Peter Y. Kim Memorial Lecture
The Peter Y. Kim Memorial Lecture was established in 2018 in honor of Peter Kim, MD, PhD, who passed away unexpectedly in 2017, at the age of 55. The Department of Neurology established this lectureship to bring speakers with expertise in outpatient general clinical neurology to speak to the department.
Peter Kim was born in South Korea and came to the United States at a young age. He spent most of his youth in Buffalo, NY, where he developed his lifelong love of the Buffalo sports teams, as was evident to anyone who entered his office. He received his BS and his PhD from the University of Rochester, completing his thesis on “Activation of c-myc and ki-ras oncogenes in radiation induced rat thyroid carcinomas.” He then completed his MD at the State University of New York Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, NY. After finishing an internship at the University of Rochester in 1994, he came to the Neurological Institute to begin his neurology residency, which he completed in 1997. Between the years of 1997 and 1999, Dr. Kim worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Departments of Neurology and Pathology at Columbia. Then, in 1999, he joined the fledgling Department of Neurology Division of General Neurology.
As one of the original members of this newly formed division dedicated to caring for patients with all types of neurological problems, Dr. Kim was integral in the division’s growth and success. He was always available. Physicians throughout the medical center called him to see their patients, friends and colleagues. He never said no. He served as the primary neurological consultant to the Columbia University Athletics Department. When the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic needed attending supervision, he stepped in to serve as co-director. For years he provided the majority of the consultations needed by the cardiac and liver transplant services. He developed an expertise in HIV neurology and was asked by the Department of Medicine’s Infectious Disease Service to run an HIV Neurology clinic.
Peter also never said no to any educational contribution he was asked to make. He directed the Neurology Residents’ General Neurology Clinic for many years. He supervised the outpatient General Neurology elective. He enthusiastically participated in outpatient rotations for the medical students and residents. Those who participated saw him as teacher and mentor, yet he still treated everyone as a peer.
Dr. Kim’s untimely death was a blow to the Department, particularly for those in the Division of General Neurology, who worked closely with him every day. He was a beloved friend, colleague, clinician, teacher, and mentor, and remains sorely missed. This lecture series is dedicated to his memory, and to his countless contributions to this Department.
Recent 2023 lecture Information:
“The Columbia Neurology Resident Clinic: The End of an Era...And a New Beginning”
Carolyn B. Britton, MD, MS
Professor of Neurology at CUMC
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Dr. Britton is Professor of Neurology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Attending Physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Chief Diversity Officer of the Department of Neurology and Executive Committee member of the Academy of Clinical Excellence of CUIMC. She is the 109th President of the National Medical Association.
She is a graduate of New York University School of Medicine, elected to AOA as an alumnus. After residency in Internal Medicine at Harlem Hospital and in Neurology at Columbia University, she completed a Fellowship in Neuro-Virology. She is double boarded in Internal Medicine and Neurology. She is currently a member of the Division of General Neurology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
She is among the first to describe the Neurologic complications of AIDS and a rare complication, Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy. For more than three decades, Dr. Britton worked as a tireless advocate for funding of AIDs clinical trials, the training of minorities and women in medicine and clinical research, the inclusion of minorities and women in clinical trials, the elimination of health disparities through equity and for universal access to health insurance for all Americans. For her work as a leader, mentor and advocate, she is the recipient of numerous awards and is recognized for her clinical skills by inclusion in the Castle Connolly Best Doctors in New York Metro area and Best Doctors in America.
Lawrence Hirsch, MD
Professor of Neurology; Director, Fellowship Program, Neurophysiology; Chief, Division of Epilepsy and EEG; Co-Director, Yale Comprehensive Epilepsy Center; Co-Director, Critical Care EEG Monitoring Program
Lawrence J. Hirsch, MD is Professor of Neurology, Chief of the Division of Epilepsy and EEG, and Co-Director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, all at Yale University.
Dr. Hirsch received his MD from Yale University School of Medicine in 1991. He did a Neurology residency at Columbia University finishing in 1995 and served as Chief Resident during his final year. He completed a fellowship in Epilepsy and EEG at Columbia, subsequently joining the faculty at Columbia until moving to Yale in 2011.
Dr. Hirsch has held leadership positions in the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society (ACNS), American Epilepsy Society, American Academy of Neurology, and the Epilepsy Foundation, and is lead author of the 2012 and 2021 ACNS guidelines on critical care EEG terminology. He is founder and former chair of the Critical Care EEG Monitoring Research Consortium, which now includes more than 50 centers, and co-chair of the medical advisory board of the NORSE Institute. He has been an active researcher throughout his career, having published more than 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts and more than 100 reviews, editorials or book chapters on topics including status epilepticus, all aspects of EEG including intracranial recordings and brain monitoring in the critically ill, brain stimulation, epilepsy surgery, seizure clusters, rescue medications, sudden death in epilepsy (SUDEP), and anti-seizure medication use. He has won multiple teaching awards and is co-author of the first-ever atlas on EEG in critical care.
Christina M. Ulane, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Neurology at CUMC
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Dr. Ulane is Associate Professor of Neurology at CUMC, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Associate Attending Physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital, and Program Director, EMG Track of Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship.
She completed her PhD in 2005 and her MD in 2007, both at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She did her Neurology residency at Columbia, finishing in 2011, and also served as Chief Resident in her final year. She pursued an EMG fellowship, also at Columbia, and joined the Neuromuscular Division upon completion in 2012.
Dr. Ulane has received recognition for Outstanding Teaching in the Adult Neurology Residency Program, been awarded the Stephen Q. Shafer Award for Humanism in Neurology in 2016, and was inducted into the Academy of Clinical Excellence (ACE) at Columbia in 2019. She is currently a member of the Education Committee, American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine.
Matthew W. Schelke, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurology at CUMC
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Dr. Schelke is Assistant Professor of Neurology at CUMC and Assistant Attending Physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
He is a graduate of Weill Cornell Medical College where he received his MD with honors in research in 2017. He completed a residency in Neurology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in 2021 and then served as Chief Resident for the Department of Neurology. He is currently a member of the Division of General Neurology at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Director of the Neurology Resident Clinic.
Dr. Shelke received the Neurology Resident Research Award in 2019 and the Neurology Resident Teaching Award in 2021. He was honored as the New York Presbyterian Physician of the Year in 2022. He recently joined the American Academy of Neurology Registry Subcommittee.