Ann McKee, MD BrainLine

Ann McKee, MD

Ann McKee, MD is the chief neuropathologist for the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) and the Boston University-based Centenarian Study, where ongoing surveillance of the FHS and centenarian participants will determine the incidence and type of dementia in persons in the ninth through the eleventh decades of life. She is also the chief neuropathologist for the Boston-based Veterans Administration Medical Centers and for the Sports Legacy Institute.

Dr. McKee’s research interests center on the neuropathological alterations associated with neurodegenerative diseases, with a primary focus on the earliest cortical abnormalities of Alzheimer's disease and on the interactions between acquired injuries and neurodegeneration. Her work is centered on the role of ischemic injury in triggering the onset of Alzheimer's disease and on how repetitive traumatic injury instigates a progressive degenerative tauopathy.

Dr. McKee completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin and received her medical degree from the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. She completed residency training in neurology at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital and fellowship training in neuropathology at Massachusetts General Hospital. She was Assistant Professor of Neuropathology at Harvard Medical School from 1991-94, when she became Associate Professor of Neurology and Pathology at Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. McKee has served as Director of the Neuropathology Core of the BU ADCC since its inception in 1996.

Ann McKee’s Content on BrainLine

• Repetitive Brain Trauma
• Why Is an Injured Player More at Risk for a Second Concussion?
• Are Contact Sports Dangerous?
• What Is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy?
• What Can You Do to Help an Injured Teammate?
• Pathology: Still the Most Useful Technique for Studying Diseased Brains
• What Is Tau and Its Role in Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy?
• How Can We Improve the Way Sports Handle Brain Injuries?
• Game Changers

The contents of Brainline (the “Web Site”), such as text, graphics, images, information obtained from the Web Site’s licensors and/or consultants, and other material contained on the Web Site (collectively, the “Content”) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for medical, legal, or other professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Specifically, with regards to medical issues, always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the Web Site. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. The Web Site does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on the Web Site. Reliance on any information provided by the Web Site or by employees, volunteers or contractors or others associated with the Web Site and/or other visitors to the Web Site is solely at your own risk.