Our Projects

How we work

  • We collect information and DNA from patients at MGH and, through our collaborations, around the world.
  • We store and analyze the data we collect in order to test scientific hypotheses
  • We recruit the brightest young minds to our research group. Through their scientific work we train them to perform high impact science and make lasting contributions as clinician-scientists.
  • We collaborate with teams and colleagues across disciplines, at MGH, in Boston, and across the globe, in order to perform the best, most sophisticated science

 

Our scientific projects

  • Why are some of us more likely to suffer a stroke than others?
    • By comparing our patients with those who have not suffered a stroke or brain hemorrhage, our analyses continue to yield new genes for stroke and brain hemorrhage and risk factors that, when present, alter risk for stroke.
  • Why, if we suffer a stroke, do some of us recover more fully than others?
    • By carefully following our patients as they recover, we are seeking the genetic and other factors that play key roles in the recovery process.
  • Why, after we suffer an initial stroke, are some of us at higher risk of a recurrent stroke than others?
    • Because stroke and brain hemorrhage survivors are at increased risk of suffering a recurrence, we maintain contact with our patients for years after discharge, seeking to find those genetic variants and other unique characteristics the influence an individual's risk of recurrence.
  • New treatments
    • Do early behavioral interventions improve recovery from stroke and other serious brain injuries?
    • Other treatments?

Cerebrovascular Disease Knowledge Portal (CDKP)
 

The Cerebrovascular Disease Knowledge Portal enables browsing, searching, and analysis of human genetic information linked to cerebrovascular disease and related traits, while protecting the integrity and confidentiality of the underlying data. Data can be accessed via automated analytical tools, downloadable summary level data from peer-reviewed published research and controlled access individual level data work space.  

 

The International Stroke Genetics Consortium (ISGC)

All of our genetic analyses are carried out in collaboration with the International Stroke Genetics Consortium and its constituents, including the METASTROKE and MEGASTROKE collaborations. In addition to specific projects devoted to discovering the gene variants that influence stroke and the mechanisms through which these variants alter risk of stroke, we are also developing tools to enhance the sharing of data generated by members of the ISGC.