Photo of Brad Manor, PhD, at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research in Boston, MA

Brad Manor, PhD

  • Associate Scientist
  • Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
  • Faculty

Dr. Manor’s career goal is to alleviate the burden of balance decline that often accompanies biological aging into senescence. As the Director of the Mobility and Falls Program at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, he works to achieve this goal by directing interdisciplinary, translational research in the fields of human balance and rehabilitative medicine. His research combines biomechanical assessments of human movement with advanced medical imaging, noninvasive brain stimulation and nonlinear signal processing techniques to: 1) Identify the link between brain function, balance and falls in older adults; and 2) Design rehabilitative interventions that improve balance via optimization of brain function and exploitation of its adaptive properties.

Research Areas

Learn more about the areas of research where Dr. Manor 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 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. Manor's current projects. 

Personalized Brain Activity Modulation to Improve Balance and Cognition in Elderly Fallers

This research aims to determine the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the control of standing and walking in older adults with previous falls. 

NIH R01AG059089

Principal Investigator

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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

NFLPA/Harvard Accelerated Research Collaboration to Protect and Improve the Health of Football Players

The project will implement kinematic assessments of gait and balance into the Harvard Football Players Health Study (FPHS) in-person assessments of retired professional American-style football players. The scientific aim of this study is to determine the effects of long-term exposure to this sport on health outcomes in later life.

 

Principal Investigator

Home-based Multifocal Transcranial Current Stimulation for Cognitive and Motor Dysfunction in Dementia

This research aims to complete a phase II, randomized, sham-controlled, double-blinded, parallel-arm trial to compare the effects of two forms of transcranial current stimulation to two different brain regions tACS-AG and tDCS-PFC versus sham in older adults with mild dementia to assess the effects of memory and executive functions depending on blood, spinal fluid, and neurophysiologic biomarker status. 

Funded by BrightFocus Foundation

Principal Investigators

Home-based transcranial electrical stimulation program

The goal of this funding is to support research efforts to test the feasibility and effects of long-term, home-based transcranial electric stimulation on mobility and cognition in older adults with elevated falls risk, and in patients with Parkinson’s disease. 

 

Supported by BrightFocus Foundation

Principal Investigators