Principal Investigator

Dr. Hector Arciniega is the Director of Research at the NYU Langone Concussion Center and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

Dr. Arciniega is a neuroscientist whose research seeks to understand how the human brain responds and adapts to neurological injury, and why individuals with seemingly similar exposures can experience profoundly different long-term outcomes. His work lies at the intersection of human neuroscience, neuroimaging, brain physiology, and neurodegeneration, with a particular emphasis on identifying the biological mechanisms that shape neurological vulnerability and resilience.

At NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Dr. Arciniega leads an interdisciplinary research program that combines advanced neuroimaging, quantitative neuroanatomy, computational approaches, molecular biomarkers, and clinical investigation. His lab examines how mechanical injury interacts with the structural organization and physiological state of the brain to influence cognitive function, neurological recovery, and susceptibility to neurodegenerative processes. Central to this work is the recognition that neurological outcomes cannot be explained by injury exposure alone, but must also be understood in the context of the biological systems that maintain and regulate brain health.

A major focus of his research has been understanding the long-term consequences of repetitive head impacts in individuals with histories of participation in contact and collision sports. Through investigations involving former professional and collegiate American football players, Dr. Arciniega has contributed to advances in characterizing the neuroanatomical consequences of cumulative head impact exposure. His work has examined alterations in cortical morphology, subcortical structures, ventricular anatomy, white matter microstructure, and the cavum septum pellucidum, providing new insights into how repetitive mechanical forces may influence the organization and integrity of the human brain. These investigations have contributed to efforts to identify neuroimaging markers of repetitive neurotrauma and clarify their relationships with aging, cognitive function, and neurodegenerative vulnerability.

An important extension of Dr. Arciniega's research examines how the biological state of the brain at the time of injury may influence subsequent neurological outcomes. This question has motivated a growing research program focused on maternal brain health and neurological injury during pregnancy. Pregnancy is accompanied by extensive neurobiological adaptations involving brain structure, neuroendocrine signaling, cerebrovascular physiology, immune regulation, and neural plasticity. Yet how these changes influence the brain's response to injury remains largely unknown. His lab investigates the neurological consequences of traumatic brain injury during pregnancy, including injuries associated with intimate partner violence, while also studying the natural trajectory of maternal brain adaptations. Through population-level epidemiology, longitudinal neuroimaging, and translational approaches, this work seeks to understand how pregnancy-associated physiological changes interact with neurological injury and shape maternal brain health during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Together, these research directions reflect a broader scientific objective: to understand how neurological exposures, individual biological characteristics, and physiological regulation interact to determine the brain's capacity for adaptation, recovery, and long-term resilience. By studying repetitive neurotrauma and pregnancy as complementary contexts, Dr. Arciniega's lab seeks to identify fundamental principles governing neurological vulnerability across different stages and physiological states of adult life.

Beyond his independent research program, Dr. Arciniega plays an active role in advancing collaborative neuroscience. He serves as Co-Leader of the ENIGMA Sports-Related Brain Injury Working Group, an international consortium focused on harmonizing neuroimaging approaches and investigating the neurological consequences of concussion and repetitive head impacts across diverse populations. As Director of Research at the NYU Langone Concussion Center, he also works to strengthen the integration of clinical care, scientific discovery, and translational research. He serves as a training faculty member in the Institute for Translational Neuroscience and the Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences and contributes to the broader scientific community through NIH grant review, institutional leadership, and interdisciplinary collaborations.

Before joining the faculty at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Dr. Arciniega completed his postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School under the mentorship of Drs. Martha E. Shenton and Sylvain Bouix. His research during this period focused on understanding the long-term neurological consequences of repetitive head impacts through multimodal neuroimaging and neurobehavioral assessment. He completed his doctoral training at the University of Nevada, Reno under the mentorship of Dr. Marian Berryhill, where he investigated the cognitive and neural consequences of concussion and aging, particularly alterations in working memory and functional brain organization. His training across cognitive neuroscience, neuroimaging, and clinical neurotrauma established the interdisciplinary foundation of his current research program.

Dr. Arciniega's scientific contributions have been recognized through numerous national honors and competitive research awards, including the NIH/NINDS D-SPAN F99/K00 Award, the NIH Loan Repayment Program Award, the Rainwater Charitable Foundation Tau Leadership Award, Harvard's Mind Brain Behavior Young Investigator Award, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Postdoctoral Diversity Enrichment Program Award, the Black Men's Brain Health Emerging Scholars Fellowship, and the Henry Grass Rising Star in Neuroscience Award. He has received federal and foundation support for research investigating repetitive neurotrauma, neurodegeneration, and neurological vulnerability. His work has appeared in leading scientific and medical journals, including Nature Medicine, Brain, Alzheimer's & Dementia, Brain Communications, JAMA Network Open, Communications Medicine, and Neurology Clinical Practice.

Through his research and leadership, Dr. Arciniega seeks to advance a more integrated understanding of the human brain, one that recognizes neurological health as the product of interactions among brain structure, physiological regulation, life experience, and biological adaptation.