Thor Stein, MD, PhD
Associate Professor
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Pathology & Laboratory Medicine

MD, University of Wisconsin Madison
PhD, University of Wisconsin Madison
BS, University of Wisconsin Madison



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.

Investigator
Framingham Heart Study


VA Boston Healthcare System


Member
Boston University
Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research




Blood Biomarker Development and Validation in Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias
06/01/2025 - 05/31/2028 (Multi-PI)
PI: Thor Stein, MD, PhD
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke
4R01NS132290-02

Aberrant DNA methylation associated with repetitive head impact exposure and chronic traumatic encephalopathy
12/12/2024 - 01/31/2027 (Key Person / Mentor)
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke
1F31NS141294-01

Cerebrovascular Remodeling and Neurodegenerative Changes in Alzheimer's Disease
02/01/2022 - 01/31/2027 (Multi-PI)
PI: Thor Stein, MD, PhD
NIH/National Institute on Aging
5R01AG075876-04

Personnel Agreement for Research Services of Nurgul Aytan
12/02/2024 - 12/01/2026 (PI)
Bedford VA


Boston University Departments of Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics and Bioinformatics Support
09/06/2024 - 08/31/2026 (PI)
Department of Veterans Administration, Bedford


Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
08/15/2021 - 06/30/2026 (Key Person)
PI: Ann C. McKee, MD
NIH/National Institute on Aging
5P30AG072978-04

Identification and characterization of the CD31-ApoE-mCRP pathway for Alzheimer's disease in humans.
12/15/2022 - 11/30/2025 (Multi-PI)
PI: Thor Stein, MD, PhD
NIH/National Institute on Aging
1RF1AG075832-01A1

Data Call for ALS Biorepository Proposal
09/28/2020 - 09/27/2025 (Subcontract PI)
McKing Consulting Corporation HHS CDC


Blood Biomarker Development and Validation in Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias
06/01/2023 - 05/31/2025 (Multi-PI)
PI: Thor Stein, MD, PhD
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke
1RF1NS132290-01

Age-Associated Lipidomic Changes in Alzheimer's Disease
02/01/2019 - 08/31/2024 (Multi-PI)
PI: Thor Stein, MD, PhD
NIH/National Institute on Aging
1RF1AG057768-01A1

Showing 10 of 18 results. Show All Results


Title
Epigenetic changes in synaptic and inflammatory genes involved in the age-dependent development of Alzheimer
(PI)


Yr Title Project-Sub Proj Pubs
2025 Blood Biomarker Development and Validation in Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias 4R01NS132290-02
2025 Genetic and environmental modifiers of pathology in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 5I01BX005161-03
2025 Cerebrovascular Remodeling and Neurodegenerative Changes in Alzheimer's Disease 5R01AG075876-04
2024 Genetic and environmental modifiers of pathology in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 5I01BX005161-02
2024 Cerebrovascular Remodeling and Neurodegenerative Changes in Alzheimer's Disease 5R01AG075876-03
2024 Role of classical complement pathway underling glial phenotypes and multiple pathologies in Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular disease 5U19AG068753-05-8065
2024 The neuropathology of mild traumatic brain injury in Alzheimer's disease 5I01BX005933-10
2023 Blood Biomarker Development and Validation in Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias 1RF1NS132290-01
2023 Identification and characterization of the CD31-ApoE-mCRP pathway for Alzheimer's disease in humans. 1RF1AG075832-01A1
2023 Cerebrovascular Remodeling and Neurodegenerative Changes in Alzheimer's Disease 5R01AG075876-02
Showing 10 of 39 results. Show All Results

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.

iCite Website       Copy PMIDs To Clipboard

  1. Kanner H, Tilton C, Alvarez VE, Stein TD, McKee AC, Cherry JD. Comparison of multiple quantitative strategies for neuropathologic image analyses. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2025 Oct 01; 84(10):928-940.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40814960; PMCID: PMC12456881; DOI: 10.1093/jnen/nlaf098;
     
  2. Subramanian ML, Sampani K, Ness S, Tuz-Zahra F, Alluri S, Chen X, Siegel NH, Aytan N, Xia W, Tripodis Y, Alosco ML, Stein TD. Biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease are upregulated in patients with diabetic retinopathy. J Alzheimers Dis. 2025 Nov; 108(2):586-596.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40982223; DOI: 10.1177/13872877251378759;
     
  3. Halvorsen SC, Gkousioudi A, Nicks R, Alvarez VE, Bigio IJ, Zaia J, Stein TD, Zhang Y. Cerebrovascular remodeling in aging and neurodegenerative disease progression. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2025; 13:1597917.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40969224; PMCID: PMC12441360; DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1597917;
     
  4. Shoushtari SI, Liaw E, Alluri S, Sheikh Z, Kumar S, Huynh C, Schmidt IM, Ness S, Chen X, Siegel NH, Waikar SS, Stein TD, Lu W, Subramanian ML. The association between SLIT2 in human vitreous humor and plasma and neurocognitive test scores. J Alzheimers Dis. 2025 Oct; 107(4):1555-1566.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40899951; DOI: 10.1177/13872877251374287;
     
  5. Alosco ML, Morrison M, Au R, Steinberg EG, Mwicigi J, Ly M, Altaras C, Lenio S, Abdennadher M, O'Connor MK, Tripodis Y, Palmisano J, Dixon D, Martin B, Schneider G, Groh JR, Ellison A, Sheppard D, Farris CW, Nowinski C, Cantu RC, Turk KW, Farrer L, Jun G, Goldstein LE, Qiu WQ, Stein TD, Budson AE, McKee AC, Mez J. Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Clinical Core: Infrastructure to facilitate research on post-traumatic Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Sep; 21(9):e70654.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40923312; PMCID: PMC12418077; DOI: 10.1002/alz.70654;
     
  6. Huang J, Wang Y, Stein TD, Ang TFA, Zhu Y, Tao Q, Lunetta KL, Mez J, Au R, Farrer LA, Qiu WQ, Zhang X. The impact of blood MCP-1 levels on Alzheimer's disease with genetic variation at the NAV3 and UNC5C loci. Transl Psychiatry. 2025 Aug 19; 15(1):296.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40830334; PMCID: PMC12365253; DOI: 10.1038/s41398-025-03542-w;
     
  7. Ness S, Sampani K, Tuz-Zahra F, Aytan N, Alluri S, Fiorello MG, Chen X, Siegel NH, Alosco ML, Xia W, Tripodis Y, Stein TD, Subramanian ML. Glial fibrillary acidic protein in plasma and intraocular fluids and the correlation with cognitive function in patients with vitreoretinal disease. Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 06; 15(1):28720.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40770000; PMCID: PMC12328637; DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-13260-4;
     
  8. Shoushtari SI, Liaw E, Alluri S, Sheikh Z, Kumar S, Huynh C, Schmidt IM, Ness S, Chen X, Siegel NH, Waikar SS, Stein TD, Lu W, Subramanian ML. The Association Between SLIT2 in Human Vitreous Humor and Plasma and Neurocognitive Test Scores. bioRxiv. 2025 Jul 02.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40631316; PMCID: PMC12236819; DOI: 10.1101/2025.05.03.652072;
     
  9. Pradhan R, Petrovic Z, Sakib MS, Schröder S, Krüger DM, Pena T, Diniz E, Burckhardt S, Schütz AL, Grzadzielewska I, Toischer K, Stein TD, Blusztajn JK, Delalle I, Radulovic J, Sananbenesi F, Fischer A. NeuID, a novel neuron-specific lncRNA, resolves a key epigenetic mechanism linking gene silencing to Alzheimer's disease. bioRxiv. 2025 Jun 03.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40501786; PMCID: PMC12157640; DOI: 10.1101/2025.06.01.657217;
     
  10. Herzog M, Krafft FC, Fiedler J, Berger DJ, Sloot LH, d'Avella A, Stein T. The central nervous system adjusts muscle synergy structure and tightly controls rollator-supported transitions between sitting and standing. J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2025 Apr 25; 22(1):96. PMID: 40281643; PMCID: PMC12032710; DOI: 10.1186/s12984-025-01622-y;
     
Showing 10 of 205 results. Show More

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 205 publications over 22 distinct years, with a maximum of 28 publications in 2023

YearPublications
20001
20023
20031
20042
20051
20081
20101
20114
20123
20133
20143
20159
20166
20175
201816
201910
202020
202124
202219
202328
202427
202518


Vahe Gregorian: Family of KC Chief who died of CTE feels shunned by NFL (and wants you to know this)

Kileen Daily Herald 11/26/2024

“It Will Make CTE a Treatable Disease”: The Race for a Diagnosis in Life

The Brink 10/11/2024

10 Things BU CTE Center Research Has Taught Us about the Brain Dangers of Contact Sports and Military Service

The Brink 10/11/2024

Recent deaths of young football players rekindle questions about safety of game

The Atlantic Journal Constitution 9/13/2024

Head Injury and Parkinsonism—It’s the Tangles, Not the Lewy Bodies

Alzheimer’s Forum 7/30/2024

Study probes contact sports, CTE, parkinsonism links

Parkinson’s News Today 7/26/2024

Boston University CTE study finds link between contact sports, CTE, Parkinson's disease

Boston Herald 7/22/2024

Could Contact Sports Raise Risks for a Parkinson's-like Disorder?

CBS 19 News 7/17/2024

Parkinsonism in Athletes Linked With Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Pathology

Medpage Today 7/16/2024

Study reveals link between contact sports and parkinsons-like symptoms in CTE patients

Health Tech World 7/16/2024

New hit: Contact sport, CTE link to Parkinson's-style disease

WAToday 7/15/2024

What looks like Parkinson’s may not be in CTE patients

Boston 25 News 7/15/2024

Pioneers Identify Potential New Subtype of CTE

Laboratory Equipment 2/28/2024

Longer football careers linked to reduced white matter brain integrity, study finds

PsyPost 2/11/2024

Playing tackle football at an early age increases risk for brain decline later

News Medical 3/20/2023

Active disease process in early CTE differs substantially from late-stage disease

News Medical 3/13/2023

Flag football grows in popularity due to head injury concerns

CBS News 3/7/2023

New BU Study Finds Tackle Football at Young Age Raises Risk for Brain Decline Later

The Brink 3/6/2023

They Made History at Alabama. But Football Stardom Had a Price.

The New York Times 8/7/2022

Medical Campus Promotes 13 Faculty to Associate Professor

BU Today 7/30/2021

How CTE contributed to the death of a beloved Bolivar attorney, star athlete

The Springfielf News-Leader 3/25/2021

Troubling Sleep Disorder in Athletes a Sign of CTE?

Medscape 9/30/2020

Boston University research shows rare sleep disorder impacts contact sport athletes

WCVB-TV 9/17/2020

CTE, Contact Sports Play Linked to REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

BU Today 9/16/2020

Boston University researchers discover link between CTE and severe sleep disorder

WHDH-TV 9/16/2019

Tau Pathology Present Decades After a Single Brain Injury

The Scientist 9/9/2019

Study: Playing Contact Sports Significantly Increases Risk Of Lewy Body Disease, Parkinson’s

StudyFinds 4/15/2019

Why Some People Develop More Severe CTE Symptoms than Others

Association of American Universities 11/21/2018

Scientists zero in on genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's-like brain disease CTE

WBUR 11/5/2018

Specific Gene Variant Linked To Severe Symptoms Of CTE

UPI 11/5/2018

BU researchers make first link from severe CTE to genes

The Boston Globe 11/4/2018

Why Some People’s CTE Symptoms Are More Severe Than Others

BU Today 11/3/2018

Parkinson’s Symptoms Associated with Contact Sports

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News 7/26/2018

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