Jacobs School dean is appointed to the AAMC board of directors

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Allison Brashear, MD, vice president for health sciences at the University at Buffalo and dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Association for American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

One of 19 board members, most of whom are deans of the nation’s leading medical schools, Brashear will serve from November 2024 to November 2025.

The AAMC represents the nation’s medical schools and teaching hospitals, and is dedicated to transforming health care through innovative medical education, cutting-edge patient care and groundbreaking medical research.

“UB is proud that Dr. Brashear has been named to the board of directors of the AAMC. This appointment recognizes her national reputation as an academic health leader, as well as her excellence as a medical researcher and educator,” said A. Scott Weber, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at UB.

“I am honored that I will be serving on the 2024-25 AAMC Board of Directors,” said Brashear. “It is a privilege to work alongside such esteemed colleagues in advancing medical education, health care and research. Together, we will continue to strive for excellence and innovation in academic medicine.”

Brashear previously served on the AAMC Council of Deans Administrative Board, which provides a venue for deans to address the concerns of their constituencies. She was an AAMC Council of Deans Fellow for 2014-15; the fellowship is a professional development program created to enhance the development of future leaders in academic medicine.

Brashear is an internationally renowned neurologist and researcher whose work has fundamentally transformed the way spasticity and dystonia are treated. During her 30-year career, she has led over 40 clinical trials aimed at developing potential treatments for spasticity after stroke and cervical dystonia, or abnormal, involuntary movements of the neck. Her work led to approval of three forms of botulinum toxin to treat patients with disabling muscle spasms.

A powerful advocate for promoting diverse leaders in medicine, Brashear was instrumental in creating one of the first national leadership programs in neurology for women. She is a frequent lecturer on the importance of diversity in medicine, and a lifelong champion of advancing women’s leadership in medicine.

Brashear serves on the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the McKnight Brain Research Foundation, and has been a member of the board of the American Academy of Neurology, as well as the American Neurological Association.

She completed the Harvard School of Public Health Leadership program for physicians, as well as a national program for women leaders in academic medicine, Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM).

Brashear graduated from the Indiana University School of Medicine, where she completed her residency in neurology and later became a professor of neurology. She holds an MBA from Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, with a focus on health-sector management.