Expert in Cognitive Aging Named Chair of Neurology

Physician researcher and educator Dr. Joe Verghese joins the RSOM

Joe Verghese, MBBS, MD, MS, has been named chair of the Department of Neurology at the Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) at Stony Brook University. Appointed by Peter Igarashi, MD, Knapp Dean of the RSOM, Dr. Verghese is a nationally recognized expert in the areas of gait and cognition in aging. His appointment begins on October 14.

Dr. Verghese comes to the RSOM after more than two decades at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Most recently, he served as professor of neurology and medicine and was Einstein's inaugural chief of the Division of Cognitive & Motor Aging in the Department of Neurology. In addition to being the Murray D. Gross Memorial Faculty Scholar in Gerontology at Einstein and a former chief of geriatrics for Montefiore Medical Center's Department of Medicine, he was also founding director of the Montefiore Einstein Center for the Aging Brain, an interdisciplinary clinical dementia and cognitive assessment center named as a Center of Excellence in Alzheimer's disease by the New York State Department of Health in 2016.

"Our aging society has a great need for medical experts who will advance preventive and treatment strategies for age-related illnesses, and the selection of Dr. Verghese as our new Neurology Chair ensures that this area of medicine will thrive within the Renaissance School of Medicine," said Dr. Igarashi. "Dr. Verghese is a leading physician researcher, innovator and educator in neurology and specifically with cognitive aging issues."

Dr. Verghese's work has helped characterize non-cognitive features in prodromal stages of dementia, such as gait, and define Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome, a pre-dementia syndrome that provides an easy and clinically assessable way to identify older adults at high risk for dementia.

Much of Dr. Verghese's career has centered on a broad range of investigation involving issues around aging and dementia. Early on, he studied the epidemiology of dementia, particularly around pre-dementia syndromes and risk factors. Then he moved toward research of gait disorders, frailty and falling, but also investigated cognitive processes and brain substrates by way of a number of methods, such as epidemiological, biological, experimental, clinical translation, and interventional research approaches.

"By harnessing the expertise of our exceptional Neurology team at Stony Brook, I believe we can deepen our understanding of neurological disorders, train the next generation of neurologists, and significantly enhance treatment outcomes for our patients on Long Island and beyond," said Dr. Verghese. "My primary goal as Chair is to cultivate a collaborative environment that not only fosters innovative research and comprehensive patient care but also prioritizes education. I extend my heartfelt thanks to Dr. Igarashi for this opportunity."

Dr. Verghese graduated from St. John's Medical College in Bangalore, India, and completed postgraduate training in internal medicine and neurology in the United Kingdom. He completed a neurology residency at Einstein in 1998, followed by a fellowship training there in neurophysiology and in aging and dementia.

The author of more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, reviews and chapters, Dr. Verghese has secured more than $200 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He has continually received NIH funding for his research since 2002 and is currently the principal investigator on five active NIH grants.

Dr. Verghese is a member and fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, the American Geriatrics Society, the Gerontological Neurological Association and the American Neurological Association. He has received numerous accolades during this career, including the Beeson Award from the National Institute on Aging, the Outstanding Scientific Achievement for Clinical Investigation Award from the American Geriatrics Society and the Joseph T. Freeman Award from the Gerontological Society of America.

Having mentored more than 100 trainees and junior faculty over his time at Einstein, Dr. Verghese is the only faculty member to receive the Einstein Clinical Research Training Program's Mentor of the Year Award twice.