deptsignFaculty At A Glance...

The Department of Neurology is staffed by faculty members who have a broad range of interest in the various facets of neurology and related clinical neurosciences. Below is a summary of their areas of expertises and interests.

Jose Biller, MD, FACP, FAAN, FAHA (Professor and Chairman)

  • Fellowship: Cerebrovascular Disease (Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Certification: Neurology, 1982 (ABPN)
  • Recertification: Neurology, 2005 (ABPN)
  • Subspecialty Certification: Vascular Neurology, 2005 (ABPN); Headache Medicine, 2009 (UCNS)
  • Areas of Interest: Cerebrovascular Diseases (Children, Adults), Neurology of Systemic Diseases, Acute Care Neurology/Neurohospitalist, Headaches

Greory Gruener, MD, MBA (Professor and Associate Chair; Senior Associate Dean, SSOM)

  • Fellowship: Clinical Neurophysiology/Epilepsy (University of Illinois Chicago); Clinical Neurophysiology/EMG (University of Iowa); Peripheral Nerve (Mayo Clinic, Rochester)
  • Certification: Neurology, 1985 (ABPN); Clinical Neurophysiology, 1992
  • Subspecialty Certification: Clinical Neurophysiology, 2002
  • Areas of Interest: Clinical Neurophysiology, Neuromuscular Disease, EMG, Botox Administration

Jorge Asconape, MD (Professor)

  • Fellowship: Epilepsy, Clinical Neurophysiology (Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC)
  • Certification: Neurology, 1990 (ABPN)
  • Recertification: Clinical Neurophysiology, 2001
  • Subspeciality Certification: Clinical Neurophysiology, 1992 (ABPN)
  • Areas of Interest: Epilepsy (Children and Adults), Epilepsy Surgery, EEG

Michael P. Merchut, MD, FACP, FAAN (Professor)

  • Certification: Neurology, 1986 (ABPN)
  • Recertification: Clinical Neurophysiology, 2002 (ABPN)
  • Subspecialty Certification: Clinical Neurophysiology, 1992 (ABPN)
  • Areas of Interest: Neuromuscular disorders, EMG, General Neurology

Michael J. Schneck, MD, FAAN, FAHA (Professor)

  • Fellowship: Vascular Neurology (Yale University)
  • Certification: Neurology, 1991(ABPN)
  • Subspecialty Certification: Vascular Neurology, 2005 (ABPN); Neurocritical Care 2007 (UCNS)
  • Areas of Interest: Cerebrovascular Diseases (especially hemorrhagic stroke, PFO, vascular anomalies, and dissections); Neurocritical Care (including but not restricted to stroke, encephalitides, brain tumors, acute neuromuscular diseases, status epilepticus medical management of complex neurosurgical diseases

Jasvinder Chawla, MD, MBA (Associate Professor)

  • Chief of Neurology, Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital
  • Fellowship: Clinical Neurophysiclogy (Loyola University, Maywood, IL)
  • Certification: Neurology, 2003 (ABPN)
  • Subspecialty Certification: Clinical Neurophysiology (APBN), Vascular Neurology, 2005 (ABPN)
  • Areas of Interest: Neuromuscular and Autonomic Disorders

Rima M. Dafer, MD, MPH, FAHA (Associate Professor)

  • Fellowship: Cerebrovascular Disease and Headache Medicine (Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI)
  • Certification: Neurology, 2003 (ABPN)
  • Subspecialty Certification: Vascular Neurology, 2005 (ABPN); Headache Medicine, 2006 (UCNS)
  • Areas of Interest: Cerebrovascular Diseases, Migraine and headache disorders, Neurohospitalist care, Tele-Neurology

Eugene Schnitzler, MD, FAAP (Associate Professor)

  • Certification: American Board of Pediatrics, 1976; American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology - Neurology with Special Competence in Child Neurology, 1983
  • Areas of Interest: Autism, ADHA, Pediatric Epilepsy, Pediatric Headache, Development Disorders, Tourette Syndrome

Hrayr Attarian MD (Associate Professor)

  • Fellowship: Sleep Medicine (Hennepin County Medical Center/University of Minnesota), Epilepsy/Neurophysiology (University of Rochester Medical Center)
  • Certification: Neurology, 1998 (ABPN), Neurology, 2008 (ABPN)
  • Subspecialty Certification: Sleep Medicine 2007 (ABPN), Sleep Medicine 2000 (ABSM), Clinical Neurophysiology 2001 (ABCN)
  • Areas of Interest: Sleep Medicine, Epilepsy, Clinical Neurophysiology

Michael Wasserman, MD (Associate Professor)

  • Certification: Neurology, 1973 (ABPN)
  • Areas of Interest: General Neurology, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson Disease

John Whapham, MD, MS (Assistant Professor)

  • Fellowship: Vascular Neurology/Neuro-critical Care (Michigan State University), Cerebral Angiography/ Endovascular Neurosurgery (Providence Hospital, Southfield Michigan)
  • Certification: Neurology ABPN 2008(ABPN), Vascular Neurology 2009(ABPN)
  • Areas of Interest: Acute Stroke medical management, cerebral vasospasm, interventional aneurysm reconstruction, mechanical thrombolysis in acute stroke, functional imaging and CT Perfusion in cerebral ischemia

Ninith Kartha, MD (Assistant Professor)

  • Fellowship: Movement Disorders (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI)
  • Certification: Neurology, 2003 (ABPN)
  • Areas of Interest: Movement Disorders, Botox Administration, Dementia

Athena Kostidis, MD (Assistant Professor)

  • Certification: Neurology, 2005 (ABPN)
  • Areas of Interest: General Neurology, EMG

Maria Baldwin, M.D. (Assistant Professor)

  • Fellowship: Neurophysiology, Epilepsy (University of Chicago, Chicago, IL)
  • Certification: Neurology, 2006 (ABPN)
  • Subspecialty Certification: Advanced Clinical Neurophysiology with Added Competency in Epilepsy Monitoring, 2006 (ABCN); Added Qualifications in Neurophysiology, 2007 (ABPN); Advanced Clinical Neurophysiology with Added Competency in Evoked Potentials and OR Monitoring, 2007, (ABCN)
  • Areas of Interest: Epilepsy, Neuro-Intraoperative Monitoring

Matthew A. McCoyd, MD (Assistant Professor)

  • Fellowship: Clinical Neurophysiology (University of Chicago Hospitals, Chicago, IL)
  • Certification: Neurology, 2008 (ABPN)
  • Areas of Interest: Neuromuscular Disease, EMG