Maheen Adamson, PhD

JAD profile

Associate Editor

Term Expiration: 

12/31/2025

Affiliation(s): 

Neurosurgery/Psychiatry; Stanford School of Medicine; Palo Alto VA Health Care System

Lab URL: 

http://web.stanford.edu/~madamson/

Areas of Interest: 

traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, APOE ε4, cognitive aging, DTI, expertise, fMRI, healthy aging, memory, MRI

Biography & Research: 

Dr. Maheen Adamson is the senior scientific research director for DVBIC at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. She is also the clinical associate professor of neurosurgery and psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. Dr. Adamson completed her undergraduate degrees in neurobiology and women studies at University of California, Irvine. She 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. Dr. Adamson served as Director for Research and PhD Fellowships at War Related Illness and Injury Center (WRIISC) for seven years at the VA Palo Alto. During this time Dr. Adamson develped expertise in employing translational neuroscience methodologies for diagnostic and therapeutic treatments in mild and moderate TBI, including structural and functional changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease and TBI, especially in the Veteran population. Dr. Adamson's dual roles at Stanford Medical School, DOD and VA Palo Alto allow her to make strong collaborations with the VA and Stanford faculty and nourish her translational research interests. She develops new and innovative techniques to diagnose mild and moderate brain injury related deficits through state-of-the art neuroimaging, genetic analysis, and cognitive and neuropsychological testing. She currently serves as PI or Co-I on several Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense funded grants. Dr. Adamson has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications on cognitive and neural basis of Alzheimer’s disease and TBI, has received recognition in national and international settings and is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences. She is also intricately involved in mentoring research fellows in the psychiatry department at Stanford and is the Director of Research Fellowship for Polytruama Systems of Care at VA Palo Alto. She serves on the Board of Directors for Brain Injury Association of California and is a senior editor for Journal of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Adamson is currently running randomized clinical trials using repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) in Veterans with mild and moderate traumatic brain injury. She has developed collaborations with various departments at Stanford and several companies in silicon valley. Her long-term goal is to integrate advanced treatment and diagnostics into standard-of-care provided to veterans and military personnel to improve their daily function and reintegration into society.