Since joining UNMC, Pierre Fayad, M.D., has built a new department and recruited neurology specialists. He has built programs that greatly enhanced the capabilities of UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, to help patients suffering from strokes, seizures, muscle and nerve disorders, brain cancer and degenerative disorders of the brain such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and dementia.
“The brain used to be a mystery,” said Dr. Fayad, Reynolds Centennial professor and chairman of the UNMC Department of Neurological Sciences and an expert in stroke and neurovascular disease. “However, over the past two decades, there have been a tremendous number of advances made, especially with respect to imaging techniques and treatments for brain diseases. Nebraska is the fourth leading state in terms of the age of its population. Since many neurological diseases are associated with older age, it’s important that we provide Omaha, Nebraska and the surrounding area with state-of-the-art neurological care that is unsurpassed in the rest of the country.”
On March 3, Dr. Fayad will speak to the Holdrege Rotary Club at noon and to area physicians at Phelps Memorial Hospital at 6 p.m. On March 4, he will make a presentation to physicians at noon at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney followed by a 1 p.m. meeting with area neurologists.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer. “It can dramatically affect our existence,” Dr. Fayad said. “Many people don’t understand how bad a stroke can be until it hits someone in their family. Strokes can be deadly and disabling and have a major societal impact on those who suffer from it. My goal is to make our stroke program the jewel of the state. With the many advances taking place in the field, my goal is to bring the most sophisticated treatments to the acute treatment of stroke and to its prevention.”
Prior to coming to UNMC in 2001, Dr. Fayad served on the Yale University faculty for 10 years. A native of Lebanon, Dr. Fayad can write and speak fluently in four languages. He earned his medical degree from the University of Rome in 1983, then completed his internship and neurology residency training at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
An active researcher, Dr. Fayad has over the years participated in more than 25 funded research projects, including some through the National Institutes of Health. He brought to UNMC two major trials for stroke prevention, including one that is the largest-ever international trial for stroke prevention.
He has written more than 70 book chapters and articles, including some in most highly respected peer-reviewed medical journals like the New England Journal of Medicine and given numerous lectures, abstract and research presentations at scientific meetings nationally and internationally.
Among his extramural appointments, Dr. Fayad is a fellow of the American Heart Association and on the board of directors of the Heartland Affiliate of the American Heart Association.