Karin Schon

Background

Dr. Schon 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 Psychology at Boston University in 2005. Her dissertation focused on functional neuroimaging studies of working memory and long-term 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 Pathway to Independence Career Development 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 lobe memory system. In May 2013 she joined the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology at the Boston University School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor.

Research Interests

Dr. Schon’s research interests currently focus on investigating the role of aerobic exercise as a modulator of cognitive function and brain health in aging and Alzheimer’s disease in humans. She uses functional and structural MRI, behavioral and exercise physiology methods, and biomarker assays.

In addition to her Career Development Award from the National Institute on Aging that she received in 2010, Dr. Schon was awarded the Kavita Jain Dissertation Award for best dissertation at the Department of Psychology at Boston University and a Felicia Sorembe Lambros Prize for Research from Boston University in 2005. Dr. Schon is a 2013 CCAD Junior Investigator of the Charleston Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease. She is a member of the Society for Neuroscience, the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, and the International Neuropsychological Society.

Additional research topics include: Cognitive neuroimaging of human memory, brain plasticity, medial temporal lobe memory system, exercise neuroscience, and healthy aging, using a variety of methods including cognitive testing, neuropsychology, functional and structural MRI, high-resolution fMRI, exercise testing and training, and biomarker assays (e.g. neurotrophins, such as BDNF, IGF-1, and VEGF).ADC Role

Dr. Schon is a cognitive neuroscientist collaborating with ADC investigators.

Awards/Memberships

In addition to her Career Development Award from the National Institute on Aging that she received in 2010, Dr. Schon was awarded the Kavita Jain Dissertation Award for best dissertation at the Department of Psychology at Boston University and a Felicia Sorembe Lambros Prize for Research from Boston University in 2005. Dr. Schon is a 2013 CCAD Junior Investigator of the Charleston Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease. She is a member of the Society for Neuroscience, the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, and the International Neuropsychological Society.

Recent Publications

For a full list of publications click here.

• Whiteman AS, Young DE, Budson AE, Stern CE, Schon K. Entorhinal volume, aerobic fitness, and recognition memory in healthy young adults: A voxel-based morphometry study. Neuroimage. 2016 Feb 01; 126:229-38. PMID: 26631814.
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• Nauer RK, Whiteman AS, Dunne MF, Stern CE, Schon K. Hippocampal subfield and medial temporal cortical persistent activity during working memory reflects ongoing encoding. Front Syst Neurosci. 2015; 9:30. PMID: 25859188.
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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.
  View in: PubMed