Jennifer Rabin

PhD, C.Psych
Associate Scientist
jennifer.rabin@sri.utoronto.ca
Phone: 416-480-6100

Dr. Rabin’s research has two primary directions:

  1. As the Neuropsychology Lead at the Harquail Centre for Neuromodulation, Dr. Rabin’s work characterizes cognitive, behavioral, and psychosocial changes associated with novel neuromodulation strategies. This includes using low-intensity focused ultrasound (FUS) to open the blood-brain barrier in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and high-intensity FUS to treat severe psychiatric and neurological conditions, such as depression, OCD, and tremor.
  2. AD disproportionately affects non-White racial/ethnic groups and women, yet these disparities remain underexplored. To address the underrepresentation of Asian populations in AD research, Dr. Rabin’s group launched CAMERA (CAnadian Multi-Ethnic Research on Aging), the first study to comprehensively assess AD risk in South Asian and Chinese populations using MRI, blood-based biomarkers, and innovative cognitive tests. Women account for nearly two-thirds of AD cases, but the reasons for this remain poorly understood. Dr. Rabin’s research investigates how earlier menopause and the associated loss of estradiol—a neuroprotective hormone—significantly increase women’s vulnerability to cognitive decline through various pathways, including vascular changes, tau accumulation, and synaptic loss.

Dr. Rabin’s research contributions have been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the Governor General’s Gold Medal, the Human Amyloid Imaging Young Investigator Award, the International Neuropsychological Society Early Career Award, and the Rising Star Award from the Association for Psychological Science.

Education

  • B.Sc., 2005, Psychology, Dalhousie University, Canada
  • MA, 2009, Clinical psychology (neuropsychology), York University, Canada
  • PhD, 2015, Clinical psychology (neuropsychology), York University
  • Postdoctoral fellowship, 2018, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, U.S.

Appointments & Affiliations

  • Scientist, Evaluative Clinical Sciences, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute
  • Neuropsychology lead, Harquail Centre for Neuromodulation, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
  • Assistant professor, Department of Medicine (Neurology), University of Toronto
  • Full member, Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto
  • Associate member, Graduate Department of Rehabilitation Science (GDRS), University of Toronto
  • Associate member, Graduate Department of Psychological Clinical Science, University of Toronto Scarborough

Research Foci

  • Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias
  • Neuromodulation
  • Neuropsychology
  • Racial/ethnic disparities in Alzheimer's disease
  • Women's brain health

Affiliated Labs & Programs

Selected Publications

  1. Wood Alexander M, Wu CY, Coughlan GT, Puri T, Buckley RF, Palta P, Swardfager W, Masellis M, Galea LAM, Einstein G, Black SE, Rabin, JS. Associations between age at menopause, vascular risk, and 3-year cognitive change in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Neurology. 2024 May 1;102(9):e209298.

  2. Wood ME, Xiong LY, Wong YY, Buckley RF, Swardfager W, Masellis M, Lim ASP, Nichols E, Joie R, Casaletto KB, Kumar RG, Dams-O’Connor K, Palta P, George KM, Satizabal CL, Barnes LL, Schneider JA, Binet AP, Villeneuve S, Pa J, Brickman AM, Black SE, Rabin, JS., ADNI and Prevent-AD Research Groups. Sex differences in associations between APOE ε2 and longitudinal cognitive decline. Alzheimer Dement. 2023 Oct 1;19(10):4651-4661.

  3. Rabin, JS., Nichols E, La Joie R, Casaletto KB, Palta P, Dams-O’Connor K, Kumar RG, George KM, Satizabal CL, Schneider JA, Pa J, Brickman AM. Cerebral amyloid angiopathy interacts with neuritic amyloid plaques to promote tau and cognitive decline. Brain. 2022 Aug 27;145(8):2823-2833.

  4. Rabin, JS., Klein H, Kirn DR, Schultz AP, Yang HS, Hampton O, Jiang S, Buckley RF, Viswanathan A, Hedden T, Pruzin J, Yau WW, Guzmán-Vélez E, Quiroz YT, Properzi M, Marshall GA, Rentz DM, Johnson KA, Sperling RA, Chhatwal JP. Associations of physical activity and β-amyloid with longitudinal cognition and neurodegeneration in clinically normal older adults. JAMA Neurol. 2019 Oct 1;76(10):1203-1210.

  5. Rabin, JS., Gopinath G, McSweeney M, Scantlebury N, Rohringer CR, Sewell IJ, Abrahao A, Jones RM, Huang Y, Lam B, Hamani C, Giacobbe P, Nestor SM, Hynynen K, Schwartz ML, Lipsman N. Patient satisfaction following unilateral MR-guided focused ultrasound for tremor: Who is satisfied and who is not? Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2023 Jul 1;112:105439.