John J. Kelly, Jr., MD, Named Chief, Department of Neurology and Deputy Director, Cooper Neurological Institute (CNI)

Reflecting its integral role in neurological care, Cooper University Hospital’s Neurology service is transitioning from a division within the Department of Medicine to a full-fledged department within the Cooper Neurological Institute – one of the most progressive patient and family-centered neurological centers in the region. At the same time, John J. Kelly, Jr., MD, is taking the helm of the department, bringing a wealth of clinical leadership to his new post.

Dr. Kelly was recruited from the George Washington University Medical Center where he was professor of Neurology and chaired the Neurology Department for 20 years. Before that, he spent ten years at Tufts University School of Medicine and Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston where he was professor of Neurology and senior neurologist, and head of the neuromuscular service and the electromyography laboratory. Prior to that, he served on the Mayo Clinic faculty for four years (where he also completed his neurology residency and an electrophysiology fellowship). He earned his medical degree from Yale Medical School.

Dr. Kelly is a well-known authority in neuromuscular disease, especially peripheral neuropathies and EMG manifestations of peripheral nerve disease. He has authored more than 100 articles, chapters and books on these topics.

His plans for the Neurology Department are equally impressive.

“My goal is to enlarge the department and make it the dominant neurologic presence in South Jersey,” he says, emphasizing a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to achieving this vision. “We will work closely with Neurosurgery and other departments to make the Cooper Neurological Institute the preferred center for neurologic care in this region.”

Initial projects include the growth of the department by recruiting six new faculty, expansion of Cooper’s EEG lab to support our growing epilepsy program, development of the Neuromuscular Program and recruitment of a neuro-intensivist and stroke neurologists as Cooper moves to obtain Comprehensive Stroke Status sometime in early 2012.

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