Assistant Professor
Northeastern University
I am an Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences and my research is
focused on the interplay between modifiable lifestyle behaviors like physical activity and sleep, and brain and
cognition in traumatic brain injury populations. My work leverages the bidirectional relationship between lifestyle
behaviors and the brain. First, my work shows that modifiable lifestyle behaviors can benefit cognitive and brain
health across the lifespan and following traumatic brain injury. Second, my work also shows that neural
mechanisms can predict engagement in complex lifestyle behaviors which can be leveraged to design behavior
change interventions. I have performed this research in acute and chronic traumatic brain injury populations as
well as healthy older adults. I have implemented state-of-the-art and up-to-date statistical methodology, including
functional and structural neuroimaging, across interventional, epidemiological, cross-sectional and prediction
(machine learning) study designs and I have formal training in applied biostatistics. In my research I have shown
acute moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury survivors can engage in aerobic physical exercise and that
participation in physical activity is even more beneficial for these with a history of traumatic brain injury compared
to those without such a history. I have further shown that light aerobic exercise, an intervention accessible for
those with traumatic brain injury, can improve multitasking performance and brain plasticity using non-invasive
brain stimulation techniques. I have provided evidence that advanced high-resolution neuroimaging can detect
mild traumatic brain injury and predict cognitive recovery and have shown that axonal injury to specific white
matter architecture provides evidence of why some patients with traumatic brain injury develop sleep
disturbances and others do not. As the principal investigator of two ongoing randomized
controlled trials in traumatic brain injury populations (NCT06494592, NCT06222502).
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