Joseph Sirven, MD, FAAN
Dr. Joseph Sirven is a Professor of Neurology and Chair Emeritus of the Department of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic Arizona in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is also the editor-in-chief of Brain & Life en Español, and is on the editorial board of the English-language Brain & Life. Dr. Sirven received his undergraduate degree, a BS in Biology, from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He received his medical degree from Louisiana State University in New Orleans, Louisiana. He completed a residency in Neurology at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His Clinical Neurophysiology and Epilepsy fellowship was completed at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Sirven is board-certified in Clinical Neurophysiology by the American Board of Clinical Neurophysiology and in Neurology and Epilepsy by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Dr. Sirven is a Cuban American and served as chief medical contributor for NBC Latino, the English-language website for Latinos by NBCNews. He is currently the Medical commentator for KJZZ Radio in Phoenix, the NPR affiliate for Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. Dr. Sirven is also the creator and a co-moderator for the podcast, We Need to Talk - Tough Conversations in Healthcare, produced by Arizona State University. In addition to being a Neurologist, Dr. Sirven is a certified Aviation medical examiner and a consultant to the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) on pilot and passenger health.
Dr. Sirven is currently Chair of the AAN Education Conference Subcommittee and serves on the Board of Directors for the American Brain Foundation. Previously, he served as Director of Education for Mayo Clinic Arizona with oversight over all educational activities at the Mayo Clinic Arizona campus, including medical student rotations, residencies, fellowships, PhD candidates, nursing, allied health, and continuing medical education programs. He was the previous Vice Chair of the Epilepsy Section of the American Academy of Neurology, Chair of the Communication Council for the American Epilepsy Society, and former Chair of the Professional Advisory Board for the Epilepsy Foundation.
Dr. Sirven has published extensively on epilepsy and its treatment. His interests in epilepsy include status epilepticus, surgical therapy for epilepsy, epilepsy in older adults, and psychosocial issues, particularly those involving Hispanic populations and transportation. His articles have appeared in Neurology, Epilepsia, The Lancet, Archives of Neurology, Annals of Neurology, Epilepsy & Behavior, and Mayo Clinic Proceedings. He is the editor of 7 textbooks: Clinical Neurology of the Older Adult, the American Epilepsy Society's Introduction to Epilepsy, Clinical Epilepsy, and An Atlas of Video EEG Monitoring. He is currently the Director of the Epilepsy Program at Mayo Clinic Arizona.
Dr. Joseph Sirven discloses that he is a consultant for Neurelis and UCB. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
