Kyra S. O'Brien, MD, MSHP
Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Senior Fellow, Penn Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics
Associate Program Director, Penn Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Medical Director, Penn Medicine GUIDE Program, Penn Medicine
Department: Neurology
Contact information
Penn Neuroscience Center - Neurology
3400 Civic Center Blvd
2nd Floor, South Pavilion
Philadelphia, PA 19104
3400 Civic Center Blvd
2nd Floor, South Pavilion
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Education:
BS (Biology)
Yale University, 2012.
MD (Medicine)
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 2016.
MSHP (Health services research)
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 2024.
BS (Biology)
Yale University, 2012.
MD (Medicine)
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 2016.
MSHP (Health services research)
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 2024.
Post-Graduate Training
Intern, Internal Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2016-2017.
Resident physician, Neurology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2017-2020.
Clinical Fellow, Cognitive Neurology, Penn Memory Center, University of Pennsylvania, 2020-2021.
Intern, Internal Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2016-2017.
Resident physician, Neurology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2017-2020.
Clinical Fellow, Cognitive Neurology, Penn Memory Center, University of Pennsylvania, 2020-2021.
Certifications
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology - Neurology, 2020.
United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties, Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry, 2022.
Permanent linkAmerican Board of Psychiatry and Neurology - Neurology, 2020.
United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties, Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry, 2022.
Description of Clinical Expertise
Dementia, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, memory disorders, cognitive evaluation, dementia diagnosis, dementia careDescription of Research Expertise
Dementia care delivery, health services researchSelected Publications
Sydney Pugh, Matthew Hill, Sy Hwang, Rachel Wu, Kuk Jang, Stacy Iannone, Karen O’Connor, Kyra O’Brien, Eric Eaton, Kevin Johnson : WATCH-SS: A Trustworthy and Explainable Modular Framework for Detecting Cognitive Impairment from Spontaneous Speech. Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing Jan 2026.Kyra O’Brien, Wheeler Maxwell, Stacy Iannone, Jason Karlawish, Joseph Teel, Robert Burke: Implementation of an Electronic Health Record-Integrated Cognitive Assessment Pathway in Primary Care. Poster session presented at the 2025 Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Annual Meeting, Washington, DC Oct 2025.
Nessen SJ, Chary AN, Bhananker AR, Muir KJ, Southerland LT, O'Brien K, and Friedman AB: NOTICE-ED: Nurse or Technician Insights Into Cognitive Evaluations in the Emergency Department. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 73(8): 2503-2511, Aug 2025.
Cameron Coykendall, Megan Zhang, Abigail Perelman, Kristin Harkins, Jason Karlawish, Kyra O'Brien: Study of the Utility and Impact of Plasma p-tau181 Alzheimer's Biomarkers - SUIT-ABLE: Patient and Care Partner Outcomes. Poster session presented at the 2025 Association International Conference, Toronto, Canada Jul 2025.
Kyra O'Brien, Emily Largent, Jason Karlawish: Communicating a Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment or Dementia. JAMA Jul 2025 Notes: 10.1001/jama.2025.13006.
Kyra O'Brien, Robert E. Burke, Debra Saliba: An Elusive Ideal - Why a Pragmatic 'Home Time' Quality Measure Remains Hard to Define. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Jul 2025 Notes: https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.19594.
Megan Zhang, Abigail Perelman, Cameron Coykendall, Kristin Harkins, Jason Karlawish, Kyra O'Brien: Study of the Utility and Impact of Plasma p-tau181 Alzheimer's Biomarkers - SUIT-ABLE: Clinical Care Outcomes. Poster session presented at the 2025 Association International Conference, Toronto, Canada Jul 2025.
Kyra O'Brien, Wheeler Maxwell, Stacy Iannone, Jason Karlawish, Joseph Teel, Robert Burke: Building a cognitive screening and assessment pathway for primary care: The experience of one health care system. Poster session presented at the 2025 Association International Conference, Toronto, Canada Jul 2025.
O'Brien K, Harkins K, Peifer M, Kleid M, Coykendall C, Shea J, Karlawish J, Burke R: Designing an Intervention to Improve Cognitive Evaluations in Primary Care. Implementation Science Communications 6(1): 9, Jan 2025.
Erickson C, Largent EA, O'Brien K: Paving the way for Alzheimer’s blood-based biomarkers in primary care. Alzheimer's & Dementia Dec 2024 Notes: doi.org/10.1002/alz.14203.