Karin Schon, Ph.D., received a joint B.A./M.A. degree in Psychology from the University of Hamburg in Germany in 1998, and her Ph.D. from the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University in 2005. Her dissertation focused on functional neuroimaging studies of working memory and long-term (episodic) memory formation under the mentorship of Prof. Chantal Stern. She then continued her work with Prof. Stern as a Postdoc. In 2010 she received a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence award from the National Institute on Aging to investigate the effects or cardio-respiratory fitness and exercise on the function and structure of the medial temporal hippocampal memory system. In May 2013 she joined the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology at the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor where she is the Director of the Brain Plasticity and Neuroimaging Laboratory.
Dr. Schon’s brain plasticity research focuses on modulators of the medial temporal hippocampal system across the lifespan. Currently, she investigates the role of aerobic fitness/exercise, aging, and chronic psychosocial stress, as modulators of cognitive function and brain health in aging and Alzheimer’s disease and in emerging adults. With her cognitive neuroscience research on chronic psychosocial stress she aims to take an anti-racist perspective by focusing on the impact of interpersonal, institutional/structural and cultural racism on brain health in older Black/African Americans and Black/African American emerging adults. The long-term goal of this research is to understand social and environmental determinants of brain and mental health across the lifespan and to contribute to health policy change from a cognitive neuroscience perspective with the goal to eliminate brain health inequities.
Methods used include: Task-based, resting-state and high-resolution fMRI, structural MRI, cognitive testing, neuropsychology, exercise testing and training, and biomarker assays (e.g. neurotrophins, such as BDNF, IGF-1, and VEGF; salivary cortisol, allostatic load).
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility
DEIA and social justice are core values for me as a cognitive neuroscientist and member of the Boston University community. Everything I do I view through a DEIA and anti-racist lens. The following summarizes how I have incorporated DEIJ/DEIA (J = justice) into all aspects of my professional academic life at Boston University, including research, teaching/mentoring and service.
Research:
An important line of my research program centers on impact of interpersonal, structural/institutional and cultural racism on neurocognitive health in older Black adults and in emerging Black adult university students. This research focuses on impact or racialized stress (due to racism and discrimination) on hippocampal, amygdala and prefrontal systems and associated cognitive processes, including, but not limited to episodic memory, working memory, and executive functioning, as well as emotion processing, and physiological markers of allostatic load and cardiovascular health. This research is funded by the National Institute on Aging (R21AG060269 - past, R01AG074213 - current), the National Institute on Mental Health (R01MH128280 - current), and was funded by an Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant (AARG-17-529566).
Teaching:
In my Cognitive Neuroscience class, I make every effort to include papers from authors who are members of underrepresented groups in STEM, and I incorporate discussion of the brain basis of implicit bias and racialized stress as core topics. I have also run departmental journal clubs focused on the intersection of human neuroscience and social justice. In summer 2022, I participated in the Inclusive STEM Teaching Project (ISTP) through BU’s School of Public Health that focused on Universal Design for inclusive teaching and learning, and I aim to incorporate principles of Universal Design into teaching and syllabus design.
Mentoring:
I have extensive experience mentoring students and mentees from undergraduate to Post Doc level who are members of underrepresented groups in STEM, and I have an active collaboration with a Historically Black College or University (HBCU), the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI; United States Virgin Islands) through which I mentor undergraduate students in research. In January 2023 I gave an invited research talk and met with students at the University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses. A UVI undergraduate student is working in my laboratory during the summer of 2024 through BUMC's STaRS pipeline program. I currently serve as a research mentor in UVI’s URISE undergraduate biomedical research training summer program and BU’s STaRS and BU PREP programs. Many of my mentees have continued in the biomedical sciences and/or received research funding/competitive summer research opportunities.
Service:
I actively participate in the following committees:
• Anatomy & Neurobiology DEIJ Committee; Role: Chair (until 5/2023), member (6/2023-)
• Graduate Program for Neuroscience (GPN) DEIJ Committee; Role: Chair (until 9/2022)
• Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS) Diversity Steering Committee; Role: Member
• BUMC Glossary for Culture Transformation group; Role: GMS Representative
• BU Faculty Council Equity and Inclusion Committee; Role: Chair (until 5/2024)
• BU Community Safety Advisory Group; Role: Faculty Council Representative (until 5/2024)
In June 2020 I served as a panelist for BU’s “A Day of Collective Engagement: Racism and Antiracism, Our Realities and Our Roles”.
In May 2023 I served as a co-organizer and panelist on a Provost’s Workshop on Accessibility.
I regularly participate in career panels for students (high school and above) from groups underrepresented in STEM.
Leadership and initiatives:
At the BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine until May 2023 I served as the Chair of the Anatomy & Neurobiology DEIJ Committee and I am the past Chair of the GPN DEIJ Committee. I serve as an Assistant Dean for Diversity & Inclusion at the BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and I am the co-Director of BU PREP, a pipeline program for recent bachelor’s degree recipients from NIH-recognized underrepresented groups seeking entry into competitive PhD training programs. University-wide, I was the Chair of the Faculty Council’s Equity and Inclusion Committee until 5/2024. My efforts as Chair of the Equity & Inclusion Committee contributed to the removal of the name Myles Standish from the residence hall located at 610 Beacon Street, which was announced on 5/23/2024 in BU Today. Through these leadership and related roles I have planned and hosted several DEIA events. The events included:
• Anatomy & Neurobiology DEIJ Workshop held in September 2021 in collaboration with Kristen Handricken formerly of BU’s Diversity & Inclusion office
• I organized and hosted a virtual BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine GMS panel on diversity statements from faculty candidates with panelists from Boston University, Columbia University, Cornell University and Emory University and created a website with resources (4/2022): https://www.bumc.bu.edu/gms/2022/04/23/why-diversity-statements-are-needed-from-faculty-candidates/.
• I co-organized several student-led GPN DEIJ neuroscience symposia (2020 - )
• I spear-headed and co-wrote a GPN Emerging Scholars Program Neuroscience Symposium application in 2021-2022 (not funded)
• I sought and received funding through a BU D&I Inclusion Catalyst Grant for the virtual panel on diversity statements
• I served on the Planning Committee and as panelist for a Provost’s Panel on Accessibility at the BU Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine (5/2023)
• I run the BUMC Reads program at the BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.
o 2023-2024: Disability Visibility by Alice Wong
• I co-sponsored a Mid-Career Faculty Leadership Program Project on Accessibility (co-sponsor: Dr. Angelique Harris), BU Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. Title: “How can the BU Medical Campus proactively increase awareness of disability justice, inclusion, universal design, and accessibility for faculty and staff?”
• I spear-headed and co-wrote an Anatomy & Neurobiology Emerging Scholars Program on “Brain Diversity in Health and Disease” (submitted 1/2024; funded)
Public Impact. I was an inaugural faculty affiliate at the Center for Antiracist Research (11/2020 – 10/2023) and a 2022 Public Impact Scholar, sponsored by BU's Initiative of Cities. A 2020 co-authored publication with the Black Women's Health Study (Coogan, Schon et al., 2020) on impact of perceived racism on subjective cognition in older women received significant media attention.
Assistant Professor
Boston University College of Arts and Sciences
Neuroscience
Assistant Professor
Boston University College of Arts and Sciences
Psychological and Brain Sciences
Member
Boston University
Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students)
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences
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- Some grants will show an agency award/project number, and may be a link.
- Data is sorted by project end date, and updated monthly.
This tab shows grant data from BU Sponsored Research. It includes:
- Grant title
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- PI name, if this person is not the PI (the name will link if PI has a BU Profile)
- Funding source(s). An arrow indicates the flow of funding if multiple sponsors.
- Some grants will show an agency award/project number, and may be a link.
- Data is sorted by project end date, and updated monthly.
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from BU or BMC sources.
- Grant title
- Project period and this person’s role on the grant
- PI name, if this person is not the PI (the name will link if PI has a BU Profile)
- Funding source(s). An arrow indicates the flow of funding if multiple sponsors.
- Some grants will show an agency award/project number, and may be a link.
- Data is sorted by project end date, and updated monthly.
This tab shows grant data from the Boston VA. We are only showing grant title, and only for people in the role of PI.
A multimodal investigation of positive and negative modulators of the medial temporal hippocampal system09/01/2021 - 08/31/2027 (Key Person / Mentor)
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke5F99NS124143-02
Psychosocial stress, cardio-respiratory fitness, and the medial temporal hippocampal system in Black emerging adults08/05/2022 - 05/31/2027 (PI)
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health5R01MH128280-02
Perceived racism, cardiovascular disease risk, and neurocognitive aging08/01/2022 - 04/30/2027 (PI)
NIH/National Institute on Aging3R01AG074213-03S1
Psychosocial stressors and the hippocampal memory system in African American seniors04/01/2019 - 03/31/2024 (PI)
NIH/National Institute on Aging5R21AG060269-02
Effectiveness of Bio-Electric Stimulation for the Treatment of Motor and Non-Motor Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease - A pilot study01/20/2017 - 03/31/2024 (PI)
Immumax International Co Ltd.
Perceived racism as a chronic stressor and cognition in Black Seniors03/01/2018 - 02/28/2023 (PI)
Alzheimer's Association
The entorhinal cortex and aerobic exericise in aging08/15/2016 - 05/31/2021 (PI)
NIH/National Institute on Aging5R21AG049968-02
AEROBIC EXERCISE, NEUROTROPHINS, AND fMRI OF HIPPOCAMPAL FUNCTION AND STRUCTURE04/01/2013 - 03/31/2018 (PI)
NIH/National Institute on Aging5R00AG036845-05
AEROBIC EXERCISE, NEUROTROPHINS, AND fMRI OF HIPPOCAMPAL FUNCTION AND STRUCTURE09/30/2010 - 12/31/2012 (PI)
NIH/National Institute on Aging5K99AG036845-02
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Perceived racism, cardiovascular disease risk, and neurocognitive aging
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Perceived racism, cardiovascular disease risk, and neurocognitive aging
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Perceived racism, cardiovascular disease risk, and neurocognitive aging
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Perceived racism, cardiovascular disease risk, and neurocognitive aging: Diversity Supplement
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BU PREP
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5R25GM125511-05
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2023
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Psychosocial stress, cardio-respiratory fitness, and the medial temporal hippocampal system in Black emerging adults
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Perceived racism, cardiovascular disease risk, and neurocognitive aging
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2022
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Psychosocial stress, cardio-respiratory fitness, and the medial temporal hippocampal system in Black emerging adults
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2022
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Perceived racism, cardiovascular disease risk, and neurocognitive aging
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2020
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Psychosocial stressors and the hippocampal memory system in African American seniors
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5R21AG060269-02
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Perceived racism, cardiovascular disease risk, and neurocognitive aging
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Perceived racism, cardiovascular disease risk, and neurocognitive aging
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Perceived racism, cardiovascular disease risk, and neurocognitive aging
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Perceived racism, cardiovascular disease risk, and neurocognitive aging: Diversity Supplement
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3R01AG074213-02S1
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BU PREP
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Psychosocial stress, cardio-respiratory fitness, and the medial temporal hippocampal system in Black emerging adults
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2023
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Perceived racism, cardiovascular disease risk, and neurocognitive aging
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5R01AG074213-02
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Psychosocial stress, cardio-respiratory fitness, and the medial temporal hippocampal system in Black emerging adults
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1R01MH128280-01A1
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2022
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Perceived racism, cardiovascular disease risk, and neurocognitive aging
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2020
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Psychosocial stressors and the hippocampal memory system in African American seniors
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5R21AG060269-02
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2019
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Psychosocial stressors and the hippocampal memory system in African American seniors
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1R21AG060269-01A1
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2017
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The entorhinal cortex and aerobic exercise in aging
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5R21AG049968-02
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2016
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The entorhinal cortex and aerobic exercise in aging
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1R21AG049968-01A1
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2015
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Aerobic Exercise, Neurotrophins, and fMRI of Hippocampal Function and Structure
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5R00AG036845-05
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Aerobic Exercise, Neurotrophins, and fMRI of Hippocampal Function and Structure
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Aerobic Exercise, Neurotrophins, and fMRI of Hippocampal Function and Structure
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Aerobic Exercise, Neurotrophins, and fMRI of Hippocampal Function and Structure
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Aerobic Exercise, Neurotrophins, and fMRI of Hippocampal Function and Structure
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1K99AG036845-01A1
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Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other
sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can
login
to make corrections and additions.
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Rosario MA, Alotaibi R, Espinal-Martinez AO, Ayoub A, Baumann A, Clark U, Cozier Y, Schon K. Personal Mastery Attenuates the Association between Greater Perceived Discrimination and Lower Amygdala and Anterior Hippocampal Volume in a Diverse Sample of Older Adults. bioRxiv. 2024 Jan 16.View Related Profiles. PMID: 38293042; PMCID: PMC10827091; DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.12.575447;
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Rosario MA, Kern KL, Mumtaz S, Storer TW, Schon K. Cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with cortical thickness of medial temporal brain areas associated with spatial cognition in young but not older adults. Eur J Neurosci. 2024 Jan; 59(1):82-100. PMID: 38056827; PMCID: PMC10979765; DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16200;
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Kern KL, McMains SA, Storer TW, Moffat SD, Schon K. Cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with fMRI signal in right cerebellum lobule VIIa Crus I and II during spatial navigation in older adult women. Front Aging Neurosci. 2022; 14:979741. PMID: 36506472; PMCID: PMC9727394; DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.979741;
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Kern KL, Storer TW, Schon K. Cardiorespiratory fitness, hippocampal subfield volumes, and mnemonic discrimination task performance in aging. Hum Brain Mapp. 2021 03; 42(4):871-892. PMID: 33325614; PMCID: PMC7856657; DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25259;
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Islam MR, Luo R, Valaris S, Haley EB, Takase H, Chen YI, Dickerson BC, Schon K, Arai K, Nguyen CT, Wrann CD. Diffusion tensor-MRI detects exercise-induced neuroplasticity in the hippocampal microstructure in mice. Brain Plast. 2020 Oct 01; 5(2):147-159. PMID: 33282678; PMCID: PMC7685674; DOI: 10.3233/BPL-190090;
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Nauer RK, Schon K, Stern CE. Cardiorespiratory fitness and mnemonic discrimination across the adult lifespan. Learn Mem. 2020 03; 27(3):91-103. PMID: 32071255; PMCID: PMC7029721; DOI: 10.1101/lm.049197.118;
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Kronman CA, Kern KL, Nauer RK, Dunne MF, Storer TW, Schon K. Cardiorespiratory fitness predicts effective connectivity between the hippocampus and default mode network nodes in young adults. Hippocampus. 2020 05; 30(5):526-541.View Related Profiles. PMID: 31647603; PMCID: PMC7442492; DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23169;
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Showing 10 of 22 results.
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Schon K, Newmark RE, Ross RS, Stern CE. A Working Memory Buffer in Parahippocampal Regions: Evidence from a Load Effect during the Delay Period. Cereb Cortex. 2016 May; 26(5):1965-74. PMID: 25662713; PMCID: PMC4830282; DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhv013;
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Ross RS, LoPresti ML, Schon K, Stern CE. Role of the hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex during the disambiguation of social cues in working memory. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2013 Dec; 13(4):900-15. PMID: 23640112; PMCID: PMC3796192; DOI: 10.3758/s13415-013-0170-x;
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Newmark RE, Schon K, Ross RS, Stern CE. Contributions of the hippocampal subfields and entorhinal cortex to disambiguation during working memory. Hippocampus. 2013 Jun; 23(6):467-75. PMID: 23504938; PMCID: PMC4419744; DOI: 10.1002/hipo.22106;
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Schon K, Ross RS, Hasselmo ME, Stern CE. Complementary roles of medial temporal lobes and mid-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for working memory for novel and familiar trial-unique visual stimuli. Eur J Neurosci. 2013 Feb; 37(4):668-78.View Related Profiles. PMID: 23167976; DOI: 10.1111/ejn.12062;
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LoPresti ML, Schon K, Tricarico MD, Swisher JD, Celone KA, Stern CE. Working memory for social cues recruits orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of delayed matching to sample for emotional expressions. J Neurosci. 2008 Apr 2; 28(14):3718-28. PMID: 18385330; PMCID: PMC2748754; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0464-08.2008;
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Schon K, Tinaz S, Somers DC, Stern CE. Delayed match to object or place: an event-related fMRI study of short-term stimulus maintenance and the role of stimulus pre-exposure. Neuroimage. 2008 Jan 15; 39(2):857-72. PMID: 17950623; PMCID: PMC2147068; DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2007.09.023;
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Tinaz S, Schendan HE, Schon K, Stern CE. Evidence for the importance of basal ganglia output nuclei in semantic event sequencing: an fMRI study. Brain Res. 2006 Jan 5; 1067(1):239-49. PMID: 16360121
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Schon K, Hasselmo ME, Lopresti ML, Tricarico MD, Stern CE. Persistence of parahippocampal representation in the absence of stimulus input enhances long-term encoding: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of subsequent memory after a delayed match-to-sample task. J Neurosci. 2004 Dec 8; 24(49):11088-97.View Related Profiles. PMID: 15590925
This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown,
or last author.
| Year | Publications |
|---|
| 2004 | 1 |
| 2005 | 2 |
| 2007 | 1 |
| 2008 | 1 |
| 2009 | 1 |
| 2012 | 1 |
| 2013 | 3 |
| 2015 | 3 |
| 2019 | 2 |
| 2020 | 4 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 1 |
2022 Initiative of Cities, Boston University:
Public Impact Scholar
2021 Boston University School of Medicine:
Russek Day 2021 Faculty Award (for research and service related to DEIA)
2019-2020 Advanced Research Institute (ARI) in Mental Health and Aging:
Scholar, 2019 cohort
2015 Boston University:
UROP Outstanding Mentor Award, Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
2015 Boston University School of Medicine:
Junior Faculty Spivack Scholar 2015
2013 CCAD Junior Investigator, Charleston Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease
2010 NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00)
2005 Boston University:
Felicia Sorembe Lambros Prize for Research
2005 Boston University:
Kavita Jain Dissertation Award
My lab is always looking for mentees at the undergraduate and graduate student level who would like to gain research experience in human neuroimaging. I am also happy to serve on Senior thesis and dissertation committees that are generally related to my area of expertise. In addition, I would be happy to serve on Career Panels on STEM research, especially those geared toward women in STEM.
Available to Mentor as: (Review Mentor Role Definitions):
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Advisor
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Career Mentor
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Co-Mentor or Peer Mentor
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Diversity Mentor
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Project Mentor
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Research / Scholarly Mentor