Anish Bhardwaj, MD, MBA, MS (Lead.), MS (Comm.), CPE, FACHE, FACMPE, FAHA, FAAN, FCCM, FANA is the Chairman of the Department of Neurology, John Sealy Distinguished Chair in Neurology, and a Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Neurobiology at University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), Galveston, Texas since 2013. Dr. Bhardwaj has a distinguished background in academic medicine as a clinician-scientist-scholar, educator, mentor, program developer, administrator, and physician-executive. He has served in several leadership roles over the past decade as Associate, and Vice Dean, Interim Provost, and most recently as Vice Provost at UTMB.
Dr. Bhardwaj completed his medical training at College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and neurology residency training at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York (1989-1993). He then completed fellowship training in neurosciences critical care at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and, subsequently, served on the faculty of Hopkins for a decade until 2006 - - where he rose through the academic ranks to become Associate Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Neurology. He then served as Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Neurology at Oregon Health and Science University until 2009. Before joining UTMB, Dr. Bhardwaj served as Chair and Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Neurosurgery at Tufts University School of Medicine as well as Neurologist-in-Chief at Tufts Medical Center in Boston (2009-2013). He is board certified in Neurology, Vascular Neurology, and Neurocritical Care. In 2013, he received his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) in Healthcare Management from D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Master of Science (MS) in Leadership in 2021 from Northeastern University, and Master of Science (MS) in Communication from Purdue University in 2024. He is a Certified Physician Executive (CPE) conferred by the Certifying Commission in Medical Management, Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and a Fellow of the American College of Medical Practice Executives (FACMPE) conferred by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). He was a Fellow of the Council of Deans of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) (2018-2019).
An acknowledged national and international expert in neurocritical care and stroke, Dr. Bhardwaj has enhanced the growth of several academic Departments of Neurology in the United States as departmental Chair and serving in other leadership roles. He has developed several de-novo collaborative multidisciplinary clinical programs and has authored more than 155 publications including original peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, editorials, reviews and five books. Over the course of his career, his laboratory-based and translational research has focused on understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms of brain injury and developing methods and strategies for protecting the brain after stroke and other forms of brain injury; he has received substantial extramural funding for these research endeavors. He has previously served on study sections of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Heart Association (AHA), continues to serve as a member of numerous editorial boards of peer-reviewed journals and is an invited speaker at national and international forums to give talks on a wide range of topics from brain injury, neuro-terrorism, to programmatic development. Under his leadership, the Department of Neurology has received over $60 million in extramural support for research over the past 10 years.
He has been the recipient of several awards and honors including the Established Investigator Award from AHA, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award, and is an elected Fellow of the Stroke Council of the American Heart Association (FAHA), the American Academy of Neurology (FAAN), the American Neurological Association (FANA), and the American College of Critical Care Medicine (FCCM). Dr. Bhardwaj has an outstanding record of training and mentoring faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and house staff, many of whom have gone on to have highly successful career trajectories to become leaders in their fields. As Vice Provost, Dr. Bhardwaj managed the Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure processes in the School of Medicine, and Faculty Affairs and Professional Development across all schools, and the three professional academies (Academy of Master Teachers, Academy of Master Clinicians, and Academy of Research Mentors) at UTMB.