A Descriptive Analysis of Chairs of Academic Neurology Departments in the United States

There remains a limited understanding of the characteristics of academic leaders within neurology departments, despite similar research in other fields. This investigation characterized the demographics, academic background, and scholarly productivity of United States (U.S.) neurology department chairs. Here, 131 chairs at Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-certified neurology programs were identified. Publicly accessible demographic and academic data available online were collected in March 2021. Among the 131 neurology chairs analyzed, 84.7% were male. On average, these faculty were 60.5 years old and were appointed at a mean age of 52.0 years. 74.8% of chairs graduated from an American medical school, although a notable proportion of department heads received medical training internationally. A substantial cohort also acquired an additional graduate degree, of which Doctor of Philosophy (PhD; 22.1%) and masters degree (21.4%) were most common. 82.4% completed a post-residency fellowship, which were most frequently in vascular neurology (24.1%) and clinical neurophysiology (17.6%). The mean h-index, m-quotient, and lifetime NIH grant funding received were 39.2 {+/-} 29.4, 1.2 {+/-} 0.8, and $20,021,594 {+/-} $31,861,816, respectively. No between-gender differences were observed. Overall, neurology chairs are predominantly male, most often completing fellowships in vascular neurology or clinical neurophysiology. Research productivity is a notable component of these chairs careers, although certain programs place less emphasis on these metrics. Finally, substantial effort remains to address disparities in female representation at this leadership position. These findings serve as a benchmark to evaluate demographic trends among neurology department chairs.