About Us

The Department of Neurology & Psychiatry (DNP) was established on June 1, 2007 coincident with my appointment as Chair. The Department has 34 faculty members and is planning continued expansion. There are 7 psychiatrists, 18 neurologists, 4 child neurologists, and 5 NIH-supported PhD investigators. The DNP is one of five departments in the country that combines the disciplines of neurology and psychiatry. We are unique in having two strong residency programs and are the only that attempts to establish a new paradigm in care of patients with neurological and psychiatric disease through co-management initiatives.

Division of Psychiatry

The Psychiatrists work within four areas: Adult, Geriatric, Community, and Forensic Psychiatry. Adult Psychiatry cares for hospitalized patients on the adult psychiatry unit and the consult liaison service for Saint Louis University Hospital. Adult psychiatry provides care for patients with community partners across the city. Geriatric Psychiatry maintains an inpatient unit at Saint Louis University and is regionally known for its expert clinical care and its research orientation provided by Dr. George Grossberg (Fordyce Professor) who is nationally known. The St. Louis VA Medical Center, is an excellent partner in medical student and resident education. Forensic psychiatry is an area of focused development. The internationally known Alan Felthous, M.D. leads forensic psychiatry.

Division of Neurology

The primary inpatient service site is at Saint Louis University Hospital where the Division has an extremely active stroke/intensive care and general neurology service. We are expanding services in neurocritical care and interventional neurology. The Division provides services at St. Mary’s (neurorehabilitation), Des Peres, and Forest Park Hospitals. The Division has a strong partner in the St. Louis VA Medical Center, which has faculty with primary appointments within the DNP. Child neurology is home to Child Neurology and provides service to Cardinal Glennon Hospital. We have several Centers within the Division.

Education The DNP has approximately 25 residents/fellows in each discipline. In the coming year we will exploit the resources of the combined department to develop new educational programs within the residency. This effort is led by the residency directors, Amy Rauchway and Miggie Greenberg, in collaboration with the chief residents. We are following the model that Drs. John Chibnall, Miggie Greenberg and Glen Fenton have used in developing our eight week combined neurology and psychiatry clerkship. We are also attempting to leverage expertise in both neurology and psychiatry faculty to improve education of all our residents.

Research In FY07, the DNP had a total of $1,893,804 in total research. The Chair added slightly over $1 million dollars in NIH-funding when he arrived at Saint Louis University. The DNP has robust programs in clinical, basic, and translational research. We emphasize 3 areas in this overview of the DNP. Clinical Research Unit. The DNP has a robust clinical research unit that is staffed by five nurses and an administrative assistant. The Unit has approximately 35 ongoing trials with emphases in cerebrovascular disease, neuromuscular disease, epilepsy, and dementia. The CRU is supported through grants from the NIH, Multiple Sclerosis Society, pharmaceutical companies, and the DNP endowment funds.

Psychosocial Processes Group. Drs. John Chibnall, Ray Tait and Ted Malmstrom are NIH-funded investigators who investigate various aspects of psychosocial processing. One study involves evaluation of long-term outcomes of occupational low back injuries, especially focusing on disparities in outcomes associated with socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity. Another study examines factors that influence decision making at Institutional Review Boards. Dr. Malmstrom is involved in NIA sponsored studies of African Americans with regards to investigating the timing, precursors, and consequences of disability and frailty in this population.

Translational Neuromuscular Disease. This Division focuses on the autoimmune disease, myasthenia gravis and the biology of extraocular muscles. Drs. Linda Kusner and Jindrich Soltys are collaborating in the the application of complement inhibitors to neuromuscular disease treatment. Dr. Yuefang Zhou is attempting to manipulate the genetic program of extraocular muscle to develop better treatments for strabismus. As stated in our Mission we will leverage our special Department structure to make us "the most exciting intellectual environment in the Nation for investigation, treatment, and training in psychiatry and neurology"

Department Chair
Henry J. Kaminski, MD

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