FACULTY INTERVIEWS

Dr. Matt Stern interviews Dr. Frances Jensen: Listen to a snippet of Frances E. Jensen talking about challenges: Check out full video here: Jensen Interviews: full and snippets

Dr. Larry Brown interviews Dr. Brenda Banwell: Check out Brenda Banwell talk about her transition into leadership: Check out the full video here: Banwell interview full

Frances Elizabeth Jensen, Chair, 2012 — present

Dr. Jensen is Professor of Neurology and Chair of Neurology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and Co-Director of Penn Translational Neuroscience Center.

She was formerly Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Director of

Dr. Frances E. Jensen - in the Jensen/Talos Lab

Translational Neuroscience and senior neurologist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital. After receiving her AB from Smith College and MD from Cornell Medical College, she obtained her neurology residency training at the Harvard Longwood Neurology Residency Program. Her research focuses on mechanisms of epilepsy, and the interaction of epilepsy with other disorders such as autism and dementia, to elucidate new therapies for clinical trials development. She has authored over 150 manuscripts on subjects related to her research and has been continuously funded by NIH since 1987 and was the recipient of a NIH Director’s Pioneer Award in 2007 and a NIH-NINDS Javits Award in 2020. Dr. Jensen was elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine in 2015 and the recipient of the Smith College Medal in 2020. Dr. Jensen has trained numerous clinical and basic research fellows who now hold independent faculty positions nationally and internationally. Dr. Jensen served as President of the American Neurological Association (2021-2023) and President of the American Epilepsy Society in 2012. She has served on multiple leadership boards including Society for Neuroscience and NIH. Dr. Jensen is a Trustee of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and is involved in community outreach for brain research and education. In addition, Dr. Jensen is an advocate for awareness of the adolescent brain development, its unique strengths and vulnerabilities, as well as their impact on medical, social, and educational issues unique to teenagers and young adults, and author of the book “The Teenage Brain", released by Harper Collins in 2015/16, translated and published in over 25 languages worldwide.

Learn More about today's Neurology Department

Departmental Structure Organizational Leadership Chart: Our Team

Faculty and Administrative Leaders of Neurology

Chair of Neurology Department - Frances E. Jensen, MD, FACP

Vice Chairs: (click on any program to visit the specific program's page)

Clinical Affairs: Scott Kasner, MD
Education: Amy Pruitt, MD
Research: Jay Gottfried, MD, PhD
Inclusion/Diversity: Roy Hamilton, MD, MS, FANA, FAAN
Clinical Operations: Josh Levine, MD
Clinical Quality/Improvement: Monisha Kumar, MD
Faculty Development/Affairs: Dennis Kolson, MD, PhD
Finance: Grant Liu, MD
Development: Matt Stern, MD

Division Chiefs (click on each to visit their clinical division pages)

Sleep: Dave Raizen, MD, PhD
General Neurology: Amy Pruitt, MD
Neuro-Ophthalmology: Grant Liu, MD
Neurohospitalist: Ray Price, MD/Paul Novello, MD
Neuropsychology: Dawn McMillan, MD
Headache: Seniha Ozudogru, MD
Child Neurology: Brenda Banwell, MD
Penn Specialty Practices (PSP) of Penn Medicine Medical Group (PMMG): Seth Haplea, MD

Site Chiefs

Site Chief: Pennsylvania Hospital: Ray Price, MD
Site Chief: Presbyterian Hospital: Sashank Prasad, MD
Site Chief: VA Hospital: Allison Willis, MD
Site Chief: CHOP Brenda Banwell, MD

Program Directors

Residency Training: Ray Price, MD; Geoff Aguirre, MD, PhD; Laura Stein, MD; Kelley Humbert, MD; Rohini Samudralwar, MD; Denise Xu, MD
Wellness: Jennifer Orthmann-Murphy, MD; Danielle Sandsmark, MD
IDARE: Roy Hamilton, MD
Clinical Informatics: David Do, MD
Clinical Operations: Dina Jacobs, MD
Awards: Branch Coslett, MD; Howard Hurtig, MD
Clinical Research: Michael Gelfand, MD, PhD

Administrative Leaders:

Chief Operating Officer: Michael Kalfin, DHA, MPH
Director of Finance: Ellen O’Neill
Director of Operations: Caitlin Smith
Director of Academic Affairs and Education: Natalie Marciano, M.S.Ed.
Director of Nursing: Kristin McCabe, MSN, RN, CNRN
Director of Grants Administration: Ellen Solvibile and Rachel DeAngelis
Director of Clinical Research Operations: Naseem Kerr, MPH

Penn/CHOP Integrated Neurology Programs

Penn

176 Faculty

CHOP

79 Faculty

Clinical:

Outpatient - >90K per year

3 central inpatient sites

>2000 discharges

7 off-site inpatient sites

6+ satellite locations and affiliates

Research:

>$55M/yr in external research funding

65% federal

~220 clinical trials

Clinical:

1 central and 9 satellite outpatient sites

>37,000 outpatient

3 inpatient sites

>11,000 inpatient days

Research

~10M/yr in external research funding

70 clinical trials

CLINICAL

Penn Neurology Clinical Programs and Services

Visit our Clinical Services and Programs site for detailed information on how we treat patients with basic and complex neurological disorders or visit: Neurology - Penn Medicine

Clinical Neurology Locations are shown on this chart and map:

Penn Neurology Locations:	Penn Neurology External Affiliates
University of Penn Hospital/ PCAM Penn Neurology University City Penn Neurology Pennsylvania Hospital Penn Neurology Rittenhouse Penn Presbyterian Neurology	Penn Medicine Valley Forge Penn Medicine Radnor Lancaster General Penn Medicine Kennett Square Penn Medicine Westtown (West Chester) Chester County Hospital Penn Medicine Woodbury Heights Penn Medicine Cherry Hill Penn Medicine Mount Laurel Lawrenceville Neurology Penn Virtua Neurosciences Penn Neurology Chalfont Penn Neurology Sellersville
Click here to find the specific program for your condition, treatment, specialty or name

Neurology's Site Growth 2012 - Present

**A Map of Penn Neurology Locations to include Philadelphia/Penn Campus and External Affiliate Sites**

RESEARCH

Research Programs

Many members are actively engaged in the Department of Neurology Research programs, often in collaboration with basic scientists and clinicians in other departments and institutions. This research covers a wide range of topics in basic and translational research. Active basic research efforts explore the anatomy, physiology, development and genetics of the peripheral and central nervous system. Investigations can range from explorations of the molecular basis of neural processing to imaging and behavioral investigations in humans.

Translational Centers of Excellences - Neurology Centers and Programs

Precision Neuroscience/MIND

Alice Chen-Plotkin, MD

Neurogenetics

Steve Scherer, MD

Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics

Anjan Chatterjee, MD, PhD

Center for Neuroinflammation and Experimental Therapeutics

Amit Bar-Or, MD

Neuronal mechanisms for auditory learning

Maria Geffen, MD

Traumatic Brain Injury Clinical Research Initiative

Ramon Diaz-Arrastia, MD, PhD

Penn Epilepsy Center

Kathryn Davis, MD

Brain Science Center

John A. Detre, MD

Autoimmune Neurology

Eric Lancaster, MD, PhD

Center for Neuroengineering & Therapeutics

Brian Litt, M.D

Penn Center for Neuro-Cardio Protection (PCNC)

Steven Messé, MD

Neuroepidemiology, Neurological Outcomes & Disparities

Research (website forthcoming)

Nabila Dahodwala, MD, MS, Allison W. Willis, MD, MS

Penn Memory Center

David Wolk, MD

Brain Stim Center

Roy Hamilton, MD

Penn Comprehensive ALS Center

Lauren Elman, MD and Colin Quinn, MD

RECOVER Program

David Fischer, MD

Other Neurology Departmental and Affiliated Centers to review the full list click here.

EDUCATION

The Neurology Residency Program at the University of Pennsylvania creates leaders in Neurology, balancing clinical training, a broad educational curriculum, and career development.

The Neurology Fellowship Programs seek fellows who are driven to advance the field of Neurology. The programs balance breadth and depth in clinical training under world-recognized clinicians and educators. Neurology fellows frequently pursue additional, formal training in research, education or healthcare administration.

2024 Current Fellowships:
Program Name	Program Director
Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology	PD: Sanjeev Vaishnavi
Neuroimmunology/Multiple Sclerosis (MS)	co-PD: Jennifer Orthmann-Murphy , MD, PhD co-PD Rohini Samudralwar, MD
Epilepsy	PD: Saurabh Sinha, MD, PhD
Intracranial Electroencephalography	PD: Saurabh Sinha, MD, PhD APD: Genna Waldman, MD
Clinical Neurophysiology	PD: Saurabh Sinha, MD, PhD
Neuro-Ophthalmology	PD: Kenneth Shindler, MD, PhD
Neurohospitalist	PD: Anne Douglas, MD APD: Daniel Cristancho, MD, MBE
Neuro-Oncology	PD: Richard Phillips, MD, PhD
Vascular Neurology (Stroke)	PD: Donna George, MD APD: Steven Messe, MD
Neuromuscular	PD: Chafic Karam, MD
Movement Disorders	PD: Andres Deik, MD, MSEd APD: Pavan A. Vaswani, MD, PhD
NCC	PD: Danielle Sandsmark, MD, PhD APD: Matthew Michaels, DO
Cerebrovascular Disease (StrokeNet)	PD: Scott Kasner, MD, MCSE
Headache	PD: Seniha Ozudogru, MD

WELLNESS

Programs Sustaining Culture: Awards, DEI, Wellness, Professionalism, History Project

The department of Neurology has many other programs that are core to the mission of the department which begins with creating and sustaining an inclusive, diverse, and antiracist culture that ensures equitable engagement with patients and between all members that collectively form the department. We refer to this program as IDARE. Other programs have organic overlaps with sections of IDARE which further strengthens the missions and objectives of these areas. The Awards and Wellness Program has often formed synergies because of the similarities in goals, to eliminate equity gaps and to continue supporting a culture of inclusion. Professionalism is also a vital program of the department that provides educational and career developmental lectures for members of the department. Expert speakers are invited to deliver talks on various relevant topics that are within their expertise and this is further educate the department on a particular space, provide useful tools and build on current skills.

A special History Project was formed to celebrate a special anniversary of the oldest Penn Neurology being the first neurology department in the nation and collect 150 years of this historical information to form a timeline and repository of facts, interviews of living alumni, and highlight the many milestones of the past and present faculty and staff of Neurology.

PHILANTHROPY

Philanthropic Overview

Our philanthropy efforts play a pivotal role in elevating patient care, driving cutting-edge research, and enhancing service offerings to advance the missions surrounding neurological diseases within the Department of Neurology. Through generous donations and support, we can provide patients with access to state-of-the-art treatments, innovative therapies, and personalized care that significantly improves their quality of life. These funds also empower our researchers to push the boundaries of scientific discovery, leading to breakthroughs in understanding the complexities of neurological conditions and developing novel interventions. Moreover, our philanthropic initiatives enable us to expand our service reach, enhance community engagement, and raise awareness about neurological diseases, ultimately fostering a culture of compassion, innovation, and excellence in our pursuit to combat these challenging disorders.

Neurology has 11 endowed chairs in the department.

To make a donation, please visit here

Major Discoveries and Events at Penn during this time

School issues university wide action plan for diversity an excellence 2012
Dr. Ali Jadbabaie, professor of electrical and systems engineering in Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science, is the recipient of a 2012 Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) Award. His project, "Evolution of Cultural Norms and Dynamics of Socio-Political Change," will include collaborations with researchers at Cornell, MIT, Stanford and Georgia Tech. Funding for the project is $7.5 million over five years.
Anita Allen appointed vice provost for Faculty in 2013 by Provost Vincent Price
Vice Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at PSOM: Eve J. Higginbotham August 2013 – first Vice Dean for DEI.

Penn medicine performs 1,000^th lung transplant 2016

Grand Opening of Perry World House: September 2016

Major Translational Research and Clinical Advances during this era

Major Accomplishments of Jensen Era:

Stroke – reversal of stroke with TPA/altepase, then thrombectomy up to 24 hours after stroke
Epilepsy – >10 new antiepileptic drugs, implementation of laser ablation, development and implantation of closed loop stimulators
Multiple Sclerosis - Immunotherapies for progressive MS- Ocrevus, and second generation
Movement Disorders – new biomarkers, disease modifiers, DBS, focused ultrasound
Cognitive Neurology – biomarkers (PET, blood) to predict dementia, aducanamab Rx
Neuromuscular – Gene therapy – Spinraza/Zolgensma – now neuropathy, ALS, dementia
Neuro-ophthalmology – Optical coherance tomography to assess retinal disease
General Neurology – autoimmune panels, telemedicine, CGRP inhibitors for migraine
Neurocritical Care – State of-the-art neuroinformatics/AI

People of this era

Roy Hamilton (first black full tenured professor in Neurology at Penn)

See Department Photos from this Era

Annual Group Photo’s (Jensen Era)

Neurology Firsts of this Era

2013 Grant Liu elected the first Director of the Consortium of Pediatric Neuro-ophthalmologists

2015 Anjan Chatterjee First Neuroaesthestic Center

2020 First Successful treatment with Baricitinib of the of The Aicardi–Goutières syndrome, a genetic interferonopathy that is associated with severe disability and death