Make an appointment with Dr. Neimat

"In Joseph Neimat, the UofL School of Medicine is getting a chair with an excellent balance of expertise in research, clinical care, and medical education," Dean Toni M. Ganzel, M.D., said. "His knowledge and skills will greatly benefit our students, residents, patients, and community."

Dr. Neimat came to the University of Louisville from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he held a variety of positions: Associate Professor and the Director of Human Neurophysiological Research, Neurotrauma, Epilepsy Surgery, and the Functional Neurosurgery fellowship in the Department of Neurosurgery. Dr. Neimat was a founding member of the Vanderbilt Initiative in Surgery and Engineering. He was Medical Director of Inpatient Neurosurgery and Neurosurgery Operating Rooms at Vanderbilt and served on the curriculum planning committee of Vanderbilt University Medical School.

While in Tennessee, Dr. Neimat also was Chief of Neurosurgery for Tennessee Valley Health Care of the Veterans Administration and held joint appointments with Vanderbilt's Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychiatric Neuroimaging Program and Department of Psychology.

Dr. Neimat's current research interests include investigation of the affective and cognitive properties of the basal ganglia, structures located deep in the brain that are responsible for normal movement. His research also examines the clinical application of neural stimulation in the treatment of refractory medical disease, or disease that is resistant to current therapies. He has received funding from the National Institute of Health to support his research.

Serving on multiple boards and societies, Dr. Neimat is deeply involved in the future of neurosurgery. He serves as an ad-hoc reviewer for the NIH Study Section on Clinical Neuroscience and Neurodegeneration, on the Board of Directors of the American Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, and the World Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery. He is the lead or co-author of approximately 90 peer-reviewed articles, published abstracts, and textbook chapters.

Dr. Neimat earned a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth, double majoring in music and biochemistry, and then earned a master's in Neurobiology and a medical degree from Duke University. He completed his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and a fellowship in functional neurosurgery at the University of Toronto. He is board certified in neurological surgery.