Dr. McKee and her team of neuropathologists and other investigators have published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and studies focused on CTE in highly regarded journals, and written over 30 grants to support the daily operations of the brain bank.<\/p>\n
The UNITE Brain Bank:<\/strong><\/p>\n Collects central nervous system tissue samples (brain, spinal cord and eyes) from deceased athletes to better understand the long term effects of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Researchers at the UNITE Brain Bank are dedicated to improving understanding of the long term consequences of mTBI and advancing the diagnosis, treatment and care and for Veterans and civilians living with mTBI and CTE.<\/p>\n The UNITE research team is focused on developing:<\/strong><\/p>\n All publication of findings are de-identified (without name and identifiable details) unless the CTE Center has received permission from the family to publicize the subject\u2019s participation.<\/p>\n Family members of deceased athletes may donate their loved one\u2019s brain and spinal cord after their death to the UNITE Brain Bank to be examined neuropathologically for evidence of CTE or other disorders of the central nervous system. The family member(s) will be interviewed for a history of their loved one, including their loved one\u2019s athletic and concussion history, educational and occupational history, medical history and history of cognitive, behavioral, and mood symptoms.<\/p>\n For additional information, please contact: Sophia Nosek<\/b><\/strong><\/a> at <\/a>snosek@bu.edu<\/a><\/a>. For imminent brain donation inquiries, please call the UNITE Brain Bank\u2019s 24\/7 voicemail\/pager at 617-992-0615.<\/b> Brain donation is a time-sensitive process, so we must be in touch with the legal next-of-kin or medical examiner as soon as possible around the time of death. Families are encouraged to express their intent to donate to the UNITE Brain Bank to coroners, investigators, medical examiners, and funeral directors.<\/strong><\/p>\n Please review our brain donation brochures<\/a> and FAQ<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n For questions regarding your Brain Donation Registry Card, please contact the Concussion & CTE Foundation: cardrequest@concussionfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Ann McKee<\/p>\n\t\t William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor of Neurology and Pathology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Thor Stein<\/p>\n\t\t Director, Molecular Research, BU CTE Center Victor Alvarez<\/p>\n\t\t Director of Laboratory Operations, BU CTE Center Jon Cherry<\/p>\n\t\t Director, Digital Core, BU ADRC & BU CTE Center Jesse Mez<\/p>\n\t\t Co-Director, Clinical Research, BU CTE Center Michael Alosco<\/p>\n\t\t Co-Director of Clinical Research, BU CTE Center Robert Stern<\/p>\n\t\t Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Lisa McHale<\/p>\n\t\t Director of Legacy Family Relations<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Bobby Abdolmohammadi<\/p>\n\t\t Research Data Analyst III<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Sophia Nosek<\/p>\n\t\t Research Program Manager<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t Daniel H. Daneshvar<\/p>\n\t\t Chief of Brain Injury Rehabilitation, Department of PM&R, Harvard Medical School Brigid Dwyer<\/p>\n\t\t Associate Professor of Neurology at Chobanian & Avedisian SOM Doug Katz<\/p>\n\t\t Professor, Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Robert Cantu<\/p>\n\t\t Medical Director and Director of Clinical Research, Dr. Robert C. Cantu Concussion Center Lee Goldstein<\/p>\n\t\t Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University Avedisian & Chobanian School of Medicine Neil Kowall<\/p>\n\t\t Director Emeritus of the BU ADRC<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Nurgul Aytan<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n \n\t Katie Babcock<\/p>\n\t\t Postdoctoral Associate<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n \n\t Daniel Kirsch<\/p>\n\t\t MD\/PhD Student<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Samantha Calderazzo<\/p>\n\t\t MD\/PhD Student<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Morgane Butler<\/p>\n\t\t Research Staff<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Kerry Breen<\/p>\n\t\t PhD Student<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Annalise Miner<\/p>\n\t\t PhD Candidate<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Jenna R. Groh<\/p>\n\t\t Postdoctoral Associate<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Diana Trujillo-Rodriguez<\/p>\n\t\t PhD Candidate<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n \n\t Grace Hansen<\/p>\n\t\t Research Specialist I<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Susie Marcus<\/p>\n\t\t Undergraduate Intern<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n \n\t Carol Kubilus<\/p>\n\t\t Histologist<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Kerry Cormier<\/p>\n\t\t Histologist<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Rebecca Mathias<\/p>\n\t\t Senior Neuropathology Technician<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n \n\t Ray Nicks<\/p>\n\t\t Senior Neuropathology Research Fellow<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Chelsea Ji<\/p>\n\t\t Research Assistant<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Hunter Kelley<\/p>\n\t\t Health Science Specialist and Laboratory Technician<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n \n\t Kelly McLean<\/p>\n\t\t Senior Research Program Manager<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Olivia Perini<\/p>\n\t\t Research Assistant II<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Adriana Rodriguez<\/p>\n\t\t Research Specialist I<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n Christopher Tilton<\/p>\n\t\t Research Technician II<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" About The UNITE Brain Bank is the largest tissue repository in the world focused on traumatic brain injury (TBI) and CTE. The UNITE Brain Bank research team conducts high-impact, innovative research on chronic traumatic encephalopathy and other long-term consequences of repetitive brain trauma in athletes, military personnel, first responders, victims of physical violence, and others […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1984,"featured_media":0,"parent":54,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/58"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1984"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58"}],"version-history":[{"count":55,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/58\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10167,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/58\/revisions\/10167"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/54"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n
\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nNeuropathology Team<\/h3>\n\n\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n
![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2017\/07\/AMC-headshot-June-2024-336x300.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t
\r\nDirector, BU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center & BU CTE Center
\r\nChief of Neuropathology, VA Boston Healthcare System<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2017\/07\/Thor-Stein-5x7-1-214x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t
\r\nDirector, Neuropathology Core, BU ADRC
\r\nAssociate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University Avedisian & Chobanian School of Medicine
\r\nNeuropathologist, VA Boston Healthcare System<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2017\/07\/Victor-Alvarez.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t
\r\nAssistant Professor of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2017\/07\/Jon-Cherry.png\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t
\r\nResearch Neuropathologist, BU ADRC & BU CTE Center
\r\nAssistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University Avedisian & Chobanian School of Medicine
\r\nResearch Health Scientist, VA Boston Healthcare System<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n\nClinical Team<\/h3>\n\n\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n
![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2017\/07\/Jesse-Mez-200x300.png\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t
\r\nAssociate Director, BU ADRC
\r\nAssociate Professor of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
\r\nCo-Leader, Framingham Heart Study Brain Aging Program Clinical Core<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2017\/07\/Alosco_Michael-5x7-214x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t
\r\nResearch Vice Chair and Associate Professor of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
\r\nLeader, Boston University Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Research Center Clinical Core<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2017\/07\/Stern-Headshot.jpg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t
\r\nCo-Founder & Director of Clinical Research, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2018\/01\/Lisa-McHale.png\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2022\/07\/thumbnail-300x300.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2023\/07\/Sophia-Nosek_Headshot-214x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\tMeet the UNITE Study Research Faculty<\/h5>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n
![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2022\/07\/Dan-Daneshvar.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t
\r\nVice President of Medical Staff, Spaulding Rehabilitation
\r\nCo-Director of Sports Concussion, Mass General Brigham
\r\nAssociate Professor, Harvard Medical School<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2022\/07\/Headshot-low-resolution-copy-199x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t
\r\nInvestigator, Chobanian & Avedisian SOM
\r\nDirector, Vascular Brain Injury Program, Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Braintree<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2022\/07\/Medium-Douglas-Katz_743_2x3.jpg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t
\r\nMedical Director, Brain Injury Program, Encompass Health Braintree Rehabilitation<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2022\/07\/Robert-Cantu.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t
\r\nChief of Neurosurgery Service and Director of Sports Medicine at Emerson Health
\r\nClinical Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Clinical Therapeutics Leader AD-CTE Center, Boston University Medical Center
\r\nFounding Member & Medical Director, Concussion Legacy Foundation<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2017\/07\/Screen-Shot-2017-07-19-at-10.47.29-AM-237x300.png\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t
\r\nBiomedical Engineering and Biomarker Core Co-Leader<\/p>\t<\/a>\n<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2022\/07\/Neil-Kowall-200x300.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\tPostdoctoral Associates<\/h5>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n
![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2022\/07\/Katie-Babcock-207x300.png\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\tDoctoral Students<\/h5>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n
![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2019\/02\/Daniel-Kirsch-Headshot-July-2024-v.2-179x300.png\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2022\/07\/IMG_5867-2_Samantha-Calderazzo-200x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2022\/07\/Morgane-Butler-200x300.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2023\/08\/Kerry-Breen.png\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2023\/08\/Annalise-Miner-Headshot.jpg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2023\/08\/Jenna-Groh.jpg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2023\/07\/Profile-Pic232-321x300.png\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\tStudents and Trainees<\/h5>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n
![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2022\/07\/IMG_C55584DC5F0D-1_Grace-Hansen-255x300.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\tHistologists<\/h5>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n
![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2017\/07\/CAROL-KUBILUS-230x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2017\/07\/Cormier-headshot-260x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2017\/07\/Rebecca-Mathias-HT-ASCP.jpg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\tBrain Processing Staff<\/h5>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n
![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2017\/07\/Ray-Nicks-228x300.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2022\/10\/Chelsea-Ji-280x300.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2019\/07\/Hunter_Kelley_Headshot.jpg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\tResearch Assistants & Administrative Staff<\/h5>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n
![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2021\/03\/Kelly-McLean-Photo-255x300.jpg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2025\/07\/Olivia-Perini-Headshot.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"\/cte\/files\/2025\/12\/Adriana-Rodriguez-258x300.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\t\t\t\t
\n