Faculty profile

Joel Ramirez

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Assistant ProfessorDepartment of MedicineUniversity of Toronto

Joel Ramirez

Assistant Professor

Department of Medicine

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

University of Toronto

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Supervision signals

Professors usually supervise graduate students in their department's programs.
34 publications in the last five years, latest in 2026.
Senior (last) author on 3 recent papers, a sign of leading a research group.

These signals come from public records, including federal and provincial funding decisions. Ask the professor or the graduate program whether they are taking new students.

Academic metrics

Publications

3,571

Citations

134

Collaborators

Grants

Publications by year

Counts cover the publications linked to this profile. Citations and the h-index appear when the source records them.

Profiles and links

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Signals and details

Research

Read how they describe their research on their University of Toronto profile.

Latest papers

Sleep apnea physiology and MRI-enlarged perivascular spaces in community-dwelling adults.
Sleep medicine · 2026
Examining the effects of alcohol use on verbal memory processes in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.
Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2026
Subcortical white matter hyperintensities and motor function in parkinson's disease: findings from the ONDRI study.
GeroScience · 2026

All 65 publications

Latest funding

Wearable Sensing and Stimulation of Sleep Physiological Features Related to Resistance and Resilience to Dementia-Associated Brain Changes
CIHR · 2024 · Co-investigator
$824,672
Pro-Resolving Inflammatory Mediators in Neurovascular Gains in Aerobic Training; a phase 2, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial (PRIMiNG-AT2)
CIHR · 2023 · Co-investigator
$20,000
Pro-Resolving Inflammatory Mediators in Neurovascular Gains in Aerobic Training (PRIMiNG-AT)
CIHR · 2021 · Co-investigator
$747,439

All 11 grants and awards

65 publications.

Sleep apnea physiology and MRI-enlarged perivascular spaces in community-dwelling adults.

Sommer R, Gibson E, Centen A, Ramirez J, MacIntosh BJ, Goubran M, Black SE, Lim ASP

Sleep medicine20262 citations

DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2026.109090 PMID: 42361658

Examining the effects of alcohol use on verbal memory processes in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

Cuperfain AB, Pishdadian S, Binns MA, Black SE, Chertkow H, Freedman M, Louis J, Ma C, Masellis M, Mclaughlin PM, Ramirez J, Tang-Wai DF, Tartaglia MC, Kumar S, CCNA COMPASS-ND Group, and on behalf of the ONDRI Group

Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD2026

DOI: 10.1177/13872877261444995 PMID: 42033405

Subcortical white matter hyperintensities and motor function in parkinson's disease: findings from the ONDRI study.

de Abreu DCC, Pieruccini-Faria F, Lang AE, Cornish B, McIlroy W, Jog M, Masellis M, Ramirez J, Scott C, Symons S, Black SE, Arnott SR, Binns M, Beaton D, Tan B, Marras C, Kwan D, Grimes D, Bartha R, Montero-Odasso M

GeroScience2026Open Access

DOI: 10.1007/s11357-025-01727-1 PMID: 40481924

segcsvdPVS: A Convolutional Neural Network-Based Tool for Quantification of Enlarged Perivascular Spaces (PVS) on T1-Weighted Images.

Gibson E, Ramirez J, Woods LA, Berberian S, Ottoy J, Scott CJM, Yhap V, Gao F, Coello RD, Valdes Hernandez M, Lang AE, Tartaglia CM, Kumar S, Binns MA, Bartha R, Symons S, Swartz RH, Masellis M, Singh N, MacIntosh BJ, Wardlaw JM, Black SE, ONDRI Investigators, ADNI, CAHHM Investigators, CAIN Investigators, colleagues from the Foundation Leducq Transatlantic Network of Excellence, Lim ASP, Goubran M

Human brain mapping2026Open Access

DOI: 10.1002/hbm.70462 PMID: 41641899

Serum long-chain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids differentially predict brain atrophy, white matter hyperintensities, and lacunes in individuals with cerebral small vessel disease with or without Alzheimer's disease

Yedor LM, Chambers KO, Moran-Garrido M, Perfetto S, Lin WZ, Ryoo SW, Huang C, Ramirez J, Sahlas DJ, Gao F

Journal of Alzheimer's Disease2026

DOI: 10.1177/13872877251401572

Frontal white matter hyperintensity burden predicts cognitive response to N-acetylcysteine and exercise in vascular mild cognitive impairment.

Mah E, Gallagher D, Gao F, Ramirez J, Rabin JS, Survilla K, Vieira D, Chen JJ, Kang Y, Andreazza A, Herrmann N, Kiss A, Marzolini S, Oh P, Swardfager W, Black SE, Lanctôt KL

Neurobiology of aging2026Open Access

DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2026.01.005 PMID: 41579736

Efficacy and safety of N-acetylcysteine in patients with mild cognitive impairment undergoing exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program: a randomized controlled trial.

Gallagher D, Kang Y, Herrmann N, Kiss A, Black SE, Oh P, Marzolini S, Rabin JS, Andreazza A, Ramirez J, Gao F, Rapoport M, Chen JJ, Survilla K, Vieira D, Mah E, Swardfager W, Lanctôt KL

Alzheimer's research & therapy2026Open Access

DOI: 10.1186/s13195-026-02062-z PMID: 42045982

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and Progression of Enlarged Perivascular Spaces in Adults With Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Sommer R, Hill EA, Ramirez J, Coello RD, Ballerini L, Gibson E, Berberian S, Valdés Hernández MDC, Centen A, Chappell FM, Montazeri N, Stringer MS, Thrippleton M, Jaime Garcia D, Wiseman S, Narayansingh M, Tandon A, Boulos MI, Murray BJ, Doubal F, Riha RL, Goubran M, Macintosh BJ, Wardlaw JM, Black SE, Lim ASP

Neurology202512 citationsOpen Access

DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000213955 PMID: 41021868

The future of biomarkers for vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID): proceedings of the 2025 annual workshop of the Albert research institute for white matter and cognition.

Lennon MJ, Karvelas N, Ganesh A, Whitehead S, Sorond FA, Durán Laforet V, Head E, Arfanakis K, Kolachalama VB, Liu X, Lu H, Ramirez J, Walker K, Weekman E, Wellington CL, Winston C, Barone FC, Corriveau RA

GeroScience20258 citationsOpen Access

DOI: 10.1007/s11357-025-01746-y PMID: 40542975

A Cross Sectional and Longitudinal Assessment of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Brain Functional Connectivity in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment, Cerebrovascular Disease and Parkinson Disease.

Rashidi-Ranjbar N, Churchill NW, Black SE, Kumar S, Tartaglia MC, Freedman M, Lang A, Ramirez J, Saposnik G, McLaughlin PM, Symons S, Pollock BG, Rajji TK, Borrie M, Masellis M, Pasternak SH, Frank A, Seitz D, Ismail Z, Tang-Wai DF, Scott CJM, Dowlatshahi D, Hassan A, Munoz DG, Fornazzari L, Fischer CE, Schweizer TA

International journal of geriatric psychiatry20256 citationsOpen Access

DOI: 10.1002/gps.70075 PMID: 40246706

Wearable Sensing and Stimulation of Sleep Physiological Features Related to Resistance and Resilience to Dementia-Associated Brain Changes

Co-investigatorCIHR2024Team Grant: CCNA Phase III: Research Teams

Principal investigators: Lim, Andrew S; Dang-Vu, Thien Thanh

Keywords: Aging; Biomarkers; Brain Stimulation; Clinical Trial; Cognitive Impairment; Cohort Study; Dementia; Electroencephalography; Sleep

$824,672

Pro-Resolving Inflammatory Mediators in Neurovascular Gains in Aerobic Training; a phase 2, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial (PRIMiNG-AT2)

Co-investigatorCIHR2023Team Gr.:Intervention Trial in Inflam. for Chronic Condition - General Pool LOI

Principal investigators: Swardfager, Walter L; Lanctôt, Krista L

Keywords: Aging; Cerebral Small Vessels; Coronary Artery Disease; Diabetes; Inflammation; Physical Activity

$20,000

Pro-Resolving Inflammatory Mediators in Neurovascular Gains in Aerobic Training (PRIMiNG-AT)

Co-investigatorCIHR2021Team Grant: Preparation to Trial: Inflammation for Chronic Conditions

Principal investigators: Swardfager, Walter L; Lanctôt, Krista L

Keywords: Aerobic Training; Aging; Cognition; Coronary Artery Disease; Diabetes; Inflammation; Lipid Metabolism

$747,439

Sleep, Circadian Rhythms, and Dementia-Related Changes in the Human Brain - An Integrated Physiological, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cognitive, and Genomic Study of Adult Ontarians

Co-investigatorCIHR2020Project Grant

Principal investigators: Lim, Andrew S

Keywords: Actigraphy; Circadian Rhythms; Cognitive Impairment; Dementia; Genotyping; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Mendelian Randomization; Sleep; Sleep Apnea

$1,005,976

Identifying vascular targets to treat cerebral small vessel disease

Co-investigatorCIHR2019Project Grant

Principal investigators: MacIntosh, Bradley J

Keywords: Cardiopulmonary Fitness; Cerebral Blood Flow; Cerebrovascular Reactivity; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Minor Stroke; Pulsatility; Small Vessel Disease; White Matter Hyperintensities

$665,550

Small Vessel Disease meets protein misfolding: Phenobanking common dementias in clinical care to inform future precision medicine.

Co-investigatorCIHR2017Foundation Grant

Principal investigators: Black, Sandra E

Keywords: Dementia (Alzheimer'S, Frontotemporal, And Lewy Body); Imaging- Genetics; Longitudinal Cohort; Molecular Pet; Mri (Structural/Functional); Neurobehaviour (E.G., Depression, Apathy); Neuropathology; Neuropsychology; Spect; Vascular Cognitive Disorders

$2,081,600

Understanding Neurodegeneration, Venules, Amyloid Imaging and Leukoaraiosis (UNVAIL)

Co-investigatorCIHR2016Project Grant

Principal investigators: Black, Sandra E; Bocti, Christian; Borrie, Michael J; Chertkow, Howard M; Darvesh, Sultan; Dowlatshahi, Dariush; Frayne, Richard; Hsiung, Ging-Yuek R; Laforce, Robert J; Mandzia, Jennifer L; Masellis, Mario; Prato, Frank S; Sahlas, Demetrios; Smith, Eric E; Soucy, Jean-Paul; Strother, Stephen; Swartz, Richard

Keywords: Amyloid And Tau Pet Imaging; Amyloid Angiopathy; Brain Volumetrics And Microstructural Integrity; Executive Dysfunction And Memory Loss; Executive Function Processing; Metabolic Imaging And Functional Networks; Small Vessel Disease; Stroke And Transient Ischemic Attack; Subcortical Ischemic Brain Small Blood Vessel Disasculopathy; Venous Collagenosis

$100,000

Efficacy and Safety of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in patients with mild vascular cognitive impairment

Co-investigatorCIHR2016Project Grant

Principal investigators: Lanctôt, Krista L; Herrmann, Nathan

Keywords: Coronary Artery Disease; Exercise; N-Acetylcysteine; Oxidative Stress; Randomized Controlled Trial; Vascular Cognitive Impairment

$673,200

Cohort to illuminate Neurodegeneration, Genetics, Imaging Associations and Leukoaraiosis (CONGENIAL)

Co-investigatorCIHR2015Operating Grant

Principal investigators: Black, Sandra E; Masellis, Mario

Keywords: And Lewy Body); Apathy); Dementia (Alzheimer'S; Depression; Frontotemporal; Imaging-Genetics; Longitudinal Cohort; Mri (Structural/Functional); Neurobehaviour (E.G.; Neuropathology; Neuropsychology; Spect; Vascular Cognitive Disorders

$919,405

Differences in cognitive and neuroimaging outcomes in elderly adults on angiotension converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors versus angiotension receptive blockers (ARBs).

Co-investigatorCIHR2013Catalyst Grant: Secondary Analysis of Neuroimaging Databases

Principal investigators: Black, Sandra E

Keywords: Alzheimer'S Disease; Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (Ace) Inhibitors; Angiotensin Receptive Blockers (Arb); Atrophy And Hippocampal Volume Loss; Beta Amyloid; Cognitive Impairment; Hypertension; Multimodal Imaging; Risk Modelling; Small Vessel Disease

$100,000

From public funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998 with their latest competition results, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Genome Canada, the Canadian Space Agency, Canada Research Chairs, the Fonds de recherche du Québec, Ontario research funding, Michael Smith Health Research BC, the Canadian Cancer Society, Heart & Stroke and Brain Canada.

Profile data last refreshed on September 29, 2026 from the university directory, publication records and public research funding records.

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Joel Ramirez

Research

Latest papers

Latest funding

Sleep apnea physiology and MRI-enlarged perivascular spaces in community-dwelling adults.

Examining the effects of alcohol use on verbal memory processes in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

Subcortical white matter hyperintensities and motor function in parkinson's disease: findings from the ONDRI study.

segcsvdPVS: A Convolutional Neural Network-Based Tool for Quantification of Enlarged Perivascular Spaces (PVS) on T1-Weighted Images.

Serum long-chain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids differentially predict brain atrophy, white matter hyperintensities, and lacunes in individuals with cerebral small vessel disease with or without Alzheimer's disease

Frontal white matter hyperintensity burden predicts cognitive response to N-acetylcysteine and exercise in vascular mild cognitive impairment.

Efficacy and safety of N-acetylcysteine in patients with mild cognitive impairment undergoing exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program: a randomized controlled trial.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and Progression of Enlarged Perivascular Spaces in Adults With Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

The future of biomarkers for vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID): proceedings of the 2025 annual workshop of the Albert research institute for white matter and cognition.

A Cross Sectional and Longitudinal Assessment of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Brain Functional Connectivity in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment, Cerebrovascular Disease and Parkinson Disease.

Frequent collaborators

Sandra Black

Mario Masellis

Richard Swartz

Robert Bartha

Stephen Strother

Malcolm Binns

Sean Symons

Demetrios Sahlas

Maged Goubran

Walter Swardfager

Dar Dowlatshahi

Dariush Dowlatshahi

Michael Borrie

Morris Freedman

Gustavo Saposnik

Connie Marras

Sanjeev Kumar

Bradley MacIntosh

David Grimes

Manuel Montero Odasso

Ekaterina Rogaeva

J.B. Orange

Jean-Paul Soucy

Christopher Hudson

Alan Moody

Chris Hudson

Christian Bocti

Lune Bellec

Navneet Singh

Marc Narayansingh

I. Naglie

Alexander Kiss

Brittany Intzandt