As of Sept. 1, 2025, Christopher Smyser, MD, will be the next division director of Pediatric and Developmental Neurology at WashU Medicine Neurology. He succeeds Christina Gurnett, MD, PhD, who has served as division director of Pediatric and Developmental Neurology since 2018. Smyser began his training at the University of Iowa, earning his undergraduate degree […]
The Department of Neurology is pleased to announce 67 of our faculty members have been selected as 2025 Castle Connolly Top Doctors®. We are proud of our physicians for their dedication to their work and patients each and every day. Each year, Castle Connolly uses a merit-based system to select board-certified physicians for its Top […]
Joseph T. Black, MD, a retired professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, died Tuesday, June 17, 2025, at his home in Clayton. He was 85. Black was a longtime member of the Department of Neurology’s clinical teaching faculty and part of Barnes-Jewish Hospital’s neurology practice since 1976. In recognition […]
WashU Medicine Neurology welcomed six new faculty to the department in July 2025. We are grateful and excited to have these talented individuals join our team and look forward to seeing their contributions and achievements throughout their careers with us.
Michael Petrany Co-administrative Chief Where I’m from Huntington, West Virginia Brief background about my education/training I moved to Cincinnati, Ohio for college at Xavier University and stayed in the city for the MD/PhD program at University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. I completed my PhD in Doug Millay’s lab studying mechanisms of myoblast fusion […]
Arthur L. Prensky, MD, a professor emeritus of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, died Monday, June 16, 2025, after a short illness. He was 94. Over his 45-year career, Prensky became a world authority in metabolic disorders, headache and neurodevelopment.
Aaron Struck, MD, joined the faculty of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis on July 1, 2025, as associate professor of neurology and head of the adult epilepsy section. His clinical and research interests include surgical treatment of idiopathic generalized epilepsy, EEG and neuroimaging, molecular imaging and data science. Struck came to WashU […]
Hannah Richardson is hopeful about her future and its endless possibilities. But the 24-year-old’s plans are clouded by an unthinkable reality—there is a 50% chance she will develop Alzheimer’s disease in her 30s.
Aaron Struck, MD, associate professor of neurology, has been appointed chief of the Section of Epilepsy at WashU Medicine Neurology. His role takes effect July 1, 2025. Brian “Keith” Day, MD, PhD, has served as interim chief of the section since September 2024. During Day’s tenure, he demonstrated steady leadership and helped maintain stability and […]
Raman Malhotra, MD, will lead the Section of Sleep Medicine starting July 1, 2025.