About Me

My Approach

In life, be the best you can be, help others to be the best that they can be, and work to make the world a better place.

My Story

I was born and grew up in Albany, New York. I attended PS 19, Hackett Jr. High School, and Albany High School but left before completing high school to hitch hike around Europe for six months.

Upon my return to the United States, I entered the University of Chicago (Chicago, Il) where I majored in Geography, as I planned to become an architect and urban planner.

After graduation, I went to work at the Philadelphia Geriatric Center (Philadelphia, PA), where I worked with Powell Lawton Ph.D. studying the effect of different nursing home environments on people with dementia.

After about two years, I left to travel and learn about life in Africa for eight months.

My experiences in Africa led to my desire to become a physician. I returned to the University of Chicago, planning to do two years of post-baccalaureate premedical courses but left after one year when I was offered the opportunity to work for the year before going to medical school with the Nobel Prize winner Carleton Gadjusek MD at the National Institutes of Health (NIH – Bethesda, MD).

Among other things, Dr. Gadjusek is known for discovering that a brain disease called Kuru was transmitted when New Guinea natives ate their dead relatives. He also discovered that a rapidly progressive dementia called Creutfeld-Jakob disease was due to an infectious agent (later called a prion) which could be transmitted from one person to another. At NIH, I worked with Dr. Gadjusek and Colin Masters MD on a study of the epidemiology of Creutzfeld-Jakob disease.

My interest in stroke began during medical school at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA) where I spent my summers working with several experts in the field of cerebral blood flow.

After graduation from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, I did a residence in Internal Medicine followed by a residency in Neurology at the University of Miami Affiliated Hospitals (Miami, FL).

Leaving Miami, I returned to the National Institutes of Health where did a Neuroimmunology fellowship with Dale McFarlin MD and Henry Mcfarland MD. At the National Institutes of Health, I studied the natural history of Multiple Sclerosis by serial MRI brain scans. The paper that I published was a breakthrough in this field and lead to the ability of later researchers to use serial MRI brain scans as a surrogate marker for disease activity in Multiple Sclerosis. This pioneering study allowed new drugs for MS to be studied in clinical trials using fewer patients and over less time than in the past.

I entered the private practice of neurology joining Neurologic Consultants, PA (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) in 1991. In private practice, I continued my research efforts as a principal investigator in numerous clinical trials studying new drugs for patients with stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and peripheral neuropathy. (see CV for details)

While in private practice, I was instrumental in establishing Broward Heath North (BHN) initially as a primary stroke center and then as a comprehensive stroke center. At Broward Health North, I served as the Medical Director of the BHN Comprehensive Stroke Center, helping to make it one of the premier stroke centers in Florida. While doing this, I originated the concept of the Florida Stroke Symposium. I continued to serve as the course director for this annual all Florida symposium which strives to improve stroke care throughout the state of Florida. I also founded the Broward Stroke Council as a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving stroke care in Broward County, Florida.

In 1997, I left private practice and joined the staff of the Marcus Neuroscience Institute (Boca Raton, Fl).

Before leaving the practice of neurology in June 2019, I was the Independent Neurologist for the Miami Dolphins NFL Team. In the role of Independent Neurologist, I was responsible for deciding when it was safe for professional football players to return to play after a concussion or other traumatic brain injury.

Over the years, I have enjoyed working as a neurology expert for several local law firms.

My colleagues honor me as one of the best neurologists in South Florida. I was one of Miami Metro Magazine’s  “Top Doctors” 2000-2001, South Florida Super Doctors® 2008-2014, and Gold Coast Magazine’s  “Top Doctors” from 2006 -2020.

I continue to teach medical students at Nova Southeastern University (Davie, Fl) where I am a Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology. I am also a Clinical Associate Professor at Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton, FL).

Please email me.