Fascinated by neurology from a formative age, Sid Gilman, MD, FRCP, enjoys the constant challenge that neurology brings, as neurological disorders are often difficult to diagnose and treat. As a medical student, he was also intrigued by psychiatry and many other clinical topics, and he relished his studies that led to earning a Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Medicine from the University of California, Los Angeles. At a much later time in his career, Dr. Gilman was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) in
London, England, in 2001. He commenced his career as an intern at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in 1957, soon serving as a resident in neurology at Boston City Hospital for three years. His first teaching post was as an instructor and associate in neurology at the prestigious Harvard Medical School, later serving as an assistant professor, and soon thereafter, associate professor, and then a full professor of neurology at Columbia University for nearly a decade. In his final year at Columbia University, he was notably the H. Houston Merritt professor of neurology.
Dr. Gilman joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 1977, serving as a professor of neurology and chair of the department of neurology for 27 years. He has since become the William J. Herdman Distinguished University professor of neurology, a role he has held since 2005. Prior to this appointment, he was the William J. Herdman professor of neurology from 1997 to 2005. Alongside his primary career endeavors, Dr. Gilman has sat on multiple committees of prominent organizations and served as an adjunct attending neurologist at the Henry Ford Hospital. He has additionally maintained affiliation with the National Institutes of Health, the Brain Research Foundation, the Epilepsy Foundation of America, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, and the American Academy of Neurology, among many others.
Publishing over 250 scientific papers and six books over the course of his career, he finds the most rewarding aspect of his profession to be having the privilege to teach hundreds of students in the art of caregiving. Training several medical students and graduate students in medicine and neurology, he is most proud of witnessing their triumphs as established medical professionals. In addition, he has aided fellow colleagues in their journeys in neurology, helping them establish their own careers. In addition to seeing patients, he also attends patient rounds at local hospitals to remain abreast of internal medicine developments. In addition, he also enjoys reading neuroscience articles and journals.
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