Photo of Alvaro Pascual-Leone, MD at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research in Boston, MA

Alvaro Pascual-Leone, MD, PhD

  • Senior Scientist
  • Medical Director, The Deanna & Sidney Wolk Center for Memory Health, Hebrew SeniorLife
  • Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
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Areas of Research

Alvaro Pascual-Leone, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School,  a Senior Scientist at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, and Medical Director of the Deanna and Sidney Wolk Center for Memory Health at Hebrew SeniorLife.

Dr. Pascual–Leone is an international leader in the study and modulation of human cortical plasticity and a pioneer in the use of noninvasive brain stimulation and its application for the study of brain behavior relations and the development of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in neuropsychiatry. An overarching goal has been the development of translational approaches to characterize and modulate brain activity to help patients with debilitating neuropsychiatric disorders while gaining fundamental insights into human brain function.

A major focus of Dr. Pascual-Leone’s research is on maintenance of brain health across the lifespan. Dr. Pascual-Leone brought together a group of international investigators and funding partners to establish the Barcelona Brain Health Initiative, a multiyear, longitudinal effort supported by La Caixa and Institut Guttmann that aims at identifying markers of brain health across the lifespan and developing and testing multimodal interventions and lifestyle changes that sustain brain health and prevent age-related cognitive decline. Dr. Pascual-Leone leads this one-of-a-kind study as its scientific director.

At Hebrew SeniorLife, Dr. Pascual-Leone also sees patients as a cognitive neurologist and dementia specialist in the Wolk Center for Memory Health, where the focus is on comprehensive, patient-centered, personalized care and multidisciplinary, holistic support of individuals with cognitive decline, their families, and caregivers.

Dr. Pascual-Leone established and directs the Sidney Baer Jr. Fellowship in Clinical Neurosciences, training the future leaders of medical brain sciences, working in the interface of neurology and psychiatry. He also established and directs a training program in noninvasive brain stimulation that has trained over 1,000 clinicians from around the world.

Previously, Dr. Pascual-Leone founded and directed for over 20 years the Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, and served as Chief of the Division of Cognitive Neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and as the Associate Dean of Clinical and Translational Research and Program Director of Harvard Catalyst at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Pascual-Leone has authored over 750 scientific papers and several books and is listed as an inventor on several patents. His work is highly regarded for its innovation and quality and is highly cited (h-index 165; i10-index 626). Dr. Pascual-Leone has been recognized by Thomson Reuters as a one of the world’s top 15 neuroscientists, and one of the "World's Most Influential Scientific Minds." He has been honored with many international awards, and is an elected member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Science (Pharmacy). His work has also gained wide general public appeal and outreach through dissemination in the lay press, television and radio, and several books (e.g. Norman Doidge’s The Brain That Changes Itself; and John E. Robison’s Switched On). Most recently Dr. Pascual-Leone co-authored, with A. Fernandez and D. Bartres-Faz, El Cerebro que Cura (2019).

Research Areas

Learn more about the areas of research where Dr. Pascual-Leone focuses.
A researcher at the Marcus Institute for Aging Research in Boston, MA studies MRI images of a human brain.

Brain Health

Through pioneering multidisciplinary research, the Marcus Institute is uncovering new answers to the challenges of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, delirium, and other changes to the brain.

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A researcher at the Marcus Institute for Aging Research in Boston, MA holds a vial of blood.

Biomarkers and Genetics

As precision medicine enters the mainstream of clinical care, Marcus Institute researchers are working to advance the understanding of disease biomarkers and genetics.

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A string of computer code is reflected in the glasses of a researcher at the Marcus Institute for Aging in Boston, MA.

Data Science and Technology

The Marcus Institute includes a biostatistics and data sciences faculty who collaborate with investigators to design and conduct clinical trials and observational studies in aging.

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A scene of a hospital floor at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center in Boston, MA, with a nurse standing and working on a computer in the background and a blood pressure monitor in the foreground.

Health Care Services and Policy

The Marcus Institute seeks to effect change in policies that impact the care of older adults by identifying age-related conditions that have an outsized impact on health care utilization and costs, while developing interventions that mitigate the issues.

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A close-up shot at two hands holding a syringe that is inserted in a vial of medication.

Medication

Marcus Institute researchers are examining the relationship between medicine and adverse health outcomes such as falls, injuries, and treatment side effects among older people.

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A research subject at the Marcus Institute for Aging Research stands on a measuring platform with a computer read-out reflected on the wall behind.

Physical Health and Function

Through the Marcus Institute’s research we are learning how older adults can maintain independence and quality of life.

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Current Projects

View Dr. Pascual-Leone's current projects. 

Multifocal Transcranial Current Stimulation for Cognitive and Motor Dysfunction in Dementia

This research aims to assess the possibility of concurrent targeting prefrontal (executive-control) and memory brain circuits to improve different cognitive disabilities in individuals with dementia using personalized, multi-focal non-invasive brain stimulation delivered as a home-based, remotely supervised intervention.
NIH R01AG076708

Principal Investigators

Healthy Aging Initiative

The Hebrew SeniorLife Healthy Aging Initiative is a longitudinal cohort study of older adults to identify biological and lifestyle predictors of lifelong health and well-being, as well as early biomarkers for disease, and enable development of interventions to promote healthy aging and add life to years.

The initiative leverages the expertise of all scientists at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research. 

The Healthy Aging Initiative aims to:

•    Identify the factors and predictors of lifelong health and well-being

•    Identify early biomarkers for disease and rate of aging

•    Determine factors that modify the progression of disease

•    Discover risks for specific illnesses

•    Enable the development of interventions

•    Ultimately expand the initiative to include a diverse population of older adults 

The Healthy Aging Initiative will take place at all Hebrew SeniorLife housing sites in 2023 including Jack Satter House, Center Communities of Brookline, NewBridge on the Charles, Orchard Cove, and Simon C. Fireman Community. We will be rotating through all the sites in order to conduct Healthy Aging Initiative assessments in-person, at a location that is convenient for participants.

Principal Investigator

Eleanor and Herbert Bearak Healthy Lifestyles Program

This research aims to support individuals in articulating their vision of their best selves and then equip them with the knowledge and tools to perform at their highest cognitive potential, move toward the realization of that vision, and be satisfied with the outcome of their efforts. 

Principal Investigator