Our lab's research spans basic to translational. Our basic research revolves largely around the Toronto Rehab Traumatic Brain Injury Study, a longitudinal, inception cohort study of patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Here, we have examined patterns and mechanisms of recovery and decline after brain injury, using neuropsychological and clinical psychological assessment tools, and structural and functional MRI. While our basic research has identified and characterized significant neurodegeneration (neural and cognitive) in the chronic stages of brain injury, we have focused extensively on applied clinical research in service of offsetting the progressive declines that we have observed. Applied research has included the following: the identification of modifiable, post-injury treatment targets; the development/refinement of assessment tools; the creation of a novel cognitive intervention highly targeted to the hippocampi; the adaptation/validation of cognitive and mental health interventions for people with cognitive impairments, including remote and group-based delivery. This research led to the establishment of the KITE TeleNeurorehab Centre for Acquired Brain Injury, where we deliver cognitive and mental health interventions across Ontario, free of cost to patients, while conducting research on predictors of lasting treatment response, and developing and testing novel treatments. We are currently focused on the growth and sustainability of the Centre. The translation of findings is also accomplished through providing education and training to clinicians across Ontario.

Dr. Robin Green is the Saunderson Chair in Acquired Brain Injury at the KITE Research Institute, ranked as the number one rehabilitation research facility in the world and located at Canada’s top-ranked research hospital, University Health Network (UHN). She is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto (UofT), and a scientific lead of the Schroeder Institute for Brain Innovation and Recovery, and of the Canadian Concussion Centre. Dr. Green completed her PhD in neuropsychology at Cambridge University and Postdoctoral research at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, England.

Dr. Green’s research ranges from basic neuroscience to translational applications. Her primary focus revolves around understanding the brain's mechanisms of recovery following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and identifying modifiable treatment targets crucial for advancing treatment methodologies. Her lab has challenged conventional perceptions of brain injury, reframing moderate-severe TBI as a progressive – rather than static – neurodegenerative disorder, a paradigm shift reflected in her influential Frontiers in Human Neuroscience special issue titled “Traumatic Brain Injury as a Neurodegenerative Disorder?”, and paving the way for novel intervention avenues.

Dr. Green established and oversees the TeleNeurorehab Centre for Acquired Brain Injury @KITE (formerly the Telerehab Centre for ABI) to study and exclusively treat chronic acquired brain injuries, an integration of research, clinical care and training—the only centre of its kind. Funded through grants and donors and in its fifth year, the Centre has delivered more than 10,000 cognitive and mental health visits across the province of Ontario, free of charge. Supporting the global Project ECHO initiative, a virtual learning community for primary care providers, Dr. Green co-founded and co-leads ECHO Concussion for clinicians throughout Ontario.

International initiatives include co-founding and co-chairing the International Mentorship Program through the International Neuropsychological Society, and serving as Canadian lead for an Australian Research Council-funded international program on healthy aging. Dr. Green's scientific contributions and mentorship efforts have been recognized through awards and distinctions, most recently including the Dr. Jane Gillett Research Award, Brain Injury Canada; the Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neurorehabilitation Sciences; Member at Large, Board of Governors, International Neuropsychological Society; Education Excellence Award, UHN; and the Dr. Dina Brooks Award for Sustained Excellence in Graduate Student Supervision and Mentorship, UofT.

For a list of Dr. Green's publications, please visit PubMed, Scopus or ORCID.

Selected Recent Publications

1. Green, R.E.A., Monette, G., Rybkina, J., Dabek, M., Changoor, A., Colella, B. (2023). Moderate-Severe TBI as a Progressive Disorder: Patterns and Predictors of Cognitive Declines in the Chronic Stages of Injury. Journal of Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair. Dec; 37 (11-12): 799-809. PMID: 37990972.
2. Vasilevskaya, A., Martinez-Valbuena, I., Anastassiadis, C., Taghdiri, F., Khodadadi, M., Tarazi, A., Green, R., Colella, B., Wennberg, R., Mikulis, D., Davis, K.D., Kovacs, G., Tator, C., Tartaglia, M.C. (2023). Misfolded alpha-synuclein in cerebrospinal fluid of contact sport athletes. Movement Disorders. Oct 4;  Online ahead of print. PMID: 37792643.
3. So, I., Meusel, L., Sharma, B., Colella, B., Poublanc, J., Wheeler, A., Rabin, J., Mikulis, D.R., Green, R. (2023). Longitudinal patterns of functional connectivity in moderate-severe traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma. Jan 17; Online ahead of print. PMID: 36367163. ​
4. Meusel, L., Colella, B., Tartaglia, M., Green, R. (2023). Preliminary efficacy and predictors of response to a symptom self-management program for individuals with persistent symptoms after concussion. Brain Injury. July 15; 1-8. PMID: 37452884​​​
5. Heath, L., Kidwai, M. R., Colella, B., Monette, G., Tselichtchev, P., Tomaszczyk, J., Green, R. (2023). Predictors and functional outcomes associated with longitudinal trajectories of anxiety and depression from 2 to 36+ months after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma. Mar 16; Online ahead of print. PMID: 36927109.​
6. Jacob, N., So, I., Sharma, B., Marzolini, S., Tartaglia, C., Oh, P., Green, R. (2023). Effects of high-intensity interval training protocols on blood lactate levels and cognition in healthy adults: Systematic review and meta-regression. Sports Medicine. Mar 14; Online ahead of print. PMID: 36917435.
7. Boulos, M.E., Colella, B., Meusel, L.A., Sharma, B., Dabek, M., Worthington, T., Green, R.E.A. (2023). Feasibility of group telerehabilitation for individuals with chronic acquired brain injury: Integrating clinical care and research. Disability and Rehabilitation. Feb 28; Online ahead of print. PMID: 36855274. ​
8. Jeffay, E., Ponsford, J., Harnett, A., Janzen, S., Patsakos, E., Douglas, J., Kennedy, M., Kua, A., Teasell, B., Welch-West, P., Bayley, M., Green, R. (2023). INCOG 2.0 Updated Guidelines for Management of Cognition Following TBI Part III: Executive Function. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. Jan-Feb; 38(1):52-64. PMID: 36594859. ​
9. ​How, T. V., Green, R. E. A., & Mihailidis, A. (2023). Towards PPG-based anger detection for emotion regulation. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation. Aug 15; Online ahead of print. PMID: 37582733.
10. Rozenberg, D., Shore, J., Camacho-Perez, E., Nourouzpour, S., Ibrahim-Masthan, M., Santa-Mina, D., Campos, J. L., Huszti, E., Green, R., Khan, M. H., Lau, A., Gold, D., Stanbrook, M. B., Reid, W. D. (2023). Feasibility of a Home-Based Cognitive-Physical Exercise Program in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Protocol for a Feasibility and Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Research Protocols. Jul 12; 12:e48666. PMID: 37436794.

• Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto
• Faculty Member, Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto
• Associate Member, Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto
• Associate Member, Collaborative Program in Neuroscience (CPIN), University of Toronto
• Associate Member, Graduate Department of Psychological Clinical Science, University of Toronto Scarborough

Saunderson Family Chair in Acquired Brain Injury