Mateen Appointed Director of New Center for Global Neurology

Farrah Mateen, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Multiple Sclerosis & Neuroimmunology and the Dr. Charles L. Mix Research Professor of Neurology, has been named director of the Center for Global Neurology, a center of the Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health (IGH). 

“I am very excited to represent the Havey Institute for Global Health and Davee Department of Neurology of Northwestern University in this important new role,” Mateen said. “The significance of neurological disorders globally cannot be overemphasized. Our center has a great deal of opportunity and obligation to work together to improve the situation for people living with neurological conditions worldwide – through research, education, clinical work and policy. I am particularly looking forward to the partnerships and new ideas.” 

Mateen, originally from Saskatchewan, Canada, earned her medical degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 2005. She pursued adult neurology training at the Mayo Clinic, held fellowships at Harvard University and The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and completed her doctoral studies in International Health at Johns Hopkins University in 2014 as a Sommer Scholar. She was a faculty member at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School from 2013 until she joined Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in September 2025. At Northwestern, her clinical practice is focused on neuroimmunology and is dedicated to therapeutic development in multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica.  

Mateen has been the chair of the American Academy of Neurology’s Global Health and Ethics sections and the International Outreach Committee of the American Neurological Association. She has worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, World Health Organization, Polio Eradication Initiative in Switzerland and India, and several non-governmental organizations across more than 30 countries of various income levels. To date, she has published more than 100 academic manuscripts to advance neurological disease research and clinical care globally and has mentored many students, research coordinators, residents, fellows and faculty.  

The Center for Global Neurology has grown from a program within the Havey Institute for Global Health to a center with more than 10 Feinberg faculty members and dozens of residents, trainees, postdocs, staff and other faculty conducting work in 18 countries. Highlighting the importance of brain health throughout the lifespan, the center aims to improve awareness for neurological disorders globally by building and sustaining partnerships in neurology and global health. Through the incorporation of emerging technologies, the center also aims to serve as a resource to the next generation of global neurology clinicians and researchers. 

The center’s activities will include collaboration between the Havey Institute for Global Health and the Ken & Ruth Davee Department of Neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The new center will also be the ninth center within the Havey Institute for Global Health. 

Hear more from Mateen during the July virtual IGH Seminar, Global Neurology: New Center Opportunities, which will be held on Zoom Wednesday, July 15, and join the Center for Global Neurology for its inaugural event World Brain Day on Wednesday, July 22, in the Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center (303 E. Superior St, Chicago). 

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