Cognitive Neurologist
Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Educational History:
BA, Biology, Rice University, Houston, Texas
MD, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
Clinical Interests/Program Development:
When Dr. Alexander came to BIDMC, he developed a rehabilitation program for the Neurology department, but since 2010 he has focused on development of an out-patient program for traumatic brain injury (TBI), seeing large numbers of patients with concussions in collaboration with CNU colleagues in Neuropsychology. This program also sees many patients after discharge from the Neurosurgery service to assist with cognitive and rehabilitation management.
Brief Narrative:
Dr. Alexander trained in Medicine and Neurology at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont (the University of Vermont) and in Cognitive Neurology with two of the pioneers in the field – Frank Benson and Norman Geschwind – at the Boston VA Medical Center. He received board certification in Neurology in 1977 and special certification in Rehabilitation Neurology in 1992 and in Cognitive Neurology and Neuropsychiatry in 2006. Before coming to Beth Israel Deaconess, he worked for many years in an in-patient rehabilitation program, and in that setting, was responsible for thousands of patients with stroke and brain trauma. He helped initiate one of the first specialized in-patient rehabilitation units for TBI at Braintree Hospital. From 1989 to 2013 he worked part-time and collaborated with an international cognitive research team at the Rotman Research Center in Toronto, Canada. His clinical and research expertise is in the fields of cognitive neurology and rehabilitation neurology. Over his career he has published over 140 articles on aphasia (language disorders), spatial neglect, handedness and cerebral dominance, memory disorders, traumatic brain injury, stroke rehabilitation, and in the last few years on frontal lobe disorders. He has received awards in rehabilitation research.
Research Interests:
Functional recovery from concussion.
Personal Interests/Hobbies:
Cooking, cycling, theater, reading outside of Neurology