.NEW HYDE PARK, NY – North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center today announced the appointment of Cynthia L. Harden, MD, as chief of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Care Institute within the hospitals’ Department of Neurology chaired by Ronald Kanner, MD.

As chief, Dr. Harden leads the activities of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Institute, part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System’s Cushing Institutes of Neuroscience. The Institute receives nearly 5,000 patient visits annually.

"The recruitment of Dr. Harden is a milestone in the history of the Epilepsy Center,” said Dr. Kanner. “She brings a national reputation in clinical care and research that takes our center to the next level. Her vision for growth of the center beyond its current regional boundaries is exciting and well directed. Her particular expertise and research funding in women's issues in epilepsy fit extremely well with our new women's hospitals."

Prior to joining North Shore-LIJ, Dr. Harden directed the International Center for Epilepsy at the University of Miami Health System. While at the University of Miami, she was a professor of neurology at the university’s Miller School of Medicine.

“We are delighted to welcome a physician of Dr. Harden’s caliber to the North Shore-LIJ Health System,” said Raj Narayan, chairman of neurosurgery at North Shore-LIJ, and director of the Cushing Institutes of Neuroscience. “Her clinical and research expertise in developing and pursuing new treatments for epilepsy will be an enormous benefit and comfort to patients throughout the New York area who come to North Shore-LIJ’s highly regarded epilepsy center for care.”

Dr. Harden completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and earned her MD at the University of Wisconsin Medical School. She trained in internal medicine at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center and completed her residency in neurology at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. Following her residency, she completed a fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. She is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in neurology and clinical neurophysiology. She will join the faculty of the new Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine as professor of neurology – the inaugural class of medical students begins in August 2011.

A widely published author of many peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and monographs, Dr. Harden has served as editor for medical writings on epilepsy, and participated in many symposia and invited lectures. She has received numerous awards and honors, and served on several professional committees of the American Epilepsy Society and the American Academy of Neurology.

For more information about North Shore-LIJ’s epilepsy services, call 718-470-7310, or go to www.northshorelij.com/NSLIJ/Epilepsy+Centers.

About the Cushing Institutes of Neuroscience
Part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, the Cushing Institutes of Neuroscience are centers of excellence that specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological and neurosurgical diseases. Named after the founder of modern neurosurgery, the Cushing Institutes serve thousands of patients from around the country and the world. The nationally recognized physicians within the Cushing Institutes are best known for their treatment of brain aneurysms, stroke, brain tumors, head injury, movement disorders, epilepsy, neuromuscular disorders and the entire spectrum of spinal diseases.

Media Contact: Michelle Pinto
516-465-2649/2600
mpinto@nshs.edu