I am pleased to announce the appointment of Robert Friedland, M.D., as Chair of the Department of Neurology, School of Medicine.  Dr. Friedland will join the University of Louisville on December 1. His final appointment is contingent upon approval by the Board of Trustees.

Since 1990, Dr. Friedland has served in several roles at University Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, including chief of the Laboratory of Neurogeriatrics and as a professor of neurology, psychiatry and radiology.

Prior to moving to Cleveland, he was director of the Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Clinic at Georgetown University School of Medicine and Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Clinic. From 1986-1990 he also served as the deputy clinical director and chief of the Brain Aging and Dementia Section of the National Institute on Aging.

Dr. Friedland’s research focuses on the epidemiology and causes of Alzheimer’s Disease with an emphasis on the biological and molecular consequences of gene-environment interaction. His research has been continuously funded through competitive awards from the National Institutes of Health since 1990.

Dr. Friedland earned his B.S. in biology at the City College of New York and his M.D. at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He completed his internship at Beth Israel Hospital in New York and his neurology residency at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he also served as chief resident. He has pursued additional graduate education in management, health finance and economics and health systems management. He is board certified in neurology. 

A fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, Dr. Friedland serves on the organization’s geriatric neurology, behavioral neurology and neuroepidemiology sections. He is a member of multiple professional organizations including the American Neurological Association, the International Society for Vascular, Behavioral and Cognitive Disorders, the Society for Neuroscience, the Behavioral Neurology Society and the World Federation of Neurology, where he is a member of the dementia and neuroepidemiology research groups.

Dr. Friedland is author or co-author of more than 150 peer-reviewed papers, more than 35 books or book chapters, almost 100 invited presentations and hundreds of abstracts and other presentations. He has mentored more than a dozen postdoctoral fellows and has a distinguished track record of educational activity.

I am delighted to have Dr. Friedland’s leadership at the helm of the Department of Neurology, and look forward to his contributions as chair. 

Edward C. Halperin, M.D., M.A.

Dean, School of Medicine