Lab News

Dr. Suheyla Cetin Karayumak Receives the 2020 Brain and Behavior Research Foundation Young Investigator Grant

August 2020: Dr. Suheyla Cetin Karayuma received the 2020 Brain and Behavior Research Foundation Young Investigator Grant for her grant proposal titled “Association of prenatal cannabis exposure and psychotic experiences in adolescents: a harmonized multi-site diffusion MRI study”. BBRF Young Investigator Grants enable promising investigators to either extend research fellowship training or begin careers as independent research faculty. The goal of the program is to help researchers launch careers in neuroscience and psychiatry and gather pilot data to apply for larger federal and university grants.

US Embassy Staff in Cuba Show Unusual Brain Changes After Alleged ‘Sonic Attacks’

July 2019: In a recent article, Live Science reports on a study conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania that found distinct brain changes in people who were potentially exposed to “sonic attacks” while working at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba. Dr. Martha Shenton gives her opinion on the neuroimaging techniques used in the study.

Madhura Baxi Wins 2nd Place for Best Diffusion Student Poster at ISMRM 2019

May 2019: Madhura Baxi won 2nd place for best diffusion poster in the students category at the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) for her poster “Validation of Diffusion Imaging Measures in Gray Matter Using Histology from Macaque Monkey.”

Dr. Suheyla Cetin Karayumak Receives the 2017 IEEE PhD Dissertation Award

February 2018: Dr. Suheyla Cetin Karayumak received the 2017 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) PhD Dissertation Award for her PhD thesis: “Modeling of Tubular Structures and Fiber in in vivo data: Revealing Asymmetry in Human Vasculature and White Matter Fiber Tracts” at Sabanci University in Turkey. The IEEE PhD Dissertation Award is given to outstanding young scientists who have completed their PhDs in a university in Turkey within the last two years in one of the areas of activity of IEEE.

PNL Research is Highlighted in the NIH Workshop “Understanding TBI in Women”

December 2017: Our recent article examining sex differences in neurological alterations induced by repetitive head impacts was featured by the Director of the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, Dr. Walter Koroshetz, in the opening session of an NIH workshop entitled “Understanding Traumatic Brain Injury in Women”. Dr. Inga Koerte, the corresponding author on this article, attended the workshop.

Dr. Inga Koerte is Featured on Major German TV Channels

November 2017: Dr. Inga Koerte was recently interviewed for a segment appearing on the popular German TV show “Sportschau”; parts of this interview also appeared on the TV channel Hessischer Rundfunk. The segment shines light on Dr. Koerte’s research concerning the effects of heading the ball in soccer, and Dr. Koerte discusses the implications of her work for athletes’ health.

Dr. Martha Shenton Delivers a Seminar for The Ferenc Jolesz National Center for Image Guided Therapy

October 2017: Dr. Martha Shenton recently spoke at a seminar for the National Center for Image Guided Therapy, addressing current topics in Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and concussion research, and providing an overview of recent neuroimaging and histopathological findings.

The United Kingdom’s Professional Football Association Faces Pressure to Fund New Soccer Research Following Findings from Dr. Inga Koerte’s Study

The Department of Defense CDMRP Acknowledges Progress Made by the INTRuST Clinical Consortium Neuroimaging Leadership Core

January 2017: The U.S. Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) funded The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury Clinical Consortium, where Dr. Martha Shenton has been the lead on the neuroimaging aspects of this 10 site clinical consortium created to understand and to treat those afflicted with PTSD and traumatic brain injury. An article is featured on their home page, which discusses the The Injury and Traumatic Stress (INTRuST) study for PTSD and TBI, and the advancements that have been made in acquiring and analyzing structural, DWI and SWI neuroimages for this study. The PNL has been instrumental in developing and employing the imaging tools discussed in this article. A list of published research articles related to the INTRuST project is also included in the article for further exploration.

Answers in CTE Study Will Overshadow Controversy

July 2016: The Brigham Research Institute shared an article originally published in USA Today, highlighting Dr. Martha Shenton’s important involvement in research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The article looks optimistically at the new DIAGNOSE CTE study, and at the breakthroughs it will lead to in understanding the disorder, its diagnosis, and potential treatments. This superior understanding will minimize the controversy surrounding the NFL pulling its expected funding from the study.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital “Awards, Honors and Grants” Page Features Dr. Martha Shenton for Human Connectome Award

June 2016: Dr. Martha Shenton is again featured on Brigham and Women’s “Awards, Honors, and Grants” News Page. Dr. Shenton recently received an award from the National Institute of Mental Health for $5.35 million to fund research focused on studying neural connections in early psychosis. This research effort is part of the Human Connectome Project. Dr. Breier is a multiple PI on this project, and Drs. Larry Seidman, Dost Ongur and Daphne Holt are site PIs on this project.

CTE Investigators Launch $16 Million Study

June 2016: In light of the new Diagnose CTE study beginning, Boston University published an in depth article on the study, celebrating its purpose and its collaborative effort (with multiple study sites and four Principal Investigators). The article describes the possibilities the study may open for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of CTE, while also noting some of the study’s limitations.

Invaluable Answers to Come From the Diagnose CTE Study

June 2016: A recent article by USA TODAY describes how developing a diagnostic test for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy will make additional breakthroughs possible, such as understanding the disease’s underlying pathology and developing treatments for it. Drs. Robert Stern and Martha Shenton contribute to the article and explain their excitement to begin the new “Diagnose CTE” study.

Ex-NFL Safety Tim Fox Describes “Catastrophic Implications” Head Injuries Have on Everyday Life

June 2016: Former NFL player Tim Fox spoke to a large group of researchers and scientists as they met to launch their new study aimed at better understanding Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Fox demonstrates the importance of this research by explaining his personal battle with ongoing CTE-like symptoms.

Principal Investigators for New Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Grant Meet as Their Study Begins

June 2016: The new seven year, 16 million dollar grant entitled “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: Detection, Diagnosis, Course, and Risk Factors” had its first annual investigator meeting on June 1st and 2nd, 2016. The four principal investigators (PI) on this grant met at Boston University School of Medicine along with site investigators and staff from around the country. The Principal Investigators are: Robert Stern, Ph.D., the contact PI, and, listed alphabetically, Jeffrey Cummings, M.D., Eric Reiman, M.D., and Martha Shenton, Ph.D. – pictured here at this meeting.

CTE Research Moves On, Even Without the NFL’s Money

June 2016: The new grant coined “Diagnose CTE” had its first annual investigator meeting on June 1st and 2nd of 2016,  despite an initial setback that occurred when the NFL pulled their funding from the grant. Dr. Martha Shenton and the Psychiatry Neuroimaing Lab will be involved in neuroimaging aspects of this grant. Associated Press covered a story on the grant, its goals, and the “top brain scientists” in charge of the study that was widely cited across the news, being shared by US News & World Report, ESPN, Fox News, Boston Herald, USA Today, Yahoo, Business Insider, and countless other news sources.

WBUR News and Radio Station LIVE Interview: “Massive Study of Degenerative Brain Disease to Begin”

June 2016: During the first annual investigator meeting for the new “Diagnose CTE” grant, Boston’s WBUR conducted an interview with the study’s contact Principal Investigator Dr. Robert Stern, as well as with the former NFL player Tim Fox, who is helping support and advocate for the research. Drs. Cummings, Reiman, and Shenton were also mentioned in this important new study aimed at detecting CTE in living former NFL players and former college football players. Hear the live interview here with Stern and Fox as they describe the merits of this study and how it will help people like Tim Fox.

“After a Public Fall, The Face of NFL Concussion Denial Resurfaces.” STAT Reviews Dr. Ira Casson’s Unsound Study

April 2016: In a recent article, STAT news considers the ambiguity surrounding Dr. Ira Casson’s study that claimed to find no link between professional football and chronic brain damage. Dr. Inga Koerte lends support in the article to the widely held view that the study is greatly flawed, discussing the disparity between its MRI findings and the conclusions ultimately drawn from them.

German Science Magazine Spektrum der Wissenschaft: How Dangerous are Headers for the Brain?

April 2016: The popular science magazine Spektrum der Wissenschaft interviewed Dr. Inga Koerte for an article which examines how heading the ball in soccer may lead to sports-related brain trauma. Dr. Koerte’s recent research sheds a critical light on this topic.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s “Psychiatry Advances” Winter 2016 Issue Focuses on Groundbreaking Research from the Psychiatry Neuroimaging Lab

Winter 2016: The most recent issue of “Psychiatry Advances” details Drs. Martha Shenton, Inga Koerte and Julie Stamm’s recent imaging study on former NFL players, and discusses other technological imaging advances made by members of the lab Drs. Yogesh Rathi, Ofer Pasternak and Peter Savadjiev.

German Newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung Interviews Dr. Inga Koerte

February 2016: Dr. Inga Koerte is quoted in the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung discussing her recent study published in JAMA, which found brain structural and functional alterations and signs of neuroinflammation in professional soccer players with exposure to repetitive subconcussive blows.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital Newsroom Features Dr. Martha Shenton

January 2016: Dr. Martha Shenton is featured on Brigham and Women’s “Awards, Honors and Grants” News Page for the recent grant she was awarded together with investigators from Boston University, the Cleveland Clinic and Banner Alzheimer’s Institute to study Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

The Real Science Behind Concussions

January 2016: The scientific journal Laboratory Imaging’s newest Cover Story reviews novel, state of the art imaging techniques that can be used to study diseases in the living brain. The article discusses how these imaging techniques have led to new insights into Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, and Dr. Martha Shenton is interviewed, explaining how these techniques will be used in the new “Diagnose CTE” grant.

$16 Million for Brain Research, but $0 from the NFL

December 2015: The New York Times offers perspective on the National Institute of Health’s decision to directly fund a new Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy grant, on which Dr. Martha Shenton is a Principal Investigator, instead of using National Football League money.

NFL Denies Pulling Funds from Boston University’s Study of Degenerative Brain Disease

December 2015: Dr. Martha Shenton speaks to Boston University’s WBUR-FM about the symptoms and risk of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy following the announcement of a large, multi-million dollar NIH grant that will study this disorder. This grant was initially expected to be funded by the National Football League.

NFL Backs Away From Funding a Boston University Brain Study; NIH to Fund It Instead

December 2015: ESPN reporters tackle the controversy that a $30 million dollar donation from the National Football League will no longer be used to fund a new Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) grant. Dr. Martha Shenton is one of four Principal Investigators on this unprecedented multi-center NIH supported grant, which will investigate CTE in former NFL players and college athletes.

Boston University Reports on the New NIH/NINDS Grant Awarded to Develop Methods for Diagnosing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy During Life

December 2015: Boston University Public Relations discusses the new grant awarded to four Principal Investigators, one of whom is Dr. Martha Shenton, that will fund a new seven- year, multi- center study focused on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy diagnosis and risk factor identification.

Large Grant for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Biomarker Study

December 2015: A recent article by Alzforum provides an in depth look at a new Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) grant and the study it will fund. Dr. Martha Shenton is one of four Principal Investigators on this new grant, which was awarded to help find potential clinical diagnostic biomarkers for CTE, a currently understudied disorder.

Diagnosing CTE: A New $16 Million Grant to Detect Brain Trauma Disease in Living Victims

December 2015: Dr. Martha Shenton is one of four Principal Investigators who have been awarded a $16 million grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH/NINDS) to develop methods for diagnosing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy during life.

Paper Co-authored by PNL Investigators Wins 2014 Nelson Butters Award

September 2015: A paper authored by Rael T. Lange, William J. Panenka, Jason R. Shewchuk, Manraj K. S. Heran, Jeffery R Brubacher, Sylvain Bouix, Ryan Eckbo, Martha E. Shenton, and Grant L. Iverson has won the Nelson Butters Award for Research Contributions to Clinical Neuropsychology for 2014.  This award is annually given to the most influential scholarly paper published in Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. The paper, Diffusion Tensor Imaging Findings and Postconcussion Symptom Reporting Six-Weeks Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, published in 2015 (paper accepted in 2014), can be found here.

PNL Investigators Collaborate in Award Winning Research

September 2015: Drs. Pasternak and Shenton contributed to research that led to a junior scientist awarded medal, the “Johann Peter Süßmilch-Medal 2015,” to Dr. Klaus Herman Maier-Hein by the German Society of Medical Informatics, Biometry, and Epidemiology (GMDS). This award is the highest award given by the GMDS. Dr. Klaus Herman Maier-Hein was lead author on the research that led to this award. The research focused on white matter degeneration that precedes the onset of dementia, which was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia (2014).

Study Suggests Altered Brain Development Among Former NFL Players

August 2015: The Medical Xpress released an article reviewing research recently published in The Journal of Neurotrauma by Dr. Julie Stamm, members of the PNL, and collaborators. The article describes how former NFL players who started playing football before the age of 12 had a higher risk for developing alterations in a critical white matter tract.Along with Dr. Stamm, Drs. Inga Koerte, Martha Shenton, and Robert Stern are quoted, discussing the implications of this research.

Dr. Alex Lin Awarded BWH’s Radiology and Innovation Hub Funding

August 2015: Dr. Alex Lin’s project on integrating MR Spectroscopy into clinical management for brain tumors was awarded $10,000 seed funding and continued project management support from BWH’s Department of Radiology and the Brigham Innovation Hub (iHub). Read more here.

Study Links Pre-Teen Football to Brain Alterations in Retired NFL Players

August 2015: A study by Drs. Julie Stamm, Inga Koerte, Robert Stern, and Martha Shenton on the effects of early-age football on brain development has been making headlines. This influential research, published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, has been featured in the Boston Globe, Science Daily, PBS, CBS, Redorbit and Medical Xpress.

Former PNL Research Assistant Dr. Danielle Snyderman Uses Seniors’ Love Stories to Improve Care

June 2015: Former PNL research assistant Dr. Danielle Snyderman (98’-99’), a geriatrician, has been interviewing her elderly patients about their love stories to gain a better understanding of their needs during the later years of life. Read more here.

Drs. Kubicki and Shenton Co-Chair Symposium on “Neuroinflammation, White Matter, and Schizophrenia,” presented at the 2015 International Congress on Schizophrenia Research in Colorado Springs, CO.

April 2015: Drs. Kubicki and Shenton recently Co-Chaired a symposium aimed a identifying important themes for the future of neuroinflamation research in schizophrenia at the 2015 International Congress on Schizophrenia, which was reviewed in Schizophrenia Research Forum. Dr. Pasternak presented his work on free-water analysis and its role in schizophrenia at the symposium.

Concussion Case: An Unsettling Wait. Dr. Martha Shenton Offers Prospective on the Reality of Brain Injuries in the NFL

February 2015: “Concussion Case: An Unsettling Wait” by Bridgette Bjorlo, published in Columbia Sports Journalism, discusses a lawsuit filed against the NFL for reportedly failing to inform players of the detrimental long term neurological health risks of repeated head injury. Dr. Martha Shenton is quoted, offering her opinion on the reality of repetitive head injuries and their relationship to brain pathology.

2015 NCRC Final Awards

February 2015: Isobel Green’s poster “A Study of Resting and Reading: Investigating the Neural Signature of Developmental Dyslexia through Resting-State fMRI Analysis” was awarded a 2015 National Collegiate Research Conference Award of Excellence. Read more here.

BioMedUpdater: “Who is publishing in my Domain?” Top articles since 2010, lists Drs. Shenton, Whitford, and Kubicki as #1 of 20 articles published

January 2015: Drs. Shenton, Whitford, and Kubicki’s paper “Structural neuroimaging in schizophrenia: from methods to insights to treatments” (2010) placed first on BioMedUpdater’s top articles since 2010 list.  See the entire list here.

Jonathan Duskin Wins First Place at BU Undergradute Research Symposium

October 2014: Jonathan Duskin’s poster entitled Development and Implementation of a Pipeline for Determining Patterns of Volumetric and Microstructural Changes in Multiple Sclerosis won First Place out of approximately 250 posters at Boston University’s 17th annual UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program) Symposium (see photo).

Sports Related mTBI: A Public Health Ethical Imperative to Act

September 2014: Several PNL studies were cited in an article in AANS Neurosurgeon advocating the importance of public awareness of sports related mTBI.

Young Investigator Award

August 2014: Dr. Savadjiev was awarded a prestigious NARSAD Young Investigator Award. Peter is listed under the Schizophrenia section below “New Technologies.” Read more here.

Dr. Robert Stern Testifies Before United States Congress on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and Neurodegenerative Disease Research

June 2014: Dr. Robert Stern of Boston University’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center testified before the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging at a hearing entitled “Sports Brain Injuries and Aging” on June 25, 2014. Dr. Stern discusses the link between repetitive head impacts in athletes and neurodegenerative disease development, and highlights the need for continued research. His testimony is available in written form here, and for online viewing at the following CSPAN video.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital Congratulates Members of the Psychiatry Neuroimaging Lab for New Grants

June 2014: Drs. Matha Shenton and Marek Kubicki are congratulated in Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Psychiatry Monthly Newsletter for grants awarded to them in 2014. Dr. Shenton’s grants will investigate acute and chronic traumatic brain injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, whereas Dr. Kubicki’s grant focuses on schizophrenia.

Boston Globe: Ban Heading in Youth Soccer

May 2014: “Ban Heading in Youth Soccer”, by Derrick Z. Jackson, Opinion in Sunday Boston Globe article where Dr. Inga Koerte and Dr. Martha Shenton are cited for their research in reporting alterations in white matter in elite soccer players who have experienced subconcussive blows to the head but not concussion. Read more here.

Jonathan Duskin Receives Howard Hughes Medical Institute Award

April 2014: Jonathan Duskin (Boston University, ’15), was one of twenty-five undergraduate neuroscience majors at Boston University to receive funding through the “HHMI Summer Lab Experience” scholarship. The stipend will allow him to continue his work on Multiple Sclerosis with Dr. Ofer Pasternak throughout the Summer.

Dr. Shenton Testifies Before United States Congress on Sports Injuries

March 2014: Dr. Martha Shenton’s testimony before the United States House of Representatives, House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, at a hearing entitled “Improving Sports Safety: A Multifaceted Approach”, on March 13, 2014, is now available for online viewing at the following CSPAN video: (Panel 1: Sports Officials Panel)(Panel 2: Scientific Panel with Dr. Shenton’s testimony beginning at 41:09 and questions that follow).

PNL Study Finds Changes in Brains of Hockey Players Who Had Concussions

February 2014: A series of recently published papers in the Journal of Neurosurgery (Click for Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3) by Drs. Martha Shenton, Ofer Pasternak, Inga Koerte, Sylvain Bouix, Takeshi Sasaki, Marek Kubicki, Peter Savadjiev, Michael Mayinger, Marc Muehlmann and Eli Fredman has garnered international media attention and been featured in the New York Times, The Globe and Mail, The Sports Network, Fox News, The Calgary Herald, The Winnipeg Free Press, CTV News and The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.

PNL Goes to the World Series

October 2013: Research assistants Eli Fredman (representing the St. Louis Cardinals) and Brian Dahlben (representing the Boston Red Sox) took in Game 1 of the 2013 Fall Classic. Fredman was fortunate enough to take a foul ball right to the kidney (see picture).

A Brain Gone Bad

July 2013: Journalist Paul Voosen describes the PNL’s study on chronic head trauma, detailing the experience of an NFL player who participated in the study. Click here to read about Patient 53 and his time with us at the Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory.

PNL Featured in Prominent German Publications

July 2013: Dr. Inga Koerte was featured in Handelsblatt, Focus and Bild, three popular publications in Germany.

Headers Linked to Memory Deficit in Soccer Players

June 2013: Drs. Martha Shenton and Inga Koerte discussed the brain abnormalities associated with “headers” in a recent article in Science News.

Fatal Acceleration

May 2013: The PNL was featured in ZEIT, Germany’s most prestigious weekly newspaper. The article discusses how even minor brain injuries can have fatal consequences. It particularly highlights Drs. Inga Koerte and Martha Shenton‘s research on brain trauma in soccer players as a result of “headers”.

Sports-Related Head Injuries and Memory

April 2013: Drs. Inga Koerte and Martha Shenton’s influential paper on brain trauma in soccer players continues to make headlines. Recently, they were featured in the German Center of Research and Innovation newsletter.

What Heterogeneity Breeds: A Diverse Workforce in the Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory

April 2013: The BWH Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory was this month’s feature story in BWH Clinical and Research News. The story highlights the diverse group of researches at the PNL that are spearheading the use of state-of-the-art neuroimaging in TBI, schizphrenia and more.

Interview: Understanding Schizophrenia and Traumatic Brain Injury with MRI

March 2013: In an interview with Imaging in Medicine Journal, Dr. Martha Shenton discusses the PNL’s role in pioneering the use of advanced MRI techniques in the study of schizophrenia and, more recently, mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

NFL Kicks Off Brain Injury Research Effort

March 2013: In a recent publication in Science Magazine, Dr. Martha Shenton describes the importance of new sophisticated MRI techniques that can reveal microscopic damage to axons and brain lesions characteristic of mTBI.

Further Coverage of Paper on the Link Between Brain Trauma and “Headers” in Soccer

March 2013: Drs. Inga Koerte, Martha Shenton and Ross Zafonte‘s high impact JAMA paper on sub-concussive hits experienced by soccer players was highlighted in “Sueddeutsche Zeitung”, a high-profile newspaper in Germany; and in Neurology Today.

PET Scanning of Brain Tau in Retired National Football League Players: Preliminary Findings

January 2013: Dr. Martha Shenton’s comments on the recent study of tau neurofibrillary tangles in retired NFL players were published in Alzheimer Research News.

In Former Footballers, MRI Links Cognitive Problems to Axon Damage

January 2013: Drs. Martha Shenton, Robert Stern, and Inga Koerte, were featured on AlzForum Alzheimer Research News discussing the most recent evidence of white matter pathology in NFL players.

Soccer Research Featured in Latitude News

January 2013: Latitude News featured Dr. Inga Koerte and Dr. Ross Zafonte in an article discussing the impact that brain trauma can have on white matter in the brain. Their research was also featured on The Brigham and Women’s Hospital Health Blog.

Yogesh Rathi Selected to Participate in “HMS Leadership Development for Physicians and Scientists”

January 2013: Yogesh Rathi was one of 60 young investigators selected to participate in the HMS Leadership Development for Physicians and Scientists course at Harvard Medical School.

Chandler Dunn Accepted to Rensselaer Polytechnic University

December 2012: Summer Intern, Chandler Dunn was accepted Early Decision to Rensselaer Polytechnic University. He also received the Rensselaer Leadership Award. Read about his accomplishments here.

Ice Hockey Players Show Deficits in White Matter Integrity After One Season

December 2012: Led by first author Dr. Inga Koerte’s and senior author Dr. Martha Shenton, our group published findings on concussions and white matter integrity in hockey players in the Journal of Neurosurgery (full text). This high impact paper was covered in the New York Times, The Canadian Press, SlapShot (New York Times featurette), The Globe and Mail, International Herald Tribune, Vancouver Sun, and on CJAD Talk Radio (hear interview with Dr. Paul Echlin).

Cleveland Clinic Center for Brain Health CTE Conference Series

November 2012: Drs. Martha Shenton, Inga Koerte and Robert Stern were featured in Part 2, Part 5 and Part 6 of the six part CTE Conference series report. The article highlights the cohort study, “Diagnosing and Evaluating Traumatic Encephalopathy using Clinical Tests” (DETECT) which is led by Drs. Stern and Shenton. The study is the first CTE program funded by the NIH and hopes to develop a research diagnostic criteria for chronic traumatic encephalopathy. (Read a PDF of the entire series here.)

Diffusion Imaging of Mild TBI

November 2012: Harvard Medicine News featured Drs. Martha Shenton, Ross Zafonte, and Joseph Giacino in a piece describing the utility of DTI in characterization of mild TBI. (See also: Wounded, Deeply, a video preview of the Autumn 2012 issue of Harvard Medicine magazine, featuring Dr. Shenton.)

Does Playing Soccer Harm the Brain?

November 2012: Dr. Inga Koerte’s and senior author Dr. Martha Shenton’s JAMA paper (see Brigham & Women’s Press Release and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität) garnered international attention, as it was the first original research to suggest that the sub-concussive hits experienced by elite soccer players are associated with alterations in white matter. Their work was featured in TIME Magazine, US News, ABC News (reposted from MedPage Today [see video]), JAMA, The Munich Eye, Los Angeles Times, Healthline, ABC7Chicago, Doctors Lounge, The Week Magazine, Harvard Medicine News, Medical Daily, and Elite Daily.

NIMH New and Notable Project

October 2012: The NIMH has cited Dr. Rathi’s research as one of their new recently funded projects. This project proposes to use new computational and acquisition approaches to shorten the scanner time needed for conducting advanced diffusion imaging.

Draper Forms Consortium of Experts Focused on PTSD

August 2012: Draper Laboratory in Cambridge has formed a consortium of experts, including Dr. Shenton, focusing on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

NARSAD Award

July 2012: Dr. Pasternak was awarded the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) Young Investigator Award of the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. This was awarded for his research project entitled, “Free-Water as a Novel Biomarker for the Investigation of Inflammation and Degeneration Dynamics in Schizophrenia”, with Drs. Shenton and Kubicki as co-mentors.

Top 25 Most Downloaded Research Articles in 2011

April 2012: Dr. Shenton’s research paper was listed among the top most downloaded articles in the area of schizophrenia in 2011. 

The Boston Globe

April 2012: Dr. Fitzsimmons was featured in The Boston Globe. See also previously featured photos with Usman, now a doctor, on June 2011 and on October 2011.

The Psychiatry Neuroimaging Lab is Featured in the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Psychiatry Newsletter Update

February 2012: The Department of Psychiatry Newsletter from Brigham and Women’s Hospital highlights cutting edge Traumatic Brain Injury research currently being undertaken by Drs. Martha Shenton, Ofer Pasternak and Alexander Lin.

Travel Award

February 2012: Dr. Quan received the travel award for the biennial conference of Schizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS) in April, 2012, Florence, Italy. She’s one of 36 out of 240 selected for this award.

Livingston Award

January 2012: Dr. Quan was selected as the recipient of the Livingston Award, effective July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013.

2012 Lloyd Braga Endowed Chair

December 2012: Dr. Shenton was awarded the 2012 Lloyd Braga Endowed Chair from the University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. (See a video clip here.)

Harvard Catalyst Award

December 2011: Dr. Kikinis was awarded funding from the Harvard Catalyst Clinical Research Center Junior Investigator Laboratory Support Awards, to support her genotype analysis at the PCPGM facility.

The Boston Globe – Stylish Bostonian

September 2011: Dr. Fitzsimmons was chosen as one of the 25 most stylish Bostonians of 2011! See article on The Boston Globe.

Eleanor and Miles Shore Fellowship

June 2011: Dr. Hamoda received the Eleanor and Miles Shore Fellowship Program for Scholars in Medicine.

SOBP Poster Considered for Top Poster Award

May 2011: Meina’s abstract for Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP), with the title “Abnormalities of White Matter Tracts between Rostral Middle Frontal Gyrus / Inferior Frontal Gyrus and Striatum in First-Episode Schizophrenia,” was one of 47 out of over 600 abstracts, based on overall scores, to be considered for the Top Poster Award.

Article in IEEE Spectrum

March 2011: An article appeared in the IEEE Spectrum magazine highlighting state-of-the-art software created by Dr. Yogesh Rathi that aid in picking out patients with Schizophrenia correctly 90% of the time.

New Book Available

January 2011: A new book titled Understanding Neuropsychiatric Disorders edited by Drs. Shenton and Turetsky is now available from Cambridge University Press.

The Psychiatry Neuroimaging Lab’s Mission and Research is Introduced in Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry Update

Winter 2011: The Department of Psychiatry Newsletter explains how the Psychiatry Neuroimaging Lab is using novel neuroimaging techniques to study brain abnormalities in schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury, chronic traumatic encephalopathy and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Article in the Atlantic

October 2010: An article on how a different MRI technique used in Dr. Shenton’s lab may help in diagnosing football-induced injuries appeared in the Atlantic. Read article here.

History Channel’s Stan Lee’s Superhumans

August 2010: Dr. Shenton appears on History Channel’s Stan Lee’s Superhumans – Hammer Head episode where she discusses skull thickness of a man who drives spikes into boards with his head. View episode.

SIRS Essay Contest

April 2010: Dr. Whitford’s abstract received an honorable mention in the 2nd Schizophrenia International Research Society Conference (SIRS) Essay Contest.

Science Watch Names Dr. Shenton as One of the Most Cited Researchers in the Last Decade

August 2009: Science Watch recently presented a listing of the top 20 institutions that attracted the highest total citations to papers published in journals between 1999 and 2009. Dr. Martha Shenton was listed as one of Harvard University’s top “scorerers” during this time period.

ARRA ’09

September 2009: Rebecca King was a recipient of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding for students and was a summer intern at the PNL under the direction of Dr. Shenton. Read more here.

MICCAI ’09

September 2009: Dr. Savadjiev received the MICCAI 2009 Young Scientist Award under Category 5: Medical Image Computing: Shape Analysis.

Article in The Boston Globe

August 2009: An article titled “Unfolding the mysteries of the brain” highlighting research progress in understanding cortical development appeared in The Boston Globe. Read article here.

William Silen Lifetime Award for Mentoring 2008-2009

2008-2009: Dr. Shenton was the recipient of the William Silen Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award (2008-2009) by Harvard Medical School. See here for recipients of the award. The award ceremony (scroll down to see picture) was held on June 11, 2009 at Harvard Medical School.

Distinguished Investigator Award from National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD)

2009: Dr. Shenton received the Distinguished Investigator Award from National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD).

Poster Presentations

ICOSR: Drs. Dickey, Kikinis, Schneiderman, Whitford presented posters at International Congress on Schizophrenia Research.

Recent Talks

April 2009: Dr. Kubicki gave talks titled “Advances in DTI and Its Applications to Schizophrenia” and “New Methods for Assessing Whole Brain DTI Abnormalities in Schizophrenia” at the International Congress of World Psychiatric Association, Florence, Italy.

CIMIT Award

CIMIT: Dr. Bouix was awarded the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology Soldier in Medicine New Concept Award for his research project titled, “Diagnosis of Diffuse Axonal Injury with Diffusion Tensor Imaging”. Dr. Bouix will use this grant to design a novel brain imaging analysis technique to better diagnose traumatic brain injury using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI).

Top 20 Institutions in Psychiatry and Psychology

December 2008: ScienceWatch lists Harvard University at the top of 20 institutions in Psychiatry and Psychology based on total citations to papers published in Thomson Reuters-indexed Psychiatry and Pscyhology journals. These institutions are the top 20 out of a pool of 360 institutions comprising the top 1% ranked by total citation count in this field. Dr. Shenton is mentioned as a highly cited Harvard Author.

Recent Talks

October 2008: Dr. Shenton gave a talk titled “An Update of MRI and DTI Findings in Schizophrenia” on October 30 2008 at Grand Rounds for the Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Residency Training Program.

September 2008: Dr. Shenton recently chaired “Symposium: Neuroimaging and Pyschosis – Current trends, 21st European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress” on September 1 2008 in Barcelona, Spain and gave a talk entitled “Advances in white matter imaging in Schizophrenia”.

New Grants-2008

NIH: Dr. Shenton was awarded the 1R03 TW 008134-01 National Institutes of Health Award for her research project titled, “MRI and Neuropsychological Findings in Schizophrenia, ADHD and Healthy Controls”.

Dr. Rathi was awarded a grant from Partners Information Systems Research Council for the year 2008-2009 for his research project titled, “Real-time graphics processor unit based image registration software”.

DoD: Dr. Shenton was awarded the W81XWH-07-CC-CS Department of Defense grant for her research project #3 “Diffusion Tensor Imaging as a potential biomarker of White Matter Injury in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)”. Dr. Ross Zafonte is the principal investigator for the larger grant entitled: “Harvard Clinical Defense Consortium (HCDC): PTSD/TBI Clinical Consortium”.

NARSAD: Dr. Kikinis was awarded the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression Young Investigator Award for her research project entitled, “White Matter Changes in Subjects with Neuregulin 1 Haplotype HAP-ICE and ErbB4 Schizophrenia Risk Haplotypes”, with Drs. Shenton and Gabriel Corfas as co-mentors. See also BWH Medical Staff News. NARSAD is the world’s leading charity dedicated to mental health research. The very competitive and prestigious Young Investigator Award was created to help the most promising scientists enter the field of mental health research. Over the next two years, Dr. Kikinis will study changes in white matter in the brain and its association with genetic variations in two genes relevant to white matter, Neuregulin1 and ErbB4. Results from this study will likely lead to a further subtyping of patients with schizophrenia based on genotyping, which, in turn, will likely lead to more targeted pharmacological treatments in the future.

NHMRC Training Fellowship: Dr. Whitford was awarded a National Health and Medical Research Council Training Fellowship from the Australian Government, with Dr. Shenton as supervisor.

NIMH: Dr. Dickey was awarded a National Institute of Mental Health R21 MH 077979 grant for her project entitled, “Behavioral and fMRI study: Social Reciprocity in Schizotypal Personality Disorder”.

Fast Breaking Papers: Dr. Marek Kubicki

April 2008 Interview: Dr. Kubicki was recently interviewed by Sciencewatch.com for his 2007 fast breaking review paper in schizophrenia, which is rated in the top 1% of all papers cited in the field over the past year. This paper reviews findings in Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) in the field of schizophrenia.

Grants-2007

NIH: Dr. Westin received the R01 MH 074794 National Institutes of Health Award for his research project titled, “Novel DT-MRI Analyses of White Matter in Schizophrenia”. Dr. Shenton is the co-investigator.

NIMH: Dr. McCarley received the R01 MH 40799 National Institute of Mental Health grant for his research project titled, “Neurophysiological Studies of Schizophrenia”. Dr. Shenton is the co-investigator.

Dr. McCarley (principal investigator) and Dr. Shenton (co-principal investigator) were awarded the VA Schizophrenia Center grant for the research project titled, “Neuroimaging Insights into Schizophrenia & Treatment Implications”.

NIH: Drs. McCarley and Shenton were awarded the 1P50 MH 080272 NIH Mental Health Centers for Interventional Development and Applied Research (CIDAR) grant for the projects titled, “Vulnerability to Progression in Schizophrenia” (PI: Dr. McCarley) and “Vulnerability to White Matter Progression in Schizophrenia” (PI: Dr. Shenton).

Dr. Levitt (PI) and Dr. Shenton (investigator) received the VA Merit Award for the research project titled, “MR Brain Imaging of Frontal-Striatal- Thalamic Circuits in Schizophrenia”.

Articles – 2007

December 2007: Dr. Shenton was featured in The Scientist, in a special supplement on schizophrenia. Read article.

Winter 2007: Read article on the advances in schizophrenia research featured in Brigham and Women’s magazine.

ESI Special Topics in Schizophrenia, ISI Thomson Scientific-2007

1997-2007: For this decade in schizophrenia research, Dr. Shenton is listed as the 8th most cited schizophrenia researcher in the world, out of 26,117 authors. The database consists of 13,989 papers, 99 countries, 947 journals and 6,863 organizations. See an interview with Dr. Shenton.

Related articles in the past: For the period 1991-1999, Dr. Shenton was listed as the 14th most cited schizophrenia researcher, out of 24,088 authors. Moreover, her paper in the New England Journal of Medicine was the 4th most cited paper out of 19,506 papers. The database included 101 countries, 1, 139 journals and 5,514 organizations. See past interview with Dr. Shenton. Her review paper is also among the top 1% of breaking papers listed in ESI. She is also a co-author on the 10th most cited PTSD paper in the 1990’s in the area of PTSD research (for more details).

ICOSR 2007-Imaging Studies Seek Schizophrenia Markers

From the article: “On Friday, 30 March 2007, at the International Congress on Schizophrenia Research in Colorado Springs, Dr. Shenton of Harvard Medical School, Boston, chaired a symposium session entitled, “Evidence for endophenotypic markers in schizophrenia.” Young Investigator travel awardee Neeltje E. M. van Haren of the University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands, was there to report. In this session, the 10 speakers presented a number of findings that were relevant to possible endophenotypic markers in schizophrenia.”