Kenneth Heilman
Encyclopedia
Kenneth M. Heilman is an American
behavioral neurologist.
, New York
.
He attended the University of Virginia
and graduated from the University of Virginia School of Medicine
in 1963.
He did two years of residency
in internal medicine
at Cornell University Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital. During the Vietnam War
era, he joined the Air Force
and served as chief of medicine at the NATO Hospital in Izmir
, Turkey
from 1965 to 1967. After leaving the Air Force, Heilman went for residency in neurology
at Harvard Medical School
under Dr. Derek Denny-Brown and then continued there in a fellowship with Dr. Norman Geschwind
.
Upon completion of his fellowship, Heilman was recruited by the chairman of the department of neurology, Melvin Greer, and joined the faculty of the University of Florida
Department of Neurology in 1970 as an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1973 and Professor in 1975. He became the first James E. Rooks, Jr. Professor of Neurology in 1990, a newly endowed chair at the university. In 1998, Heilman he was among the first UF faculty to receive the title of Distinguished Professor. Heilman is also the program director and chief of neurology at the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Administration Hospital (Malcom Randall VAMC), as well as a professor of Clinical and Health Psychology at the UF
s such as Alzheimer's disease
. His expertise as a clinician has been recognized by being listed in virtually every edition of the Best Doctors in America as well as other publications citing clinical excellence.
Heilman's most recent book, on the neurology of creativity, is dedicated to the nearly 100 fellows he has had who have published with him. Dr. Heilman is lionized by his former fellows, whose cross collaborations are usually based on one or another of Dr. Heilman's creative expressions.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
behavioral neurologist.
Early life and career
Heilman was born and raised in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
He attended the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
and graduated from the University of Virginia School of Medicine
University of Virginia School of Medicine
The University of Virginia School of Medicine is a medical school located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. The tenth medical school to open in the United States, it has been part of the University of Virginia since the University's establishment in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson...
in 1963.
He did two years of residency
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...
in internal medicine
Internal medicine
Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
at Cornell University Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital. During the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
era, he joined the Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
and served as chief of medicine at the NATO Hospital in Izmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
from 1965 to 1967. After leaving the Air Force, Heilman went for residency in neurology
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
at Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
under Dr. Derek Denny-Brown and then continued there in a fellowship with Dr. Norman Geschwind
Norman Geschwind
Norman Geschwind pioneered behavioral neurology in America. He is best known for his exploration of behavioral neurology through disconnection models based on lesion analysis.- Early life :...
.
Upon completion of his fellowship, Heilman was recruited by the chairman of the department of neurology, Melvin Greer, and joined the faculty of the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
Department of Neurology in 1970 as an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1973 and Professor in 1975. He became the first James E. Rooks, Jr. Professor of Neurology in 1990, a newly endowed chair at the university. In 1998, Heilman he was among the first UF faculty to receive the title of Distinguished Professor. Heilman is also the program director and chief of neurology at the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Administration Hospital (Malcom Randall VAMC), as well as a professor of Clinical and Health Psychology at the UF
Clinical activity
Heilman is an active clinician who is Director of the Memory Disorders Clinic at UF/Shands, one of the 15 Memory Disorder Clinics supported by the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. This clinic serves those with memory and cognitive disorders, especially those suffering from DementiaDementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
s such as Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. His expertise as a clinician has been recognized by being listed in virtually every edition of the Best Doctors in America as well as other publications citing clinical excellence.
Research and teaching
Heilman has research interests in attentional, emotional and cognitive disorders. In addition to teaching medical and psychology students, he is active in resident education and been director of the University of Florida Behavioral Neurology Fellowship, that has trained many dozens of post doctoral fellows since its inception in 1976. Several of Dr. Heilman's former fellows are now leaders in academic Neurology, Neuropsychology, Speech Therapy, and other allied fields. Kenneth Heilman is the author of several texts, and has authored or co-authored more than 400 book chapters and articles in peer reviewed journals. Dr. Heilman’s research has been almost continuously funded by federal agencies (e.g., VA Merit Review and/or National Institutes of Health) for the last 30 years. Currently, he and his coworkers receive more than one million dollars a year in research funding. In recognition of his research contributions he was in the first group of individuals to receive the University of Florida Research Foundation Professorships. Dr. Heilman also received the Clinical Research Award from the University of Florida College of Medicine. The Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Society has recognized him with an Outstanding Achievement Award for his research and educational contributions to Neurology.Heilman's most recent book, on the neurology of creativity, is dedicated to the nearly 100 fellows he has had who have published with him. Dr. Heilman is lionized by his former fellows, whose cross collaborations are usually based on one or another of Dr. Heilman's creative expressions.
Academic leadership
Heilman has served as president of the International Neuropsychology Society and the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology.Research advances
Research advances reported by Dr. Heilman and co-workers demonstrated that:- A cortico-limbic-reticular network mediates attention.
- In most people, the right hemisphere is dominant for attending to both sides of space (see hemispatial neglectHemispatial neglectHemispatial neglect, also called hemiagnosia, hemineglect, unilateral neglect, spatial neglect, unilateral visual inattention, hemi-inattention or neglect syndrome is a neuropsychological condition in which, after damage to one hemisphere of the brain, a deficit in attention to and awareness of...
). - In most people, it was the right hemisphere of the brain that was important for emotional communication (prosodyProsody (linguistics)In linguistics, prosody is the rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech. Prosody may reflect various features of the speaker or the utterance: the emotional state of the speaker; the form of the utterance ; the presence of irony or sarcasm; emphasis, contrast, and focus; or other elements of...
). - Skilled movement (praxisApraxiaApraxia is a disorder caused by damage to specific areas of the cerebrum. Apraxia is characterized by loss of the ability to execute or carry out learned purposeful movements, despite having the desire and the physical ability to perform the movements...
), such as tool use, is controlled in most people by a left hemisphere modular network where the parietal lobe contains the representations of the spatial trajectories for these skilled movements, and the frontal lobe transforms this into motor codes. - The right hemisphere's parietal lobe controls the autonomic nervous system.
- First to describe orthostatic tremor.
Author and Editor
Books written or edited by Kenneth Heilman:- Matter of Mind: A Neurologist's View of Brain-behavior Relationships, by Kenneth M. Heilman, 2007
- PGY1: Lessons in Caring, by Kenneth M. Heilman, 2007
- Creativity and the Brain: by Kenneth M. Heilman, 2005
- Clinical Neuropsychology: Fourth Edition, by Kenneth M. Heilman and Edward Valenstein, 2003
- Neuropsychology OF Human Emotion: Distinguished contributions in psychology, by Kenneth M. Heilman & Paul Satz (editors), 1983
- HANDBOOK FOR DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF NEUROLOGIC SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS by Kenneth M. Heilman, Watson, Robert T. and Greer, Melvin. 1977