Sean Nestor

Dr. Sean Nestor is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and an Associate Member of the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. He is a clinician-investigator and interventional psychiatrist at the Harquail Centre for Neuromodulation, part of the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. 

Dr. Nestor graduated from the Health Sciences and Medical Biophysics programs at Western University. He subsequently completed his MD and PhD training through the MD/PhD program at the University of Toronto in 2016. He finished his Psychiatry residency at the University of Toronto in 2021 and also served as Chief of the Clinician Scientist Program. 

The primary focus of his lab's research combines neuroimaging and investigational neuromodulation techniques to understand the mechanisms of brain plasticity and dysfunction in neurological and psychiatric disorders. His lab operates one of Canada's only concurrent TMS-fMRI experimental platforms, and he currently leads therapeutic brain stimulation trials for post-concussive syndrome, treatment-resistant depression, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at Sunnybrook. He has been a co-investigator on investigational treatment trials involving deep brain stimulation for alcohol use disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and high-frequency focused ultrasound treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder and major depressive disorder. He serves as a Canadian site PI for the GenECT study and is a member of the ENIGMA Neuromodulation working group. His research has received funding from the Sunnybrook Foundation and competitive funding from the Brain and Behaviour Foundation, CIHR, Torey Trauma Program, Labatt Family Network for Research on the Biology of Depression, the Norris Scholar award, and is a recipient of the Donald T. Stuss Young Investigator Award.
 

Research Synopsis

Dr. Nestor’s research interests involve the development and optimization of neuroimaging based biomarkers for the circuit-based diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders. His lab uses multimodal imaging techniques including functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging for biomarker development and validation, investigating biological mechanisms of brain network disruption across the lifespan, and is involved with conducting therapeutic trials using neuromodulation modalities such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, electroconvulsive therapy, deep brain stimulation, and high frequency magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound

Grants

During his doctoral studies he was the recipient of a CIHR doctoral research scholarship and an MD/PhD award. He is a co-investigator on several Canadian Institutes of Research (CIHR) Grants and has received funding as a principal investigator from the Labatt Family Network for Research on the Biology of Depression and The Norris Scholar Award.