Medical Mystery into a Crusade for Environmental Victims<\/a>\u201c and Intuition: A True Story<\/a>. \u00a0Dr. Ratner is also an alumna and Life Member of the Zeta Upsilon Chapter of Alpha Phi Omega at Boston University<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lab Page<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n

Publications<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n

Recent News<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

Dr. Ratner interviewed about her thoughts on micro and nanoplastics in human brain. See article published in Neurology Today.<\/a> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Ratner interviewed by News4Jax reporter Aaron Farrar about the risk for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease among firefighters.<\/a><\/p>\n

BU doc appointed to the Scientific Liaison Coalition of the Society of Toxicology<\/a><\/p>\n

BU doc elected to the Neurotoxicology Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Ratner was recently interviewed by Dr. Hackie Reitman of Different Brains about their thoughts on the state of the art in Alzheimer\u2019s drug discovery research as it specifically pertains to patients with Down syndrome.<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Ratner was recently interviewed by Thomas Collins of Neurology Today about her thoughts on recent data looking at the relationships between cortical thickness, plasma proteins and cognition in 9-11 World Trade Center Responders.<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Hackie Reitman of Different Brains interviews Dr. Ratner about Chronic Toxic Encephalopathy: the other CTE.<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Ratner was recently interviewed by Jamie Talan of Neurology Today about her thoughts on Biogen’s revised interpretation of their aducanumab data.<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Hackie Reitman interviews Dr. Marcia Ratner, world-leading neurotoxicologist and research scientist at the Boston University School of Medicine.<\/a><\/p>\n

Article about Dr. Ratner’s work as a neurotoxicologist in the November issues of the American Bar Association Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dr. Ratner interviewed about\u00a0manganese induced parkinsonism by\u00a0Marilynn Larkin of\u00a0<\/span>Reuters Health.<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more about\u00a0Dr. Ratner’s work in Neurology Today<\/a><\/p>\n

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