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).
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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.