Diversity and Inclusion

Photo gallery by Steve Fisch Photography

Reena P. Thomas, MD, PhD

Director of Diversity and Inclusion
Clinical Associate Professor
Department of Neurology
Associate Dean for Diversity in Medical Education

Stanford Neurology strongly believes in the value of diversity in our training program and we are focused on recruiting and supporting individuals from all backgrounds. We support a number of opportunities for those under-represented in medicine and are continuing to expand our efforts in diversity and inclusion led by Dr. Reena Thomas.

Department of Neurology Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Cynthia Campen, MD
Clinical Professor

Brandon Carlson-Clarke
Clinical Research Coordinator Associate

Constance de Monts PT, DPT
Clinical Research Manager/Evaluator

Carl Gold, MD, MS
Clinical Associate Professor

Maxwell A Green, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor

Nathanael Lee, MD, PhD
PGY-3 Neurology Resident

Jaime Lopez, MD
Professor

Martavius Lovall, MD
PGY-3 Neurology Resident

Ria Pal, MD
Pediatric Clinical Neurophysiology/EMG Fellow

Jennie Rivera Visitacion
Admin Associate
SOM Staff Jedi Collective

Christina Sabathia-Carter
Neurology Program Coordinator

Neil Schwartz, MD, PhD
Clinical Professor

Zachary Threlkeld, MD
Clinical Associate Professor

Diana Tran
Research Administrator

Andy Tsai, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

Nirali Vora, MD
Clinical Professor

Mitzine Wright
Neurology Residency/Fellowship Coordinator

Fanglin Zhang, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor

Stanford Neurology Diversity in the Spotlight

Stanford Neurology Leading in Diversity and Inclusion

Stanford Neurology faculty and residents participate in the expanded Leadership Education in Advancing Diversity (LEAD) program with the goal of empowering the next generation of medical leaders to carry forward the mission of diversity and inclusion.  We recognize the importance of having a medical leadership team comprised of individuals who reflect the diverse patient population that we serve including racial, ethnic, sexual and gender minorities.  Building scholarship capacity for improving diversity and inclusion efforts is also a key component of this program in line with the academic mission of the LEAD program.

Jan 16, 2020 - LEAD Session 6: Advancing Inclusive Leadership with Mary Stutts, Chief Inclusion, Diversity & Health Equity Officer

Stanford postdoc helps create Black in Neuro Week

Brielle Ferguson, PhD, a co-president of the Stanford Black Postdoc Association and a current postdoc in the Huguenard Lab in Neurology, has helped to organize a social media project called Black in Neuro Week to amplify contributions from Black scientists to neuroscience, neurology and related fields.


The Women in Medicine (WIM) group is creating community and amplifying residents' voices

The WIM group is entirely resident-led, with Cybele Renault, MD, a clinical associate professor of infectious diseases, and Rebecca Miller-Kuhlmann, MD, clinical assistant professor of neurology and neurological sciences, acting as co-faculty advisors.

The group has organized skills-based trainings on contract negotiation tactics and workshops on implicit bias. They set up panels of women in leadership roles and scheduled off-campus happy hours. They connected mentors to mentees. They sponsored wellness events and partnered with like-minded groups. They tackled tricky topics: social justice, fertility and maternity concerns, microaggressions, wage gaps. And they took notes along the way, eventually homing in on a set of best practices: host four to six events per year in crowd-pleasing venues, listen to suggestions, and always make space for conversation and authentic connection.

Diversity leaders bolster training and recruitment of underrepresented neurologists

The Department of Neurology at Stanford has been highlighted as a national leader for diversity and inclusion efforts under the direction of Dr. Reena Thomas, Director of Diversity and Inclusion for the department. Neurology Today featured Stanford Neurology in their issue on January 10, 2019 with an article entitled, "Meet Neurology's Diversity Leaders."  Dr. Frank Longo reflected on the importance of these efforts to the field of Neurology: “As precision health becomes more important, it is critical for our field to better and more deeply engage the overall community to have the greatest impact. We can only do this if neurology in general and our department at Stanford, [specifically], reflect the community with all of its views, nuances, and experiences."