James L. Bernat, MD
Title(s):
Active Emeritus Professor of Neurology
Active Emeritus Professor of Medicine
Department(s):
Neurology
Medicine
Education:
Cornell University Medical College, MD 1973
University of Massachusetts, BA 1969
Programs:
SYNERGY
Websites:
http:
Contact Information:
Neurology Department
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
1 Rope Ferry Road
Hanover NH 03755
Phone: 802-649-1346
Email: bernat@dartmouth.edu
Professional Interests:
Brain death and the definition of death.
Coma, vegetative states, and other disorder of consciousness.
Ethical and philosophical issues in neurology.
Grant Information:
SYNERGY: Dartmouth Center for Clinical and Translational Science. Director: Research Ethics
Biography:
James L. Bernat, M.D., formerly the Louis and Ruth Frank Professor of Neuroscience at Dartmouth Medical School, earned a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts (1965-69) and an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College (1969-73). He trained in internal medicine and neurology at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (1973-77). Dr. Bernat has been a Dartmouth Medical School faculty member since 1976 and has held the rank of Professor of Medicine and Neurology since 1989. Dr. Bernat was the Director of the Program in Clinical Ethics at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Previously he served as Assistant Dean of Clinical Education at Dartmouth Medical School. He served for 28 years on the American Academy of Neurology Ethics, Law & and Humanities Committee, with 10 years as chairman. Dr. Bernat has been elected to Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Omega Alpha, and fellowships in the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Neurology, and The Hastings Center. He is a member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives. In 2011, he received the Presidential Award from the American Academy of Neurology for lifetime service to American neurology.
Dr. Bernat's scholarly interests are in ethical and philosophical issues in neurology. He has authored over 250 articles and chapters on topics in neurology and clinical ethics. He is the author of Ethical Issues in Neurology, 3rd ed. (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008), coeditor of Palliative Care in Neurology (Oxford University Press, 2004), and coeditor of Ethical and Legal Issues in Neurology (Elsevier, 2013) He testified on the vegetative state before the United States Senate Health Committee and was a consultant on brain death to the Institute of Medicine, the Vatican Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and the Pontifical Academy for Life. He chaired the US DHHS HRSA Division of Transplantation panel on determining death in organ donors and served on the World Health Organization international committee on standards for death determination.
Selected Publications: |
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Palliative care and inpatient neurology: Where to next? Strategies to improve uniformity in brain death determination. A Conceptual Justification for Brain Death. Conceptual Issues in DCDD Donor Death Determination. Author Response: Practice Current: When do you order ancillary tests to determine brain death? Ethics in Neurology. Author response: An interdisciplinary response to contemporary concerns about brain death determination. Patients are harmed by physician burnout. How Should Physicians Manage Organ Donation after the Circulatory Determination of Death in Patients with Extremely Poor Neurological Prognosis? Practice Current: When do you order ancillary tests to determine brain death? |
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