Neurology Awards & Recognitions – Fall 2024
Ranking Arizona: 100 Best Doctors
Two neurologists at Barrow Neurological Institute have been named among the best 100 doctors in the state by Ranking Arizona. Brad Racette, MD, is a movement disorders neurologist in the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center and serves as Chair of Neurology and Senior Vice President of Barrow. A physician-scientist, Dr. Racette also directs the Barrow Neuro Analytics Center. Yvette Brown-Shirley, MD, is a neurologist in the Barrow Brain Injury and Sports Neurology Center. An enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, Dr. Brown-Shirley also leads the Institute’s Native American Health Equity Initiative. AZ Big Media curated the 2025 list in conjunction and consultation with health care industry leaders and the state’s top health care organizations, while also utilizing professional ratings.
CurePSP Center of Care
Barrow Neurological Institute was formally announced as CurePSP Center of Care in August—the only medical institution in Arizona to currently hold this designation. This achievement recognizes the dedication of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow to caring for people with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal degeneration, and multiple system atrophy. As one of 36 medical institutions across the United States and Canada to earn this designation, Barrow has demonstrated a commitment to comprehensive care, close collaboration with other CurePSP centers and the organization, community outreach, professional education, and research for these rare neurodegenerative diseases. Special thanks goes to neurologist Justine Chan, MD, for leading the effort to achieve this distinction.
Davos Grant
Barrow Neurological Foundation has received a grant from the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative for a pilot study demonstrating the impact of artificial intelligence-based cognitive assessments in the primary care setting. Barrow Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders Program Director Anna Burke, MD, is the principal investigator for the study. Patients identified in primary care clinics as having cognitive impairment will be referred to Barrow for a specialty assessment, a more detailed treatment plan, and access to outreach and support services.
Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium Grants
Yonas E. Geda, MD, MSc, a behavioral neurologist and neuropsychiatrist in the Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders Program at Barrow has received a grant from the Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium to support a pilot project wherein patients with mild cognitive impairment will undergo working memory training using the Cogmed technology developed at Karolinska University in Sweden. After Dr. Geda and his team made the web-based technology available to brain health clinic participants at Barrow, they observed promising results. From baseline to three months, nine participants demonstrated not only an improvement in working memory and executive function but also a decrease in perceived stress. Dr. Geda hypothesized that the Cogmed intervention might have led to a transfer from a cognitive domain to a neurobehavioral construct of stress. This grant will allow him to gather additional preliminary data, which could pave the way for future clinical trials of the Cogmed intervention in the United States.
Barrow Neurological Institute has received another year of funding from the Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium for its Hispanic Enrollment in Alzheimer’s Research Trials (HEART) Program. Hispanics with Alzheimer’s disease represent an underserved and understudied population in the United States. The Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders Program at Barrow launched the HEART Program to engage this community in clinical research efforts with the goal of understanding the unique factors affecting their cognitive health. The HEART Program is led by Marwan Sabbagh, MD, a behavioral neurologist and the Vice Chair of Research in the Institute’s Department of Neurology, and Anna Burke, MD.
HRSA Grant
Barrow Chair of Neurology Brad Racette, MD, and his team at the Barrow Neuro Analytics Center have received a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration. This grant supports the expansion of the Center’s high performance compute research network and adds to the substantial investment already made by the state of Arizona. With this network, researchers in the Barrow Neuro Analytics Center leverage vast data resources to accelerate cures for neurological disease.
ANA IDEAS Award
Tshibambe Nathanael Tshimbombu, MD, an adult neurology resident at Barrow, received an Inclusion/Diversity/Equity/Anti-Racism/Social Justice (IDEAS) Early Career Member Award from the American Neurological Association. He is one of two recipients of this award for 2024, which was presented during the 149th Annual Meeting of the ANA in September. Established in 2021, this award recognizes, honors, and supports the professional development of early career physician-scientists and researchers who are underrepresented in medicine.
Interlocutor of Ministry of Higher Education
Tshibambe Nathanael Tshimbombu, MD, has been appointed as the interlocutor for the Ministry of Higher Education of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the United States and Canada. During his two-year term, Dr. Tshimbombu will assist with the ministry’s efforts to establish an effective, inclusive, and equitable education system.
Epilep-Tea Honoree
Courtney Schusse, MD, an epileptologist in the Barrow Epilepsy Center, was chosen as the medical professional honoree for this year’s Epilep-Tea Party. The annual event is hosted by Epilepsy Foundation Arizona to raise funds and awareness for epilepsy and to recognize accomplishments in patient care and beyond.
MDS Top Reviewer
Holly Shill, MD, director of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow, received the Movement Disorder Society Journal “Top Reviewer” Award for 2023-2024. The award was presented at the Movement Disorder Society International Congress in October.
Department Promotions
In October, the Neuroscience Committee at Barrow approved the promotions of Supreet Kaur, MD, and Nicki Niemann, MD, from assistant professors to associate professors. Dr. Kaur is a vascular neurologist in the Petznick Stroke Center, and Dr. Niemann is a movement disorders neurologist in the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center.
NIH R01 Grant
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $2.9 million R01 grant to Barrow Chair of Neurology Brad Racette, MD, and his team to study whether environmental exposure to manganese is linked to neurodegenerative disease—just as demand for this mineral is poised to soar due to the electric vehicle battery industry. The researchers hope this work will ultimately inform environmental regulations for manganese worldwide. But first, they aim to address an environmental justice concern in a community in South Africa.
DoD Grant
Chia-Ling Phuah, MD, MMSc, a neurointensivist and co-director of the Barrow Neuro Analytics Center, and her team have received a grant from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to study the intersection of traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer’s disease. The Fiscal Year 2023 Peer-Reviewed Alzheimer’s Research Program Transforming Diagnosis Award will provide the team with $2.5 million over four years as they examine whether having a genetic risk of Alzheimer’s disease can help predict an individual’s cognitive outcome if they experience a TBI. The researchers also aim to identify factors that may protect TBI patients from changes to their thinking abilities.