HealthSpan Lab

Overview

The HealthSpan Lab is committed to advancing our understanding of how lifelong health is maintained, disrupted, and restored through a systems-level approach. Our research is grounded in the belief that long-term well-being is shaped by a dynamic interplay of biology, behavior, and environmental factors. We aim to uncover early markers of decline, identify mechanisms of resilience and recovery, and understand disease risk. Of particular interest to us are conditions such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and other potential long-term effects of traumatic brain injury. From investigating molecular markers to analyzing health outcomes in diverse populations, we work across disciplines and life stages to generate insights that inform prevention, early detection, and personalized interventions that prevent disease before it begins and promote lifelong well-being.

Research Projects

The Predicting Recovery Enhanced by Data-Driven Insights into Clinical Trajectories (PREDDICT) project aims to create a comprehensive repository integrating multi-modal data from the Mass General Brigham electronic health record and apply artificial intelligence and machine learning to model and predict recovery trajectories after life-changing injuries.

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Publications

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1. Layden RM, Groh JR, Miner AE, Kidd A, Nosek SB, Gil SG, Abdolmohammadi B, Lenio S, Nowinski CJ, Tripodis Y, Martin BM, Palmisano JN, Dwyer BC, Katz DI, Goldstein LE, Cantu RC, Stern RA, Stein TD, McKee AC, Daneshvar DH, Mez J, Alosco ML. CTE neuropathology alone is associated with dementia and cognitive symptoms. Alzheimer’s Dement. 2026;22:e71032.https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71032
2. Nosek SB, Gil SG, Abdolmohammadi B, Layden R, Nowinski CJ, Tripodis Y, Martin BM, Palmisano JN, Torres A, Dwyer BC, Katz DI, Goldstein LE, Cantu RC, Stern RA, Stein TD, McKee AC, Mez J, Alosco ML, Daneshvar DH. Younger Age of First Exposure to American Football Is Associated with Worse Informant-Reported Clinical Oucomes in Older Age Brain Donors. J Neurotrauma. 2026 https://doi.org/10.1177/08977151261424707
3. Cantu RC, Sills AK, Alosco ML, Arbogast KB, Bazarian JJ, Bieniek KF, Crandall JR, Iverson GL, Katz DI, Keene CD, Leddy JJ, Mack CD, McKee AC, Meehan WP, Mez J, Nowinski CJ, Okonkwo DO, Solomon GS, Stein TD, Tartaglia MC, Zafonte RD, Daneshvar DH. Prevention of concussion and long-term effects of repetitive traumatic brain injury: Unanimous consensus from the Cantu Concussion Summit. PMR. 2025 May;17(5):563-566. doi: 10.1002/pmrj.13332. Epub 2025 Mar 5. PMID: 40040623.
4. Nowinski CJ, Bureau SC, Rhim HC, Zafonte RD, Cantu RC, Daneshvar DH. Spontaneous Headshake after a Kinematic Event (SHAAKE): Evaluating the Utility of a Potential New Sign in the Diagnosis of Concussion. Diagnostics (Basel). 2024 Oct 17;14(20):2314. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics14202314. PMID: 39451636; PMCID: PMC11506366.
5. Nowinski CJ, Rhim HC, McKee AC, Zafonte RD, Dodick DW, Cantu RC, Daneshvar DH. 'Subconcussive' is a dangerous misnomer: hits of greater magnitude than concussive impacts may not cause symptoms. Br J Sports Med. 2024 Jul 1;58(14):754-756. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2023-107413. PMID: 38719575; PMCID: PMC11228231.
6. Daneshvar DH, Nair ES, Baucom ZH, Rasch A, Abdolmohammadi B, Uretsky M, Saltiel N, Shah A, Jarnagin J, Baugh CM, Martin BM, Palmisano JN, Cherry JD, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, Weuve J, Nowinski CJ, Cantu RC, Zafonte RD, Dwyer B, Crary JF, Goldstein LE, Kowall NW, Katz DI, Stern RA, Tripodis Y, Stein TD, McClean MD, Alosco ML, McKee AC, Mez J. Leveraging football accelerometer data to quantify associations between repetitive head impacts and chronic traumatic encephalopathy in males. Nat Commun. 2023 Jun 20;14(1):3470. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-39183-0. PubMed PMID: 37340004; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10281995.
7. McKee AC, Stein TD, Huber BR, Crary JF, Bieniek K, Dickson D, Alvarez VE, Cherry JD, Farrell K, Butler M, Uretsky M, Abdolmohammadi B, Alosco ML, Tripodis Y, Mez J, Daneshvar DH. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE): criteria for neuropathological diagnosis and relationship to repetitive head impacts. Acta Neuropathol. 2023 Apr;145(4):371-394. doi: 10.1007/s00401-023-02540-w. Epub 2023 Feb 10. Review. PubMed PMID: 36759368; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10020327.
8. Daneshvar DH, Mez J, Alosco ML, Baucom ZH, Mahar I, Baugh CM, Valle JP, Weuve J, Paganoni S, Cantu RC, Zafonte RD, Stern RA, Stein TD, Tripodis Y, Nowinski CJ, McKee AC. Incidence of and Mortality From Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in National Football League Athletes. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Dec 1;4(12):e2138801. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.38801. PubMed PMID: 34910152; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8674746.
9. Daneshvar DH, Yutsis M, Baugh CM, Pea RD, Goldman S, Grant GA, Ghajar J, Sanders LM, Chen CL, Tenekedjieva LT, Gurrapu S, Zafonte R, Sorcar P. Evaluating the Effect of Concussion-Education Programs on Intent to Report Concussion in High School Football. J Athl Train. 2021 Nov 1;56(11):1197-1208. doi: 10.4085/509-20. PubMed PMID: 33428746; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8582631.
10. Mez J,* Daneshvar DH,* Kiernan PT,* Abdolmohammadi B, Alvarez VE, Huber BR, Alosco ML, Solomon TM, Nowinski CJ, McHale L, Cormier KA, Kubilus CA, Martin BM, Murphy L, Baugh CM, Montenigro PH, Chaisson CE, Tripodis Y, Kowall NW, Weuve J, McClean MD, Cantu RC, Goldstein LE, Katz DI, Stern RA, Stein TD, McKee AC. Clinicopathological Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Players of American Football. JAMA. 2017 Jul 25;318(4):360-370. doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.8334. PubMed PMID: 28742910; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5807097. *co-lead authors