Robin Green

Dr. Robin Green is a Canada Research Chair (II) in traumatic brain injury and a Senior Scientist in the cognitive neurosciences at Toronto Rehab and scientist at the KITE Research Institute at University Health Network. Dr. Green completed her PhD at Cambridge University, a post-doctoral fellowship at St. Thomas’ and Guys Hospital, London, England, and her clinical training in neuropsychology at the University Health Network in Toronto. Dr. Green has worked at Toronto Rehab for most of her career. She is currently the head of the Brain Discovery and Recovery Team, and she co-leads the Schroeder Brain Institute with four other scientists. She recently founded a provincial research centre for people with enduring effects of brain injuries/concussion. The centre provides remotely delivered clinical care to patients across Ontario, including Northern Ontario, through their participation in research. The centre is also collaborating with partners in other provinces to create a broader network, and seeks to establish international links. The interventions that are delivered and tested focus on enhancing cognitive and mood function, and improving brain health, with a particular focus on enhancing neurogenesis in the hippocampi.

Research Synopsis

Dr. Robin Green's program of research addresses brain and behavioural mechanisms of recovery from moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Her lab has shown that in addition to beneficial mechanisms that support recovery, there are deleterious mechanisms in the sub-acute and chronic stages of injury giving rise to cognitive, mood and neural deterioration. Her lab has re-conceptualized TBI as a chronic and possibly neurodegenerative disease process; this novel conception is needed in order to identify parallels with other forms of neurodegeneration, which will offer new avenues of treatment. The lab has also focused on identifying modifiable (“post-injury”) factors that contribute to degeneration, focusing on the hippocampi in particular. They have identified that elevated anxiety and reduced cognitive stimulation are both associated with hippocampal volume loss. A converging program of research concerns progressive degeneration and accelerated aging in the later stages of multiple concussions, for example sustained in the context of professional contact sports such as football. 

Dr. Green is currently engaged in the development of interventions to mitigate the accelerated aging that is observed in the later stages of TBI by targeting modifiable mechanisms. The treatments are delivered remotely, in order to achieve reach (e.g., into Northern Ontario and across provinces) and to achieve scale. Treatments are both delivered by therapists, in group format online or are self-administered. These treatments are currently being considered for other populations at risk of accelerated aging. 

Recently, Dr. Green has started up a centre for remote delivery of clinical care through participation in research. The centre focuses on patients with enduring effects of brain injury, and will expand to other neurological populations in the future.
 

Recent Publications

1. Heath, L., Kidwai, M. R., Colella, B., Monette, G., Tselichtchev, P., Tomaszczyk, J., Green, R. 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. 2023 Mar 16; Online ahead of print. PMID: 36927109. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1089/neu.2023.0003.
2. Jacob, N., So, I., Sharma, B., Marzolini, S., Tartaglia, C., Oh, P., Green, R. Effects of high-intensity interval training protocols on blood lactate levels and cognition in healthy adults: Systematic review and meta-regression. Sports Medicine. 2023 Mar 14; Online ahead of print. PMID: 36917435. Available from:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-023-01815-2.
3. Boulos, M.E., Colella, B., Meusel, L.A., Sharma, B., Dabek, M., Worthington, T., Green, R.E.A. Feasibility of group telerehabilitation for individuals with chronic acquired brain injury: Integrating clinical care and research. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2023 Feb 28; Online ahead of print. PMID: 36855274. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2023.2177357.
4. 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. INCOG 2.0 Updated Guidelines for Management of Cognition Following TBI Part III: Executive Function. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 2023 Jan-Feb; 38(1):52-64. PMID: 36594859. Available from: doi: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000000834.
5. Belchev, Z., Boulos, M., Rybkina, J., Johns, K., Jeffay, E., Colella, B., Ozubko, J., Bray, M., Di Genova, N., Levi, A., Changoor, A., Worthington, T., Gilboa, A., Green, R. Remotely delivered environmental enrichment intervention for traumatic brain injury: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open. 2021 Feb 11; 11:e039767. PMID: 33574141. Available from: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/2/e039767.
6. Sharma, B., Changoor, A., Monteiro, L., Colella, B., Green, R.E.A. Prognostic-factors for neurodegeneration in chronic moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury: A systematic review protocol. Systematic Reviews. 2020 Feb 3; 9(23): 1-6. PMID: 32014038. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-020-1281-4.
    

Honours and Awards

• 2022/05                        Interprofessional Education Team Award, Team ECHO-UHN-Toronto Rehab, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network
• 2020/05                        2020 Dr. Dina Brooks Continuing/Sustained Excellence in Graduate Student Supervision & Mentorship award, University of Toronto
• 2020/01 - 2024/12        Saunderson Chair in Acquired Brain Injury Research, Saunderson Family, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Canada
• 2019/01 - 2022/12        Member-at-Large, Board of Governors, International Neuropsychological Association
• 2018/10                        2018 Dr. Jane Gillett Research Award, Brain Injury Canada