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Departmental Achievements

Leadership Achievements

  • The Neurology Department, founded in 1919, was one of the first academic departments of neurology in the country, and the first to be established west of the Mississippi River.  Its residency program one of the first to be accredited in the 1920s.
  • Subspecialties include:
    • Cerebrovascular disease
    • Epilepsy
    • Neuropsychology
    • Neuromuscular movement disorders
    • Sleep
    • Endovascular neurology
    • Clinical neurophysiology
    • Cognitive neurology
    • Neuroimmunology
    • Neurocritical care
    • Balance disorders
    • Neurogenetics
    • Multiple sclerosis
    • Neuro-ophthalmology
  • Linked to the Iowa Neuroscience Institute, a $45 million dollar grant by the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust to conduct basic and translational research.
  • Thirteen former faculty and/or trainees of the department have gone on to chair academic neurology departments and an additional nine have become neurology residency program directors.
  • Jun Kimura, MD, a major international figure in the development of electrophysiology and EMG/NCV interpretation, was the President of the World Federation of Neurology from 2002-2005.
  • William Talman, MD, one of the world’s authorities on normal function and diseases of the autonomic nervous system, was President of the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology  (FASEB) from 2010-2011.
  • Two former residents have been presidents of the world's two largest neurological professional organizations, the American Academy of Neurology and the American Neurological Association (Drs. Adolph Sahs and Robert Joynt).
  • Two former residents (Drs. Bradley Hyman and Pedro Gonzalez-Alegre) and a current faculty member (Dr. Kumar Narayanan) have been recipients of the prestigious American Academy of Neurology annual S. Weir Mitchell Award for outstanding research while a Neurology trainee.
  • Department members played key roles in the development of the NIH Stroke Scale, completion of the first NIH-funded clinical trial in the field of stroke research, development of novel psychological techniques to assess neurologically compromised patients, and many other advances in clinical neurology.
  • The Neurology Residency Program has been ranked in the top 20 for the number of trainees that have gone on to careers as faculty members in academic neurology departments, and the top 10 for number of citations of their publications (Campbell et al, Arch Neurol, 2011).

Accreditations and Designations

  • Comprehensive Stroke Center
    • The Primary Stroke Center at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics recently achieved Advanced Certification Comprehensive Stroke Center by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, making it the only institution in Iowa and one of only 35 nationwide to receive the designation.
  • Level 4 Epilepsy Center
    • The Iowa Comprehensive Epilepsy Program has been reaccredited by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC) as a level 4 epilepsy center
  • Sleep Disorders Center
    • The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has awarded reaccreditation to the UI Sleep Disorders Center. The reaccreditation extends through a five-year period until 2023.
  • Parkinsons Disease Center of Excellence
    • The center of excellence designation recognizes the leaders in providing high-quality Parkinson’s care
  • StrokeNet Regional Coordinating Center
    • StrokeNet is a research network created by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2013 to efficiently conduct clinical trials and research studies to advance acute stroke treatment, stroke prevention, and recovery and rehabilitation following a stroke
  • Huntington Disease Center of Excellence
    • The Huntington's Disease Society of America Center of Excellence at the University of Iowa is one of over 40 Centers of Excellence supported by the Huntington's Disease Society of America
  • Center for SUDEP Research Site
    • NINDS initiative called The Center for SUDEP Research, a Center Without Walls for Collaborative Research in the Epilepsies
  • DMCRN Site
    • MDF (Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation) expands funding for research network to include University of Iowa
  • RDCRN Site
  • NeuroNext Site
    • Network for Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials, or NeuroNEXT, a research program that helps streamline phase II clinical trials for brain, nerve, and muscle disorders
  • ABRET Accreddited in EEG, LTM, INM
    • The EEG lab is accredited by ABRET in EEG, Long Term Monitoring, and Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring.

National Awards

  • Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Achievement Award, Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus. For the third year in a row, University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics Comprehensive Stroke Center has been honored with the highest award currently available from the American Heart Association (AHA) and American Stroke Association (ASA) for stroke care
  • Lud Gutmann, MD received the Award for Creative Expression of Human Values in Neurology for his work "The Intolerable Burden." This award is sponsored by the Ethics, Law and Humanities Committee, a joint committee of the American Academy of Neurology, the American Neurological Association, and the Child Neurology Society.
  • Jun Kimura, MD has new AANEM Outstanding Educator in Neurology Award named after him
  • Harold Adams, MD received the 2017 AB Baker Lifetime Achievement Award from AAN
  • Lud Gutmann, MD receives AANEM Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Daniel Tranel, PhD named American Association for the Advancement of Science fellow
  • Aaron Boes, MD, PhD received the 2016 S. Weir Mitchell Award from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN)
  • Nandakumar Narayanan, MD, PhD received the 2012 S. Weir Mitchell Award from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN)
  • Pedro Gonzalez-Alegre, MD received the 2003 S. Weir Mitchell Award from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN)
  • Bradley Hyman, MD received the 1989 S. Weir Mitchell Award from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN)

National Rankings

  • Forbes Ranks UI Hospitals & Clinics as #1 Employer in Healthcare for 2nd Year (2017-2018)
  • Recognized as Nurse Magnet hospital, which indicates hospital meets high nursing standards. Based on American Nurses Credential Center designation as of Jan. 2, 2018.