Rebecca Straus Farber, MD

Dr. Claassen is a Professor of Neurology and the Director of Critical Care Neurology at Columbia University. He is an Associate Attending Physician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Medical Director of the Neurocritical Care Unit. Dr. Claassen received his medical degree from the University of Hamburg, Germany, and completed residency training in Neurology, and Fellowship training in Neurocritical Care and Epilepsy at Columbia University. He is board certified in Neurology and Neurocritical Care. Dr Claassen is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in the treatment of neurological intensive care. He is an expert in coma, status epilepticus and brain hemorrhages. He served on the board of directors and as the co-chair for guidelines development for the Neurocritical Care Society. He has championed the use of innovative brain monitoring techniques including continuous EEG monitoring. His sits on the editorial board of Annals of Neurology and Neurocritical Care. Dr Claassen’s research characterizes physiologic changes following acute brain injury, focusing on novel treatment approaches to potentially improve patient outcomes. He is a widely recognized expert on disorders of consciousness. He has published more than 300 journal articles, book chapters, and reviews. He is the co-editor of the seminal monograph Plum and Posner’s: Diagnosis and Treatment of Stupor and Coma. His research is supported by federal R01 and foundation grants

Mary Welch, MD is an Associate Professor of Neurology at CUMC, in the Division of Neuro-Oncology. Dr. Welch graduated from Chicagos' Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine. She completed neurology residency here at Columbia, followed by sub-specialty training in neuro-oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In her second year of fellowship, she earned a Comparative Effectiveness Research Award to attend Columbia's Summer Research Institute at Mailman School of Public Health. Upon completing her training, Dr. Welch worked for several years as a practicing neuro-oncologist and Assistant Professor of Neurology at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. There, she served as principal investigator for numerous phase I and II clinical trials for the treatment of primary and metastatic brain cancer. She also developed a strong research interest in improving patient access to both standard and investigational therapies. In addition to seeing both inpatient and outpatient neuro-oncology patients, Dr. Welch maintains an active research program within the Division of Neuro-Oncology.

Marla Hamberger completed her undergraduate studies at Cornell University, and earned her Masters and Doctorate from the City University of New York. After completing her internship in Neuropsychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, she obtained postdoctoral training at UCLA, specializing in the neuropsychology of epilepsy. She has been with the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at Neurological Institute of New York, Columbia University Medical Center since 1992, where she is the Director of Neuropsychological Services within the Epilepsy Division, and holds the position of Professor of Neuropsychology in the Department of Neurology at Columbia University.