OUR RESEARCH TEAM
Maheen Mausoof Adamson, PhD.
Principal Investigator
- Dr. Maheen Mausoof Adamson completed her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Southern California and a postdoctoral fellowship in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. She currently serves as Director of Research at the national Women’s Operational Military Exposure Network (WOMEN) center located at the War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC), Senior Scientist at Rehabilitation Center at VA Palo Alto Healthcare System (VAPAHCS), and Clinical Professor (Affiliated) in the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford University School of Medicine.
- After finishing undergraduate degrees in Biology and Women's Studies at UC Irvine, she went to complete a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Southern California, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford School of Medicine.
Lifelong learner & Innovator
- Dr. Adamson has close to 20 years of experience directing large diverse teams to develop and implement several multi-site and longitudinal studies revolving around Alzheimer’s disease and brain injuries, especially in the Veteran population. Dr. Adamson is a world-class neuroscientist and neuroimaging expert, whose research interests include the neurological impact of COVID-19, traumatic brain injury, pain, and Alzheimer's disease.
Advocate for Gender Equality in Healthcare & Policy Change
- She's a leader in healthcare innovation, entrepreneurship, and translational neuroscience.
- Her expertise and interests span employing translational neuroscience methodologies for diagnostic and neuromodulation treatments such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS))for frequent health problems in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), psychiatric problems, and Alzheimer's disease.
- In her position at VA Palo Alto, she is actively involved in translating research, such as non-invasive brain stimulation and other therapies, to clinical in-home use by patients using innovations such as virtual and augmented reality.
- She has employed advanced structural and functional imaging modalities and biomarker assessments in Veteran, active military and civilian populations with these health problems. She has been a leader in identifying gender differences in brain injury, particularly in the Veteran population.
- In addition, she's intricately involved in mentoring research postdoctoral fellows and clinical residents in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Psychiatry & Neurosurgery Departments at Stanford School of Medicine.
Committed & Dedicated Mentor
- Her goal is to incorporate advanced treatment and diagnostics tailored to each patient's needs into standard-of-care to improve their daily function, reintegration into society and long-term rehabilitation.
- A lifelong learner, Dr. Adamson has completed the Stanford Byer’s Biodesign Faculty Innovation Fellowship and has a Master of Science in Healthcare Leadership at Brown University’s School of Professional Studies.
Odette Harris, MD, MPH.
Investigator
Dr. Odette Harris is Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University School of Medicine, Vice Chair, Diversity and Director of Brain Injury for Stanford Medical Center.
Dr Harris manages and coordinates the medical and surgical care of all patients suffering from traumatic brain injury that are admitted to the Stanford System.
Professor of Neurosurgery
Dr. Harris is also the Deputy Chief of Staff, Rehabilitation at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, which includes responsibilities for the varied programs of the Polytrauma System of Care, Spinal Cord Injury, Blind Rehabilitation Services, Recreational Therapy and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Deputy Chief of Staff, Rehabilitation
Dr. Harris has won multiple awards and has several appointments across Stanford' Medical School and the VA, including Director, Defense Veterans Brain Injury Center (2009 - Present); Deputy Chief of Staff, Rehabilitation (TBI, Spinal Cord Injury, Blind Service, PM&R), PAVAHCS (2015 - Present); Associate Chief of Staff, Polytrauma, PAVAHCS (2009 - Present); Director, Brain Injury, Department of Neurosurgery (2009 - Present)
Director of Brain Injury
CORE TEAM
Principal Clinical Research Team
Xiaojian Kang, PhD.
Dr. Xiaojian Kang received his PhD in Physics and MS in Computer Science from Indiana University Bloomington. He joined the Diagnostic Imaging Science Center at University of Washington in Seattle for postdoctoral research.
In 2017, Dr. Kang joined the Adamson Lab, his main tasks are to support the research projects funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense, in the administration of windows and linux servers for neuroimaging studies.
Physicist
Dr. Kang worked as an MR Physicist in the Human Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory in the Department of Neurology at the University of California at Davis. His tasks were to maintain and modify the sequences for MR research on a 3 T Siemens Verio scanner and a 1.5 T Philips Eclipse scanner and develop new procedures for MR data analysis, statistics, and visualization.
He has published 20+ papers to introduce the innovative methods for MR data analysis, including the local landmark method, high-resolution space method, and cortical surface projection mapping method, and automated method to detect brain abnormalities.
Research Assistants
My name is Rajenpreet Brar, I have a Neuroscience degree from University of California, Davis. I have experience working in neuroimaging such as electroencephalograms and ultrasounds. I am looking to further my career in neurological studies by gaining experience in a research environment. My hobbies include maintaining fitness and learning something new everyday.
Siddhi Shah was a rising junior at Rutgers University, majoring in Cell Biology and Neuroscience. In the past, Siddhi has been involved in wet-lab research and is eager to explore clinical neuroscience research through the polytrauma system of care. Last summer, she worked with Dr. Phillips to investigate biological markers and brain connectivity as predictors of response for rTMS therapy in TBI patients.
Daya Grewal is currently a Ph.D. Student at Palo Alto University, completing coursework to fulfill the neuropsychology and trauma areas of emphasis. She holds leadership positions on campus as the Vice President of the Mindfulness Student Organization and an active member of Psi Chi, the Psychology Honors Society Palo Alto Chapter. Daya is particularly interested in neuroanatomical structure and functioning, as she is a Teaching Assistant for the doctoral-level course Biological Bases of Psychology at Palo Alto University. While her foremost passion is neuropsychology, she is keen on conducting assessments and learning more about psychopathologies' biological underpinnings through neuroimaging. Daya is a member of an adjunct Stanford Neuropsychology laboratory and a co-facilitator for a weekly group therapy session held at the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. Her career goals entail adding to the field of neuropsychology in a multifaceted mindful manner that prioritizes diverse integrated patient care. In 2022, Daya joined the Adamson Lab; her main tasks are to assist in the production of grant proposals and prepare presentation materials for manuscript and publication.
Daniel Baldini is a second year PhD student at Palo Alto University’s (PAU) Clinical Psychology program, in the Neuropsychology Emphasis. Daniel’s main career goal includes research and neuropsychological assessment in a civil forensic context. His goal is to gain assessment and research experience in graduate study that will inform expert witness testimony in court cases involving traumatic brain injury. Daniel’s interests in the Adamson lab involves understanding an injury’s impact on the brain better through imaging, as well as understanding how traumatic brain injury effects the brain through studies in the lab investigating treatment of injury with transcranial magnetic stimulation. Outside of the lab, Daniel also studies forensic/ neuropsychological assessment in the Behavioral Research and Assessment in Neuropsychology lab at PAU as well as treats psychotherapy clients at PAUs Gronowski Center.
Our strong belief is that real progress in science is achieved by bringing people of diverse backgrounds together to richly solve complex problems and establish long-term relationships with other researchers, organizations, and the community.