Samuel M. Bierner, MD

Chair, UNMC Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Professor

Samuel M. Bierner, MD, is founding chair and a professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. 

Since founding the department in 2016, Dr. Bierner has added a four-year accredited residency and a brain injury fellowship approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

A native of Dallas, Dr. Bierner was a summa cum laude graduate in chemistry from Middlebury College in Vermont in 1980. He earned his medical degree in 1983 from the University of Texas Medical School in San Antonio and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. In 1988, he completed his master's degree in rehabilitation medicine at the University of Washington Graduate School in Seattle.

He completed his Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency training at the University of Washington (Seattle). He was co-chief resident at the University of Washington and then undertook a fellowship in clinical neurology at the Human Motor Control Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

After completing his fellowship, Dr. Bierner returned to Dallas where he was medical director of physical medicine at the Methodist Medical Center in Dallas for two years, then practiced with an orthopaedic group for five years. He was director of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation services for seven years with Concentra, a national health care company providing occupational medicine, urgent care, physical therapy and wellness services.

Prior to joining UNMC, Dr. Bierner served on the faculty of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, where he was named distinguished teaching professor in 2013. He also served as director of UT Southwestern Medical Center's PM&R residency program.

Among his numerous honors, Dr. Bierner is a three-time recipient of the Physician's Recognition Award from the American Medical Association and a three-time recipient of the Teaching Attending of the Year from the UT Southwestern Medical Center PM&R Department.

He was selected by his peers as a fellow of the Southwestern Academy of Teachers, and served on national committees for the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. He holds board certification in pain medicine and neuromuscular medicine in addition to Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.