UT Southwestern Department of Neurology 1973 - now

The UT Southwestern Medical Center was formed in 1943 and has grown into one of the premier academic medical centers in the country.  Find out more about the history of UT Southwestern.  The department of neurology was established in 1966 as a division of Internal Medicine.  Dr. David Daly was the division chair.

In 1973, Roger N. Rosenberg M.D. was appointed professor and first chairman of the independent Department of Neurology.  Dr. Rosenberg quickly established the presence of neurology at Parkland Memorial Hospital, the Dallas Veterans Administration Hospital, the Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, and at Childrens' Medical Center.  The residency program was approved by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in 1974 and has remained in continuous good standing ever since.  The first class of four residents began training in July 1974.

Dr. Rosenberg remained chair for 18 years.  Over that time, the adult residency program increased to a total of 15 (5 per year), a residency program in pediatric neurology was approved, and post-residency fellowship programs were initiated.  A clerkship for junior and senior medical students was incorporated into the clinical services at the four hospitals.  The neurology faculty grew to 25 members covering all major neurological subspecialities.  In 1987, a NIH-funded Alzheimer's Disease Center was established, and Dr. Rosenberg has served as its director since its inception.  Research laboratories for the faculty were established in the newly constructed Moss Clinical Science Building in 1990.  Neurology also established clinical services in the Zale-Lipshy University Hospital in 1990.

In 1997, Dr. Rosenberg became editor-in-chief of the Archives of Neurology, a position he continues to hold.  Under his direction, the Archives has become one of the premiere journals in clinical and academic neurology (with a steady increase in the journal's impact factor).  Dr. Rosenberg continues to be a vital part of the Southwestern neurology department through his expert teaching of residents, his research efforts through the Alzheimer's center, and his sense of direction for the department.

Dr. Cliff Schold served as departmental chair and the Dorothy Rogers Cullum Distinguished Chair in Neuro-oncology from 1992 to 1998.  He coordinated several large-scale federally funded clinical studies in neuro-oncology, as well as the university’s first gene therapy trial for glioblastoma.  Dr. Schold is currently the director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Neuro-oncology Program.  Dr. Richard Barohn then served as acting chairman from 1998 to 2000 before becoming chairman of neurology at University of Kansas.

In 2002, Steve Cannon M.D. Ph.D. was appointed professor and chairman of neurology and has continued to develop and expand the educational, research and clinical goals of the department.  The faculty has increased to 35 full-time members, many of whom direct independent, externally funded research laboratories.  The department has expanded to feature a world renown Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Center under the direction of Dr. Elliot Frohman and new departmental research space (20,000 sq ft) on the North campus of the medical center.  The goals of the department continue to be to provide excellent patient care at our five teaching hospitals, to train residents, fellows and medical students in clinical neurology, and to contribute outstanding basic and clinical research.

The department continues a long and distinguished history of achievements in teaching, career development, residency and fellowship training, publications and outstanding patient care.  The faculty bring a diversity of talent and experience from the most prestigious medical centers around the world.  Several previous members of our department have gone on to become department chairman, including Dr. Richard Barohn (University of Kansas) and Dr. Michael Racke (Ohio State Universtiy).  We look forward to training the next generation of neurologists and academic leaders as we continue to pursue and solve important problems in neurological disease.