Department of
2024 ANNUAL REPORT
Neurology
398
trainees
16
fellowships
7
continuing education
courses
62,260
ambulatory visits
9,288
inpatient admissions
and consults
28,058
ambulatory
procedures
635
research publications
336
active grants
143
clinical trials
$116M
research revenue
$10M
royalty revenue
201
faculty members
21
endowed chairs
36
advanced practice providers
577
staff members
2023 Neurology by the Numbers
2
Message from our Neurologist-In-Chief
4
Leadership Team
10
New Program Leaders
16
New Distinguished Chairs
24
Awards, Honors, and Grants
34
Select Publications
38
Neurology Education
46
Community Outreach
48
South Shore Hospital Neurology
50
Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital Neurology
52
The Gene Lay Institute of Immunology and Inflammation
54
Performing Arts Clinic
58
New Center for Neuroscience Clinical Trials
64
Ann Romney Center for Neurological Diseases
66
Philanthropy
75
Credits
CONTENTS
Message from Our Neurologist-in-Chief
We are excited to share with you our annual report for the Department of Neurology
at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, highlighting some of the important clinical,
research, and educational developments in our department.
Since I joined the Brigham in 2019, I have been inspired by our exceptional providers,
staff, and trainees and their commitment to finding better treatments for persons
with neurological diseases. We have grown tremendously over these past 4 years,
adding over 80 new faculty members, 16 new endowed and distinguished chairs to
support our faculty, 36 new advanced practice providers, and more than doubling
our annual research budget to over $116 million in 2023. Since last year, we have
added three physicians who will lead new joint, Mass General Brigham neurology
programs in intraoperative neurological monitoring, sports neurology/neuroscience,
and autonomic neurology. We have created new clinical programs in autoimmune
neurology, neurological infectious diseases, and epilepsy genetics. In 2023, we were
excited to open a new Alzheimer’s Disease Therapeutic Program and have treated our
first Alzheimer’s patients with FDA-approved, anti-amyloid antibodies at BWH. With
all this progress, we know that the future is bright and there is renewed hope on the
horizon for preventing, treating, and curing neurological diseases. We hope you will
find this report of interest and please reach out to me with any questions or input.
Sincerely,
Tracy Batchelor, M.D.
Neurologist-In-Chief
Chair, Department of Neurology
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Martin A. Samuels, M.D. Professor of Neurology
Harvard Medical School
2 | BRIGHAM & WOMEN’S HOSPITAL
VISION
The Department of Neurology works continuously
to excel in the four core elements of our mission
(patient care, community service, research, and
education) by creating an environment that is
inclusive, equitable, and welcoming for all.
2024 NEUROLOGY REPORT | 3
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Elizabeth Loder, M.D.
Vice Chair; Academic Affairs
Tracy Batchelor, M.D.
Chair
Jessica Kenyon
Executive Director
Tracy Young-Pearse, Ph.D.
Vice Chair; Basic Neuroscience
Research
Michael Hayes, M.D.
Vice Chair; Community Affairs
Tanuja Chitnis, M.D.
Vice Chair; Clinical Neuroscience
Research
Tamara Kaplan, M.D.
Vice Chair; Educational Affairs
Vice Chairs
4 | BRIGHAM & WOMEN’S HOSPITAL
David Pilgrim, M.D.
Associate Chair; Diversity, Equity,
and Inclusion
Ellen Bubrick, M.D.
Associate Chair; Quality and Safety
Christopher Anderson, M.D., M.Sc.
Associate Chair; External Affairs
Shamik Bhattacharyya, M.D.
Associate Chair; Wellness
Associate Chairs
Angela O’Neal, M.D.
General Neurology
Anthony Amato, M.D.
Neuromuscular Diseases
Christopher Anderson, M.D., M.Sc.
Stroke and Cerebrovascular
Diseases
Division Chiefs
LEADERSHIP TEAM
2024 NEUROLOGY REPORT | 5
Kirk Daffner, M.D.
Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology
Bradley Molyneaux, M.D., Ph.D.
Neurocritical Care and
Emergency Neurology
Howard Weiner, M.D.
Multiple Sclerosis and
Neuroimmunology
Barbara Dworetzky, M.D.
Epilepsy and Seizure Disorders
Vikram Khurana, M.D., Ph.D.
Movement Disorders
Paul Rizzoli, M.D.
Headache
Joshua Klein, M.D., Ph.D.
Hospital Neurology
Patrick Wen, M.D.
Neuro-Oncology
Robert Mallery, M.D.
Neuro-Ophthalmology
Division Chiefs (continued)
LEADERSHIP TEAM
6 | BRIGHAM & WOMEN’S HOSPITAL
Barbara Kelly Changizi, M.D.
Movement Disorders
Shuhan Zhu, M.D.
Headache
Maria Houtchens, M.D.
Multiple Sclerosis and
Neuroimmunology
Jong Woo Lee, M.D., Ph.D.
Epilepsy and Seizure Disorders
Mary-Ellen Meadows, Ph.D.
Neuropsychology
Christopher Doughty, M.D.
Neuromuscular Diseases
Michael Erkkinen, M.D.
Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology
Clinical Directors
LEADERSHIP TEAM
2024 NEUROLOGY REPORT | 7
25
Professors
31
Associate
Professors
55
Assistant
Professors
68
Instructors
Members of
the Faculty
Corresponding
Members of
the Faculty
11
Lecturers
Harvard Medical School
Appointments
8 | BRIGHAM & WOMEN’S HOSPITAL
2024 NEUROLOGY REPORT | 9
NEW PROGRAM LEADERS
BRADLEY
MOLYNEAUX,
M.D., PH.D.
Director, Neurological Inpatient Services
Dr. Bradley Molyneaux joined the Department of Neurology in 2021
as the Chief of the Division of Neurocritical Care and Emergency
Neurology and the Director of the Neurocritical Care Unit in the
Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery. In 2023 he took on
another role as the Director of Neurological Inpatient Services for
the Department of Neurology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital,
Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital, and South Shore Hospital.
In this role, Dr. Molyneaux oversees all inpatient services for these
three hospitals, including inpatient intensive care, ward, and consult
services, and emergency department neurological services. He
works closely with BWH Hospital Administrative inpatient leadership
as well with BWH Neurosurgery to enhance and expand our
neurological inpatient services.
Dr. Molyneaux earned his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard
Medical School and completed his neurology residency and
neurocritical care fellowship at Mass General Brigham. Before
joining the Brigham in 2021, he was on the faculty at the University
of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) where he was the co-director
of the UPMC Presbyterian Neurovascular ICU and leader of the
UPMC Stroke Institute, a hub for multidisciplinary clinical care and
research.
Dr. Molyneaux’s research focuses on novel therapeutics for
neuroprotection.
10 | BRIGHAM & WOMEN’S HOSPITAL
NEW PROGRAM LEADERS
EVA RITZL, M.D.
Director, Intraoperative Neuromonitoring,
Mass General Brigham
Dr. Eva Ritzl joined Mass General Brigham (MGB) as the Director of
the Division of Intraoperative Neuromonitoring (IOM). The Division
spans the Departments of Neurology at Massachusetts General
Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Dr. Ritzl came to MGB from the John Hopkins University School of
Medicine where she led both the IOM service and the continuous
video-EEG service (cEEG) as an Associate Professor of Neurology
and Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine. Under her direction,
the John Hopkins IOM lab attracted national and international
neurologists for training. Dr. Ritzl also conceptualized, built, and
expanded the cEEG program.
Dr. Ritzl received a German Doctorate in Medicine from the
University of Cologne, FRCP from the Royal College of Physicians
and Surgeons, Glasgow, and an MBA from the Carey School of
Business in Baltimore. She is a former neurology resident of Mass
General Brigham and was a fellow in the clinical neurophysiology/
epilepsy program at John Hopkins Hospital.
In her position at MGB, Dr. Ritzl oversees administrative, clinical,
research, and educational activities of the IOM programs at MGH
and BWH. She also teaches, supervises, and mentors HMS medical
students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty.
2024 NEUROLOGY REPORT | 11
CLAUS
REINSBERGER,
M.D., PH.D.
Director, Sports Neurology and Neuroscience,
Mass General Brigham
Dr. Claus Reinsberger joined Mass General Brigham as the
inaugural Director of Mass General Brigham Sports Neurology and
Neuroscience. He joined us from Paderborn University in Germany,
where he built a premiere Sports Medicine program. He’s also a
senior consulting physician with the Union of European Football
Associations (UEFA) and the German Soccer Association.
Dr. Reinsberger received his M.D. from Ruhr University, a Ph.D. in
Sports Medicine from the University of Paderborn and completed
his neurology residency in Wuerzburg and Zurich, Switzerland. He
also completed a fellowship in Neurophysiology and Epilepsy at
Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
In this new role, Dr. Reinsberger oversees administrative, clinical,
research, and educational activities of the Mass General Brigham
Sports Neurology Program. He has clinical interest and expertise
in sports-related concussions, the electrophysiological substrates
of elite athletic performance, and sports as therapy for neurological
disorders.
NEW PROGRAM LEADERS
12 | BRIGHAM & WOMEN’S HOSPITAL
NEW PROGRAM LEADERS
SHAMIK
BHATTACHARYYA,
M.D., M.S.
Program Leader, Autoimmune Neurology
Inaugural Incumbent, Anne Finucane
Distinguished Chair in Neurology
Dr. Shamik Bhattacharyya was named the inaugural incumbent of
the Anne Finucane Distinguished Chair in Neurology at Brigham and
Women’s Hospital in 2023. He is also the inaugural program leader
for Autoimmune Neurology within the Division of Multiple Sclerosis
and Neuroimmunology at BWH.
Dr. Bhattacharyya completed medical school at John Hopkins School
of Medicine and trained in neurology in the Mass General Brigham
neurology residency program. He then completed fellowship training
in multiple sclerosis and autoimmune neurology. After starting
as a faculty member at BWH, he led the development of a new
autoimmune neurology clinic.
In his role as Autoimmune Neurology Program leader, Dr.
Bhattacharyya is further developing the department’s clinical,
research, and educational programs in autoimmune neurology. In
addition to a busy clinical practice, he leads clinical studies and trials
focused on discovering triggers of acute relapses and treatments for
autoimmune neurological disorders. He especially enjoys teaching
neurology to medical students, residents, and fellows.
2024 NEUROLOGY REPORT | 13
NATHANIEL
ROBBINS, M.D.
Director, Autonomic Neurology,
Mass General Brigham
Dr. Nathaniel Robbins joined Mass General Brigham (MGB) as the
Director of the Autonomic Neurology Program within the Divisions
of Neuromuscular Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and
Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dr. Robbins joined MGB from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical
Center (DHMC) and the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine in
Hanover, New Hampshire. At Dartmouth, he was the Director of the
DHMC Center for Autonomic Disorders and the Director of Clinical
Operations in the Department of Neurology.
Dr. Robbins earned his M.D. at the Albert Einstein College of
Medicine in New York, completed his neurology residency at the
University of California, San Francisco, and a fellowship in Clinical
Neurophysiology at DHMC.
In his MGB role, he oversees the autonomic testing areas across
all facilities, as well as overseeing the clinical, research, and
educational activities of the autonomic neurology program at MGB.
NEW PROGRAM LEADERS
14 | BRIGHAM & WOMEN’S HOSPITAL
NEW PROGRAM LEADERS
ELYSE
DOHERTY,
P.A.-C.
Chief Physician Assistant
Elyse Doherty, P.A.-C., was named Chief Physician Assistant
(PA) at BWH. She joined BWH in 2016 after graduating from PA
school at the Mass College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
She attended Wheaton College for her undergraduate degree
in Neuroscience and Pre-Medicine. She started her career as a
PA in the BWH Department of Neurosurgery and transitioned to
the Department of Neurology in 2018. In her Chief PA role, she
manages a growing group of 36 ambulatory and inpatient APPs.
“I have enjoyed stepping into this leadership role to help each
PA feel heard and appreciated,” Elyse said. “Our department
would not function without them, so it’s a special feeling to
manage such an intelligent and hard-working group,” she
added.
Elyse is also a practicing PA on the inpatient neurology service.
Her clinical interests are in vascular neurology and stroke.
She also lectures at the Northeastern University PA school
and serves as Chief Medical Officer annually at the Boston
Marathon medical tent.
2024 NEUROLOGY REPORT | 15
NEW DISTINGUISHED CHAIRS
Oleg Butovsky, Ph.D.
Howard L. Weiner, M.D.
Distinguished Chair in Neurology
Shamik Bhattacharyya, M.D.
Anne M. Finucane Distinguished
Chair in Neurology
16 | BRIGHAM & WOMEN’S HOSPITAL
Ana Anderson, Ph.D., (left) Albert
H. Coons Associate Professor of
Neurology, works with one of her
lab members.
2024 NEUROLOGY REPORT | 17
18 | BRIGHAM & WOMEN’S HOSPITAL