Understanding and treating neurological disorders

Welcome to the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford!

The Department has been a center of excellence for more than four decades and includes over 140 School of Medicine faculty members with primary academic appointments in the Department at our four outstanding teaching hospitals and health care systems. The Stanford Health Care (SHC) new 824,000 square-foot state-of-the-art hospital opened in 2019 with over 600 beds, making it one of the largest inpatient facilities in California. Ranked in the top 10 for Neurology and Neurosurgical Care by US News and World Report, SHC is at the cutting edge of the latest treatments for neurological diseases. SHC boasts a dedicated outpatient Stanford Neuroscience Health Center—a facility like no other on the West Coast—as well as clinics located throughout Northern California. With over 60,000 annual outpatient visits and thus one of the largest neurology volumes in the U.S., Stanford Neurology provides care for a large and highly diverse patient population and supports excellence in clinical care, education, and research.

Paul Graham Fisher, MD
Interim Chair, Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences
Professor, Neurology, Pediatrics, and by courtesy, Neurosurgery, Epidemiology and Population Health, and Human Biology
The Beirne Family Professor of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology
The Dunlevie Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education 

Neurology News

2023 Paul Marks Prize

Michelle Monje, MD, PhD is one of the 2023 winners of The Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research. This prize recognizes a new generation of leaders in cancer research who are making significant contributions to the understanding of cancer or are improving the treatment of the disease through basic or clinical research. The prize is intended to encourage young investigators who have a unique opportunity to help shape the future of cancer research. Congratulations, Dr. Monje!

A new branch of oncology, cancer neuroscience, offers hope for hard-to-treat brain tumors

To drive their growth, many tumors hijack nervous system signals, including those needed for brain plasticity. Stanford Medicine discoveries are opening a promising new branch of oncology research.

Meaningful Medicine: On Ableism in Medicine

Podcast discussing disability and ableism in medical training with Dr. Meaghan Roy-O’Reilly, MD/PhD, a Stanford neurology resident living and working with Charcot-Marie-Tooth peripheral neuropathy.

Neurooncologist Reena Thomas receives CIRM award of nearly $12 million for immunotherapy research

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has awarded nearly $12 million to Reena Thomas, MD, PhD, clinical associate professor of neurology and the neurological sciences, for a phase 1 clinical trial to assess the safety of a CAR-T cell immunotherapy for glioblastoma multiforme, the most common malignant primary brain tumor in adults.  

Arc Institute Ignite Award

Congratulations, Katrin  Andreasson, MD on receiving a 2023 Arc Institute Ignite Award.  Award recipients were selected for their visionary research agendas that venture into little-explored territory. Their expertise complements work happening at Arc and explores focus areas from distinct angles, opening up additional channels for discovery and impact. Dr. Andreasson's grant will investigate the role of dysregulated inflammatory responses that drive age-associated cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases.  A primary focus will be on the peripheral innate immune response and how it changes in aging and age-associated inflammatory diseases.  

Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) Board of Directors Selected

Chitra Venkatasubramanian, MBBS, MD, MSc, FNCS was appointed to the Neurocritical Care Society’s (NCS) Board of Directors. Congratulations, Dr. Venkat! 

Stanford Medicine researchers find possible cause of depression after stroke

Depression can be a very serious problem after stroke. This study will help us develop new and better treatments for those who aren't completely treated by current anti-depressants.

Simons Foundation Grant

Congratulations, Chinyere Agbaegbu Iweka, PhD, on receiving a Simons Foundation Independence Award for her work "Circadian regulation of immune cell metabolism and the effect on cognitive flexibility in the aging brain"