Kimberly Sullivan
Profiles

Kimberly A Sullivan, PhD

Research Associate Professor, Environmental Health - Boston University School of Public Health

(617) 358-2598
tty@bu.edu
Talbot - 120
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Biography

Dr. Sullivan is a Research Associate Professor at the Boston University School of Public Health department of Environmental Health and the former Associate Scientific Director for the Congressionally-directed Research Advisory Committee (RAC) on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses. She is a behavioral neuroscientist and the Principal Investigator (PI) on the large multi-site Gulf War Illness Consortium (GWIC) that includes 9 study sites and is designed to determine the pathobiology of Gulf War Illness (GWI). She is also the PI of the large, multi-site Gulf War Illness Biorepository Network (BBRAIN) designed to share biospecimens and foster collaboration with other GWI researchers. She is also site PI for multiple treatment trials including Co-enzyme Q10 and D-cycloserine to treat cognitive and fatigue problems in veterans with GWI and multiple phase I/II trials of the multi-site GWI Clinical Trials Consortium (GWICTIC). Dr. Sullivan has worked in the field of aging and behavioral neurotoxicology since 1992. She has also coordinated field studies in neurotoxicology (i.e., pesticides, methylmercury), neurobehavioral outcomes and the effects of physical stressors and genetic predisposition to disease on cognitive functioning in Alzheimer's disease, stroke and Parkinson disease.

Education

  • Boston University, PhD Field of Study: Neuroscience/Neurology
  • Curry College, BA Field of Study: Psychology

Websites

Publications

  • Published on 7/21/2025

    Mehrbod Mohammadian, Nikos Efthimiou, Ludovica Brusaferri, Joya Cooper-Hohn, Minhae Kim, Jennifer P. Murphy, Zeynab Alshelh, Grace Grmek, Jack H. Schnieders, Courtney A. Chane, Thomas G. Carmichael, Danika Yang, Ciprian Catana, Steven M. Stufflebeam, Robert R. Edwards, Vitaly Napadow, Kimberly Sullivan, Matthias Nahrendorf, Jodi M. Gilman, Marco L. Loggia. Evidence for a role of skull bone marrow in human chronic pain as revealed by TSPO PET imaging. 2025; 2025.07.19.25331817.

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  • Published on 7/7/2025

    Lee JT, Basak SK, Yang HH, Sullivan KA, Maxim T, Shin DS, Klimas N, Srivatsan ES. Synergistic Cytotoxicity of Permethrin and N,N-Diethyl-Meta-Toluamide on Sinonasal Epithelial Cells. OTO Open. 2025; 9(3):e70145. PMID: 40630723.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 6/20/2025

    Shetty AK, Sullivan K, Qiang L. Editorial: Brain dysfunction in Gulf War illness: pathophysiology and treatment. Front Neurosci. 2025; 19:1642052. PMID: 40620354.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 2/7/2025

    Jivianne T. Lee, Nancy Klimas, Bhavani Shankara Gowda, Saroj B. Basak, Eri Srivatsan, Monica Cappelletti, Kimberly Sullivan. J Neurol Surg B Skull Base. Analysis of Inflammatory Cytokine Levels in Sinonasal Secretions of Gulf War Veterans with and without Gulf War Illness. 2025; S1-S576(86(S 01): ).

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  • Published on 1/3/2025

    Abou-Donia MB, Conboy LA, Kokkotou E, Jacobson E, Elmasry EM, Elkafrawy P, Neely M, Dale Bass CR, Sullivan K. Retraction notice to "Screening for novel central nervous system biomarkers in veterans with Gulf War Illness" [Neurotoxicology and Teratology 61 (2017) 36-46]. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2025; 107:107423. PMID: 39755468.

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  • Published on 12/16/2024

    Niles BL, Kaiser AP, Crow T, McQuade M, Polizzi C, Palumbo C, Krengel M, Sullivan K, Wang C, Mori DL. Tai Chi and Wellness Interventions for Veterans with Gulf War Illness: A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial. Int J Behav Med. 2024 Dec 16. PMID: 39681780.

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  • Published on 9/30/2024

    Cheng CH, Guan Y, Chiplunkar VP, Mortazavi F, Medalla ML, Sullivan K, O'Callaghan JP, Koo BB, Kelly KA, Michalovicz LT. Nerve agent exposure and physiological stress alter brain microstructure and immune profiles after inflammatory challenge in a long-term rat model of Gulf War Illness. Brain Behav Immun Health. 2024 Dec; 42:100878. PMID: 39430882.

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  • Published on 8/26/2024

    Krengel M, Sullivan K, Zundel CG, Keating D, Orlinsky L, Bradford W, Stone C, Thompson TA, Heeren T, White RF. Toxicant Exposures and Health Symptoms in Military Pesticide Applicators From the 1991 Gulf War. J Occup Environ Med. 2024 Nov 01; 66(11):e584-e592. PMID: 39190332.

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  • Published on 8/21/2024

    Trivedi A, Bose D, Moffat K, Pearson E, Walsh D, Cohen D, Skupsky J, Chao L, Golier J, Janulewicz P, Sullivan K, Krengel M, Tuteja A, Klimas N, Chatterjee S. Gulf War Illness Is Associated with Host Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis and Is Linked to Altered Species Abundance in Veterans from the BBRAIN Cohort. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Aug 21; 21(8). PMID: 39200711.

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  • Published on 8/5/2024

    Abou-Donia MB, Krengel MH, Lapadula ES, Zundel CG, LeClair J, Massaro J, Quinn E, Conboy LA, Kokkotou E, Nguyen DD, Abreu M, Klimas NG, Sullivan K. RETRACTED: Abou-Donia et al. Sex-Based Differences in Plasma Autoantibodies to Central Nervous System Proteins in Gulf War Veterans versus Healthy and Symptomatic Controls. Brain Sci. 2021, 11, 148. Brain Sci. 2024 Aug 05; 14(8). PMID: 39199542.

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