Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center neurologist elected as ANA Honorary Member

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterOct 8 2009

Leader in stroke treatments honored by American Neurological Association, University of Maryland

Louis R. Caplan, MD, Senior Neurologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and a leader in the treatment and research of strokes, has been elected an Honorary Member of the American Neurological Association (ANA). As the organization's highest honor, Honorary Membership is reserved for select individuals who have made unique contributions to neurology and neurological science throughout their careers. The announcement will be made during ANA's Executive Session of Membership on Tuesday, October 13. The ANA is the oldest neurologic and neuroscience organization in the United States.

Earlier in the week, on Saturday October 10, Caplan will be honored by the Department of Neurology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine during a day-long symposium to celebrate the opening of the university's Stroke Center. Titled "Celebrating a Commitment to Excellence: Louis R. Caplan, MD," the symposium will feature lectures from leading neurologists, culminating with a keynote address by Philip B. Gorelick, MD, MPH, of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago. Dr. Gorelick's address is titled, "On Being a Vascular Neurologist: Lessons Learned from Professor Caplan." Incoming Chairman of the American Heart Association Ralph Sacco, MD, will also speak.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Williams College and a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Maryland Medical School, Caplan was an intern and junior resident in medicine at the former Boston City Hospital (BCH) from 1962 to 1964, and completed his neurology residency on the Harvard Neurological unit at BCH in 1969. From 1969 to 1970, he was a Cerebrovascular Disease Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital before joining the Department of Neurology at the former Beth Israel Hospital in 1970. In 1978, Caplan joined Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago as neurologist-in-chief and professor of neurology at the University of Chicago. He returned to New England in 1984 where he was named neurologist-in-chief of New England Medical Center and professor and chairman of the Department of Neurology and professor of medicine at Tufts Medical School. In 1998, Caplan returned to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center as senior neurologist and to Harvard Medical School, where he is Professor of Neurology.

Caplan has written and edited 35 books and more than 600 articles and chapters in medical journals and texts. Former chairman of the Stroke Council of the American Heart Association, he has also served on the editorial boards of 29 medical journals. A popular teacher, Caplan has trained 58 stroke fellows, including 28 international fellows.