Inga Katharina Koerte

Professor Inga Katharina Koerte is a leading researcher in traumatic brain injury (TBI) at Ludwig-Maximilian-University (LMU) Munich, holding a dual affiliation as Professor of Neurobiological Research in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at LMU and as Lecturer in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on the effects of brain trauma on brain structure and function, with particular emphasis on vulnerable TBI patient cohorts including children, adolescents, and women. She leads the cBRAIN research group at LMU's downtown campus, utilizing advanced multi-sequence MR imaging in humans across the lifespan and in animal models to investigate alterations in brain microstructure, perfusion, biochemistry, viscoelasticity, and neurophysiology following TBI.

Dr. Koerte was the first to demonstrate alterations in brain microstructure following repetitive subconcussive head impacts in young athletes without concussion history and structural changes in ice hockey players over a season. Her team has detected signs of accelerated aging and neuroinflammation associated with repetitive brain trauma, identified risk factors, and developed biomarkers for neurodegeneration after brain injury. Her research has significant implications for early diagnosis, therapeutic approaches, and prevention of long-term TBI consequences. She serves as principal investigator for an NIH-funded study on sex differences in sports-related concussion, coordinates the European REPIMPACT study on repetitive head impacts in youth athletes, and co-leads the international ENIGMA initiative for large-scale neuroimaging analyses in sports-related concussion and pediatric TBI.

Her extensive publication record demonstrates consistent research productivity with a focus on neuroimaging biomarkers for TBI, quality of life assessment after brain injury in children, and the effects of repetitive head impacts across the lifespan. Recent work includes developing disease-specific instruments like QOLIBRI-KIDDY for young children post-TBI, investigating intimate partner violence-related head trauma in women, and advancing classification systems for acute TBI through the NIH-NINDS initiative. Her research bridges clinical neuroscience, neuroimaging technology, and practical applications for TBI diagnosis and management.

• Principal Investigator: NIH-funded study on sex differences in sports-related concussion (RO1 NINDS)
• Coordinator: European multi-site REPIMPACT study on repetitive head impacts in youth athletes
• Co-leader: International ENIGMA initiative for neuroimaging data analysis in sports concussion and pediatric TBI
• Associate Faculty: Graduate School of Systemic Neuroscience, Munich