Jesse Mez, M.D., MS

Associate Professor of Neurology Clinical Core Director of Alzheimer’s Disease Center Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Dr. Jesse Mez is an Associate Professor of Neurology at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. He received his AB from Cornell University in Mathematics, his MD from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and his MS in Biostatistics with an emphasis on Statistical Genetics from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. He did his Neurology Residency at the Harvard Combined Program in Boston. This was followed by a Clinical Fellowship in Aging and Dementia and a Research Fellowship in Neuroepidemiology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He joined BU’s faculty in 2013, where he has been an integral player in the field of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). He is the Director of the Clinical Core

of the NIH-funded BU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and is a BU CTE Center, Framingham Heart Study, and AD Genetic Consortium Investigator. He is a Principal Investigator and/or Core/Project Leader on five NIH and DOD-funded grants. His research seeks to understand genetic, neuropathological, epidemiological, and clinical aspects of AD, CTE, and related dementias. Ongoing research themes include investigating 1) the relationship between traumatic brain injury, exposure to repetitive head impacts from contact sports and military service, and dementia-related outcomes and their interaction with genetic factors, 2) clinico-pathologic correlation in CTE with the goal to accurately diagnose CTE in life, 3) the genetic architecture, neuropathology and clinical course of AD subtypes, as defined by variation in neuropsychological presentation and 4) interaction between genetic and environmental factors and risk for and resilience from AD. He is the recipient of an NIH-funded K23 Career Development Award, an NIH-funded Loan Repayment Program Award, and the BU Carlos S. Kase Outstanding Contribution to Neurology Research Award and is a 2015 BU Spivack Neuroscience Scholar.

Dr. Mez’s research focuses on the application of statistical genetics and genetic epidemiology to various forms of dementia. He is particularly interested in the role of genetic and non-genetic factors in atypical clinical presentations of Alzheimer’s disease. He also is interested in how the interaction of genetic risk factors and trauma influence dementia risk, particularly chronic traumatic encephalopathy. He leads the clinical arm of Ann McKee’s UNITE study. He is mentored by Dr. Lindsay Farrer, head of the Biomedical Genetics Division in the Department of Medicine, and works closely with division members.