Brett Kissela, MD, MS

Brett Kissela, MD, MS, is a nationally recognized clinician scientist and academic health system leader. As Executive Vice President for Health Affairs and the Julia A. Uihlein Dean of the School of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), Dr. Kissela leads a School of Medicine with 1,100 students on three campuses, an academic medical center with 3,900 physicians and advanced practice providers that collectively care for more than 530,000 patients, and a research enterprise that annually invests more than $425M in research and training.

Before assuming his current role at MCW in September 2026, Dr. Kissela served as Executive Vice Dean of the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine and Professor of Neurology, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research, Chief of Research Services for UC Health, and Director of the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Dr. Kissela views his leadership role through the lens of being an integrator, a builder and a driver of differentiation, and challenges his team to explore what they can build together. He has a philosophy of “We are all in the same tent,” which summarizes his belief that everyone at an organization should be collaborating on, and contributing to, the same goals – and treating each other like they would like to be treated. Critically important to Dr. Kissela is establishing a culture that embraces collaboration, transparency, respect and understanding.

Throughout his career as a neurologist, stroke epidemiologist, and clinician‑scientist, Dr. Kissela has operated at the intersection of academic strategy and health‑system execution – building alignment across education, research and clinical operations while maintaining a sustained national scholarly and service footprint. His leadership roles have focused on building high‑performing teams, strengthening governance and delivering measurable outcomes in complex, matrixed environments.

Dr. Kissela’s scholarly work reflects sustained contributions to stroke epidemiology and outcomes, and translating discoveries into practice. He has authored almost 300 peer-reviewed publications and 22 book chapters/reviews, and participated in 130 invited lectures and presentations. Dr. Kissela possesses a strong commitment to learner education, having mentored more than 230 resident and fellow trainees in adult and child neurology and vascular neurology/interventional neurology/neuro-critical care.

Nationally, Dr. Kissela has served on the American Academy of Neurology’s (AAN) Board of Directors, and currently chairs its AI workgroup – demonstrating his interest in and commitment to responsibly integrating AI into academic medicine across all missions. Dr. Kissela also serves as the Secretary/ Treasurer of the AAN Institute, which governs the public, charitable and educational affiliate of the AAN. He has received numerous honors such as the Daniel Drake Medal (UC College of Medicine’s highest honor) and the American Heart Association’s Creighton B. Wright Leadership Award.

A lifelong Midwesterner, Dr. Kissela grew up in Wisconsin and met his wife, Lorie, when they both attended Marquette University. He is a proud dad who played an active role in the lives of their three children when they were growing up and enjoys cheering on the Green Bay Packers.

Dr. Kissela received his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1995 from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He served an internship in internal medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals (1995-1996), a residency in neurology at the University of Michigan Medical Center (1996-1999) and a fellowship in cerebrovascular disease at UC Medical Center (1999-2000). Dr. Kissela received his MS in epidemiology from the University of Cincinnati in 2009.