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James L. Bernat, MD

Title(s)
Emeritus Professor of Neurology

Department(s)
Neurology

Education
Cornell University Medical College, MD 1973
University of Massachusetts, BA 1969

Programs
SYNERGY

Websites
http://www.dhmc.org/providers/dhmc_provider_475.html

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

 

Clarifying the DDR and DCD.
Bernat JL
Am J Bioeth. 2023 Feb;23(2):1-3. doi: 10.1080/15265161.2022.2159585.
PMID: 36681926

Normothermic Regional Perfusion Requires Careful Ethical Analysis Before Adoption Into Donation After Circulatory Determination of Death.
Peled H, Mathews S, Rhodes D, Bernat JL
Crit Care Med. 2022 Nov 1;50(11):1644-1648. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000005632. Epub 2022 Oct 13.
PMID: 36227032

Fred Plum (1924-2010).
Michaelson NM, Schiff ND, Bernat JL
J Neurol. 2023 Mar;270(3):1811-1812. doi: 10.1007/s00415-022-11420-4. Epub 2022 Oct 10.
PMID: 36216890

Black Patients Matter in Neurology: Race, Racism, and Race-Based Neurodisparities.
Robbins NM, Charleston L 4th, Saadi A, Thayer Z, Codrington WU 3rd, Landry A, Bernat JL, Hamilton R
Neurology. 2022 Jul 19;99(3):106-114. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000200830.
PMID: 35851551

Why arch vessel ligation is unethical for thoracoabdominal normothermic regional perfusion.
Peled H, Bernat JL
J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2022 Aug;164(2):e93. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2022.04.029. Epub 2022 May 24.
PMID: 35624054

Emerging Subspecialties in Neurology: Neuroethics: An Emerging Career Path in Neurology.
Young MJ, Bernat JL
Neurology. 2022 Mar 22;98(12):505-508. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000200054. Epub 2022 Jan 31.
PMID: 35101909

Correction to: Expanding controlled donation after the circulatory determination of death: statement from an international collaborative.
Dominguez-Gil B, Ascher N, Capron AM, Gardiner D, Manara AR, Bernat JL, MiƱambres E, Singh JM, Porte RJ, Markmann JF, Dhital K, Ledoux D, Fondevila C, Hosgood S, Van Raemdonck D, Keshavjee S, Dubois J, McGee A, Henderson GV, Glazier AK, Tullius SG, Shemie SD, Delmonico FL
Intensive Care Med. 2021 Sep;47(9):1059-1060. doi: 10.1007/s00134-021-06435-w.
PMID: 34129053

Ethical Issues in Stroke Management.
Bernat JL, Lukovits TG
Neurol Clin Pract. 2021 Feb;11(1):3-5. doi: 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000925.
PMID: 33970165

On Shared Decision-making and Informed Consent.
Bernat JL, McQuillen MP
Neurol Clin Pract. 2021 Apr;11(2):93-94. doi: 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000823.
PMID: 33842060

The Limits of Advance Directives in Maintaining Autonomy in Patients with Advanced Dementia.
Kollisch DO, Santulli RB, Bernat JL
Am J Med. 2021 Aug;134(8):963-967. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2021.02.032. Epub 2021 Apr 1.
PMID: 33811883

View more publications on PubMed