Our Team
Dr. Michael Frankel has served as Chief of Neurology and Director of the Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center at Grady Memorial Hospital since 1992. He is also Professor of Neurology and Division Director of Vascular Neurology at Emory University School of Medicine.
Under his leadership, in 1992, Grady Memorial Hospital became the first hospital in the Southeast to have a round-the-clock acute stroke team focusing on enrolling patients into the landmark NIH tPA Stroke Trial and leading to FDA approval in 1996. Since 2001, he has worked with numerous hospitals across GA to help them become “stroke ready” via the CDC’s Georgia Acute Stroke Coverdell Registry, which he initiated for Georgia in 2001. He currently serves as the Lead Neurologist for the state-based registry.
Dr. Frankel and his team opened the Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center, a cutting-edge Comprehensive Stroke Center and the region’s premier referral site for patients with acute stroke, in 2010. His team has pioneered new treatments and led the clinical trial “DAWN”, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on November 11, 2017. DAWN provided definitive proof that thrombectomy (endovascular removal of blood clots inside cerebral arteries) dramatically improves outcomes for patients with acute stroke who arrive at the hospital between 6 and 24 hours from last known well and have favorable advanced brain imaging. The landmark trial is a paradigm shift for stroke care, ushering in a new era of defining a “tissue window” rather than just a “time window” for treatment.
Since 2013, Dr. Frankel has directed the NIH funded Georgia StrokeNet, one of 25 regional coordinating centers in the US focusing on enhancing recruitment into clinical trials of stroke prevention, intervention and recovery.
Dr. Frankel is proud of the academic and clinical missions at Grady. His neuroscience team of clinicians, educators, and researchers focus on excellence in patient care, discovering new treatments, and training the next generation of healthcare providers.
Specialties
Neurology
Vascular Neurology
Board Certifications
ABMS Psychiatry/Neurology
Affiliations
Emory
Education & Training
Medical School: University of Louisville School of Medicine
Internship: Emory University School of Medicine
Residency: Emory University School of Medicine
Honors & Awards
1996 Neurology Faculty Teaching Award, presented by Emory Neurology residents
1999 Best Neurology Faculty Teaching Award, presented by the Emory University Medical School graduating class of 1999
1999 Special Recognition Award for Excellence in Teaching, presented by Emory Neurology residents
2002 Neurology Faculty Teaching Award, presented by Emory Neurology residents
2007 Neurology Faculty Teaching Award, presented by Emory neurology residents
2008 Elected to Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) by Emory Medical Students
2012 Health Care Hero Finalist, Atlanta Business Chronicle
2015 “Pioneering Neurologist of the Year Award”, presented by the Society of Vascular & Interventional Neurology (SVIN) at the annual international meeting
2016 “Visionary Award” presented by the Grady Health System at the Annual White Coat Gala
2017 Marcus Stroke Network established via generous gift from the Marcus Foundation, establishing a new and innovative telemedicine system for acute stroke, including the state’s first mobile stroke ambulance
Director
Chief of Neurology and Director
Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center
Dr. Nicolas A. Bianchi is the Associate Medical Director of the Marcus Stroke Network. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at Emory University and he also serves in the neurology consult service at Emory University Hospital. Since 2015, he has also been a faculty attending at Grady Memorial Hospital in the Marcus Stroke and Neurosciences Center’s inpatient neurology service and outpatient stroke clinic.
Dr. Bianchi received his medical degree and finished an internal medicine residency training in Argentina, then continued his training at University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Hospital with a neurology residency and a vascular neurology fellowship. He was honored to serve as Neurology Chief Resident during his residency at University of Miami.
Previously, he held a faculty appointment at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences working as the medical director of the AR SAVES Telestroke Program and as the interim medical director of UAMS’s certified Primary Stroke Center. At UAMS, he received several patient satisfaction awards by the dean’s office and a patient care award by his residents.
Dr. Bianchi is board certified in Neurology and Vascular Neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is a member of the AHA/American Stroke Association.
His clinical and research interests include treatment of cryptogenic stroke, stroke systems of care and telemedicine for acute stroke.
Specialties
Neurology
Vascular Neurology
Board Certifications
ABMS Psychiatry/Neurology
Fellowships
University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Hospital
Education & Training
Medical School: Universidad Catolica
Internship: University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Hospital
Residency: University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Hospital
Honors & Awards
Best Presentation of Case. “Wilson´s Disease with Normal Serum Copper and Ceruloplasmin”. Bianchi NA, XII National Medicine Congress of the Argentine Medicine Society. 2003
Administrative Chief Resident, Neurology Training Program, University of Miami, Miami, FL.
Associate
Associate Medical Director
Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center
Our cerebrovascular trained team provides expert care to your patients. We are there in the acute and post-acute settings, available at a moment’s notice and also available for the key decisions in follow-up care.
Our expert team provides exceptional care for your patients.
EMORY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Provides the faculty neurologists to the cutting-edge science and stroke expertise for the Marcus Stroke Network
AMERICAN HEART / AMERICAN STROKE ASSOCIATION
MSN leverages the proven strength of the AHA/ASA in quality and systems improvement including Get With the Guidelines® and Target Stroke.
MARCUS STROKE & NEUROSCIENCE CENTER AT GRADY MEMORIAL
The Joint Commission Certified Comprehensive Stroke Center serving as the hub for the Marcus Stroke Network
