Brain Plasticity and Neuroimaging Laboratory
A Functional Neuroanatomy Research Lab
Director: Karin Schon, Ph.D.
Welcome to the website of the Brain Plasticity and Neuroimaging Laboratory. The Brain Plasticity and Neuroimaging Lab was established in May 2013. The lab’s research mission is to understand modulators of brain plasticity mechanisms and human cognition from a cognitive neuroscience perspective. Research in the lab focuses on the medial temporal hippocampal system and modifiers of brain function and structure, such as exercise, psychosocial stress, and aging. More recently, research in the lab has focused on the impact of chronic stress related to experiences or social discrimination and racism burden on brain health and neurocognitive aging.
We are hiring!
Are you interested in working with a diverse research team in cognitive neuroscience that takes an anti-racist perspective? Our research program examines the relationship between psychosocial stress, with a special focus on racism burden, and 1) cardiovascular disease risk and neurocognitive aging and 2) mental health and brain function in emerging adults.
Our lab’s primary affiliation is with the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology located in the School of Medicine on the Boston University Medical Campus. We are additionally affiliated with the Graduate Program in Neuroscience, the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, the Cognitive Neuroimaging Center, the Alzheimer’s Disease Center, the Center for Systems Neuroscience, and the Center for Antiracist Research at BU.
We currently have several open positions, including two PostDoc positions and several research assistant/study coordinator positions.
From left to right – top row: Karin Schon, Michael Rosario; middle row: Arjun Batra, Razan Alotaibi; bottom: Samantha Davis, Rayven-Nikkita Collins
📸 credit: Michael Rosario (8/2022)
Anti-Racism Statement
6/10/2020
We, the members of the BU Brain Plasticity and Neuroimaging Laboratory, condemn police brutality, white supremacy and the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade and all other victims of police brutality and systemic racism. We are also deeply concerned about the disproportionate impact the COVID-19 pandemic has on our black and brown communities. We are committed to raising awareness about racism, racial health inequities, such as the Alzheimer’s disease health disparity, and the negative mental and physical health impact of both interpersonal and systemic racism. We affirm our commitment to eradicating all forms of racism and racial health inequities and are proud to be part of an institution that is committed to antiracist research.
Karin Schon, Ph.D., Director, Brain Plasticity and Neuroimaging Laboratory
Razan Alotaibi, Ph.D. Student, Anatomy and Neurobiology
Reyna Gariepy, Undergraduate Research Assistant, 2020 STaRS program
Stephanie Gonzalez Gil, Undergraduate Student, Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience
Katie Kern, Ph.D. Student, Anatomy and Neurobiology
Shiraz Mumtaz, Research Assistant
Michael Rosario, Ph.D. Student, Graduate Program for Neuroscience
Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice:
Research: In our ongoing research funded by the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Institutes of Health, we are examining the impact of chronic stress due to social discrimination and racism on the medial temporal hippocampal system in older adults. Email us for more information.
Dr. Schon serves also in several capacities related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ). She chairs the DEIJ Committee of the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology and the Equity & Inclusion Committee of the Faculty Council at Boston University. She is also a member of the GMS Diversity Steering Committee. Dr. Schon is a faculty affiliate at BU’s Center for Antiracist Research. For additional information see Dr. Schon’s BU Profile DEIA page.
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Lab members, click here to log into the BPN Lab Wiki
This page was last updated: 10/14/2022
