Dr. Santarnecchi is an Associate Professor of Radiology at Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and the director of the Precision Neuroscience & Neuromodulation program (PNN) and the Network Control Laboratory at the Gordon Center for Medical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

Dr. Santarnecchi’s program focuses on combining multimodal neuroimaging (e.g., MRI, fMRI, DTI, PET) and electrophysiology (e.g., EEG, EMG, MEG) methods for the identification of novel diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers and the development of therapeutic approaches for patients with neurological and psychiatric conditions. In particular, Dr. Santarnecchi’s research is centered around the development of personalized, network-based Noninvasive Brain Stimulation (NiBS) approaches to modulate brain plasticity, guide connectome rewiring, boost resilience and enhance cognitive function and reserve, with the ultimate goal of promoting brain health and healthy aging. His team is currently working on machine/deep learning solutions for perturbation-based brain connectivity analysis (e.g., TMS-EEG), NIBS approaches to modulate sleep and memory, high-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) interventions for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and Frontotemporal dementia, and novel fMRI-based markers of disease progression in patients with brain tumors. His work on brain health also includes studies on space physiology in collaboration with NASA, for the development of potential countermeasures to maintain optimal brain performance in extreme environments including spaceflight. Dr. Santarnecchi also holds a Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology degree and a Psy.D. in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; his team is investigating how to combine brain connectomics and noninvasive brain stimulation to maximize the effect of psychotherapy by increasing brain plasticity or by consolidating clinical effects during sleep.