On July 29th-30th, the division of Neurocritical Care and Stroke at Keck Medicine of USC hosted Amytis Towfighi, MD, FAHA as the James and Dorothy Williams Stroke Scholar and the eighth recipient of the Roxanna Todd Hodges Lectureship on Stroke Prevention and Education. Dr. Towfighi is a vascular neurologist and the director of Neurological Services at Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, Associate Professor (Clinical Scholar) of Neurology and Preventative Medicine with Keck Medicine of USC, and Chief of Neurology at LAC+USC Medical Center.

The Department of Neurology faculty, fellows, residents, and staff celebrated Dr. Towfighi on July 29th at a dinner reception hosted in her honor. The following day, Dr. Towfighi delivered a grand rounds lecture titled, “Bridging the Gap: Secondary Stroke Prevention Interventions to Reduce Disparities?” Dr. Towfighi’s research is focused primarily on stroke prevention: “The overwhelming majority of strokes can be prevented by controlling blood pressure, and leading a healthy lifestyle. Yet fewer than half of stroke survivors have controlled blood pressure and only fraction lead healthy lifestyles. The situation is even more pressing among racially and ethnically diverse populations from disadvantaged neighborhoods given their numerous barriers to accessing culturally appropriate healthcare and competing needs. This talk will provide guidance on interventions aimed at improving risk factor control after stroke in the most vulnerable populations, in order to reduce disparities.”

Nerses Sanossian, MD, director of the RTH Stroke Program and Associate Professor of Neurology (Clinical Scholar) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, awarded Amytis Towfighi as the recipient of the 2019 Roxanna Todd Hodges Lectureship on Stroke Education and Prevention and the James and Dorothy Williams Stroke Scholar.Photos of this event included.