Brainwaves

Aaron Bower, MD, will be joining the Neuro-Immunology division. Primary clinical sites will include the North Haven Interventional Immunology Center, in addition to the West Haven Veterans Affairs Hospital, where he will provide care to both general neurology and neuro-immunology patients. Outside of his clinical duties, Aaron has a passion for teaching trainees and will be pursuing a MHS in medical education over the next two years.

Xianjun Dong, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Neurology, with a secondary appointment in Bioinformatics and Data Science. His lab is a core component of the Adams Center for Parkinson's Disease Research. His research accomplishments are in the emerging field of noncoding RNAs and computational genomics, with a primary focus on decoding how genomic and epigenetic regulation cause neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease.

Evan Jameyfield, MD, is excited to start his career as a neuro-ophthalmologist with Yale! His clinical and research interests include the role of optical coherence tomography (OCT) in various neurological diseases and quality improvement work for patients with neuro-ophthalmologic diseases. He is also very excited for his role as a clinical educator, and he looks forward to teaching elements of the eye exam to neurology learners.

Cara Lena Crook, PhD, will be joining Yale's Clinical Neuropsychology team this fall. She is committed to patient-centered neuropsychological care across clinically and ethnoculturally diverse adult patients. Her research is focused on identifying modifiers of cognitive and functional outcomes and increasing research representation across underserved populations to advance health equity.

Anuradha Singh, MD, will be joining Yale as the clinical chief of Epilepsy and as director of the Epilepsy Center. She strongly believes that educating patients and families about their medical condition, including the limits of our understanding and capabilities, is perhaps the most important and fulfilling role a physician can play. She truly enjoys improving the patient experience and accessibility to epilepsy care for underserved populations. She likes improving workflows and operational outcomes. Her clinical interests include but are not limited to: epilepsy surgery; neuromodulation; QEEG in ICU settings; epilepsy related to stroke and brain tumors; and women with epilepsy. She likes sharing knowledge of epilepsy/EEG with trainees, EEG techs, and communities to raise awareness.

Bryan DeSouza, MD, will join the General Neurology and Headache section and will practice in Stamford and Greenwich. He graduated from Yale School of Medicine. He completed his neurology residency at Georgetown University Medical Center, and fellowship training at the NIH. Early in his career, he was an assistant professor of neurology at Allegheny University of the Health Sciences and a principal investigator in the Mayo Clinic trials, using Nerve Growth Factor for treating neuropathy. Prior to joining the department, he was in private practice and developed a career in sports neurology as the team neurologist for the Philadelphia Soul Arena Football League. He received an AAN Practice Leadership Award in sports neurology, and he is currently a member of the medical steering committee for the NFL Settlement MAF program evaluating players for neurodegenerative diseases. His clinical and research interest is in elucidating the pathophysiological mechanisms of sports-related concussions that lead to post-concussion syndromes and progress to chronic traumatic encephalopathy. He hopes that this information will inform clinical care and guide therapy.

Victor Bushlyar, MD, is an assistant professor of clinical neurology. He received his medical degree from Stony Brook University School of Medicine. He completed neurology residency at Yale New Haven Hospital and went on to complete fellowship subspecialty training in neuromuscular medicine. He provides care to patients with a broad range of neuromuscular diseases and sees patients with general neurological conditions, as well.

Stefanie Cappucci, MD, will be joining the Department of Neurology as an assistant professor in the Division of Neurocritical Care and Emergency Neurology. Originally from Watertown, Massachusetts, she completed her residency training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and her fellowship at Yale New Haven Hospital. Her professional interests focus on the intersection of medical education and bioethics, with a particular emphasis on critical illness conversations and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Rebecca DiBiase, MD, is thrilled to join the vascular neurology faculty. She is passionate about neurologic education, as well as global neurology and stroke rehabilitation. She has worked with the new neurology residency program at the University Teaching Hospital in Zambia and is excited to maintain this relationship and to mentor trainees at Yale School of Medicine who are interested in international work. She has also learned to administer toxin injections for spasticity and looks forward to bringing her clinical skills and research in stroke recovery to the department.

Professor of Neurology Dhasakumar Navaratnam, MD, PhD, (right) received the Charles W. Bohmfalk Prize for Teaching in the basic sciences from Nancy J. Brown, MD, Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of Yale School of Medicine and C.N.H. Long Professor of Internal Medicine (left), during the MD Class of 2024 Commencement. Navaratnam was one of several YSM faculty to receive a teaching award during the ceremony.

Photo Credit: Robert Lisak

David Hafler, MD (right), William S. and Lois Stiles Edgerly Professor of Neurology and Professor of Immunobiology; chair, Department of Neurology; neurologist-in-chief, Yale New Haven Hospital, receiving the American Association of Immunologists Distinguished Fellow Award from Akiko Iwasaki, PhD (left), Sterling Professor of Immunobiology and Professor of Dermatology and of Molcular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases); investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute.