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March 24, 2026

Walter J. Koroshetz, MD, FAAN, a longtime former head of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and an AAN member for nearly 40 years, is being honored with the AAN’s prestigious President’s Award. The award honors outstanding service to the AAN and to the profession of neurology.

“Dr. Koroshetz exemplifies principled leadership and a true commitment to brain health for all,” said AAN President Natalia S. Rost, MD, MPH, FAAN, FAHA. “His work with NINDS enabled many key advancements in neuroscience research, and his life-long dedication to advocacy, scientific rigor, and patient care have made the world a better place. As an AAN member, he lent his expertise to numerous committees, work groups, and the Board of Directors, supporting our efforts for neurologists and their patients. I’m proud to recognize Dr. Koroshetz with this award for those who truly go above and beyond.” 

About Koroshetz

Koroshetz spent much of his career at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. He served as Vice Chair of Neurology and Director of Stroke and Neurointensive Care Services at the hospital, where he also led neurology resident training for nearly 20 years. At Harvard, he was a professor of neurology and co-directed the famous Neurobiology of Disease course. He conducted extensive research in areas like Huntington’s disease, brain imaging, and stroke, including the early use of clot-busting drugs for acute stroke care. 

In 2007, however, he was ready for a new challenge: leadership at NINDS. He served as deputy director of the institute for seven years before rising to director in 2014. 

NINDS, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is a leading funder of research on the brain and nervous system. Koroshetz was at the helm of the institute for over a decade, co-leading key programs such as the BRAIN Initiative—a groundbreaking NIH public-private collaboration meant to develop new neurotechnologies and better understand the brain—the RECOVER COVID Initiative, the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, and much more. 

Koroshetz’s time as NINDS director came to an abrupt end in late 2025. Despite a positive recommendation by an NIH review panel and the endorsement of NIH head Jayanta Bhattacharya, PhD, he would not be renewed for another five-year term. The AAN and numerous other stakeholders were concerned by this sudden news and the lack of a clear succession plan; the Academy then led 40 organizations in a sign-on letter to congressional leaders in response. 

Koroshetz has since begun a new role: senior advisor at the Dana Foundation, a nonprofit grantmaking institution focused on the place of neuroscience in society, especially around neuroethics. He will help guide scientific funding collaborations and support for early-career scholars and practitioners. 

As Koroshetz looks to the future, he is proud of the groundbreaking work he and the rest of NINDS did during his tenure. One of the highlights of his time at the institute was the BRAIN Initiative, which began not long before he became director, and its Brain Activity Map Project.

“I guess the way to think about it in neurology is:  you see the patient, the patient tells you what’s wrong with them, and you use your knowledge of how the brain is organized and make a judgment of the patient’s symptoms to what’s going on in the brain,” he said. “Imaging allowed us to look into the brain, but you couldn’t see the actual circuit—and the circuits are what enables us to do the things we do neurologically, like walk, think, and feel. Now we can see the circuit activity in animal models and, to some degree, in patients too.”

The brain is the most complex information processing agent, and it was high time to develop better tools to understand how that occurs to enable our thoughts, behaviors, feelings, and more.

“The BRAIN Initiative developed tools where you can actually map out those circuits, modulate them, and monitor the activity,” he said. “When I went into neurology, if you were studying circuits, you might put an electrode in maybe two neurons, train a monkey to do a task, and see how those two neurons reacted. Now you can record from a million neurons simultaneously with these optical techniques.”

Koroshetz believes the initiative will completely revolutionize neurology and psychiatry, including conditions like Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy. He’s proud to have helped lead it from its infancy and has high hopes for its future. 

Leading in the AAN

Koroshetz joined the AAN after his residency in 1988. He frequently attended the Annual Meeting and became a volunteer when he got a call from then-President Stephen M. Sergay, MB BCh, FAAN. A Mass General colleague of Koroshetz had recommended him for the Professional and Public Information Committee (PPIC).

He found it interesting and important to communicate the value of neurology to the public and inform neurologists of what the AAN was doing on their behalf. As chair of the PPIC in the 1990s, he led the AAN’s team for the Brain Matters campaign, and when tPA was approved for acute stroke, the AAN’s Brain Attack campaign. He went on to serve on groups including the Stroke Systems Task Force of the Practice Committee, the Science Committee, the Meeting Management Committee, and even the Board of Directors. Some of his colleagues were skeptical about whether volunteer roles would help him in his academic career, but he stuck with it—and finds the experience even more useful in hindsight.

“It turned out it was the best possible experience for the NINDS leadership role,” he said. “Handling information, listening and talking to people, and communicating with different groups is critically important at NIH.”

Koroshetz has made great strides in helping achieve the AAN’s mission to enhance member career fulfillment and promote brain health for all. In all his time with the Academy, however, it was the fellow members he worked with who made the greatest impression. He was impressed by his volunteer colleagues’ commitment to neurology and patient care, and he found himself part of a close-knit community. 

Asked about his advice for younger neurologists, Koroshetz said the key is to remember why you started in this field to begin with: to help patients.

“There will always be work that takes you away from your patients,” he said. “When that work is done, go see them. Sit down, pull up a chair, and talk to them. Examine the little piece here, the little part there. Examine the hand and the eye movements. The danger in neurology—a danger I see with young neurologists—is that it won’t be fun to do anymore the further you get from the patient. So spend time with your patient just for the purpose of understanding what’s going on in their head. That’s our job as neurologists, and it’s a true privilege.”