Faculty

Aparna Prabhu, MD, MRCP 

Title: Program Director
Specialty: Multiple Sclerosis

I grew up in Bangalore, a vibrant city in South India. I was inspired to pursue neurology by my mentor back home. I enjoyed the science, the art of neurological examination, and the precision of our skill! I decided to move to the United Kingdom to train further and gain hands-on experience managing geriatric patients with neurological complications. About a decade ago, a visit to Philadelphia and an hour-long phone interview with Dr. Newman were the two factors that made my decision to accept residency training at Einstein and follow my dream of becoming a neurologist. I graduated from the first class of residents here and decided to stay and help continue to grow our tribe! Einstein is truly what drives me; our patient population, my colleagues, and my residents - continue to inspire me every day. When I’m not in the hospital, I love spending time outdoors hiking and kayaking with my husband and 2 kids. I also enjoy singing Bollywood and Indian Classical music, and painting - Mandala art is my newest obsession.

David Roby, MD

Title: Associate Program Director
Specialty: Headache

I enjoy interacting with our enthusiastic neurology residents at morning report, neurology clinic and on the inpatient consult service. It is a joint exercise in lifelong learning. I am eager to resume our monthly Moss Rehab Hospital meetings to discuss neurobehavioral issues encountered in our diverse and complex patient population. I also embrace life outside the hospital with friends, working in the yard, bowling, and marveling at the nascent careers of my children. Perhaps I am more philosophic in the wake of the Covid calamity and try to appreciate life's blessings.

George Newman, MD, PhD

Title: Department Chairman
Specialty: Neuro-Hospitalist; Stroke; Critical Care

Dr. Newman has board certifications in Psych/Neurology, Vascular Neurology (Stroke), and Neurocritical Care. He was educated at Haverford College, UVA, and Brown University. Dr. Newman has received numerous awards for teaching residents and medical students, including the Osler-Blochley Award at Sidney Kimmel Medical School. He loves his four wonderful grandchildren and their parents, playing banjo, estudiando español, and landscape photography.

Yan Zhang, MD

Title: Associate Department Chairman
Specialty: Electromyography; Neuromuscular Disease; Neuroradiology

Dr. Zhang was educated at Fudan University, Shanghai, PhD Northwestern, Loyola, Cleveland Clinic, and Massachusetts General. He has board certifications in Neurology and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. Dr. Zhang was awarded Teacher of the Year by the residents several years in a row. He is a sports fan and enjoys classical music.

Anishee Undavia, MD

Title: Clerkship Director
Specialty: Neuromuscular; EMG

Dr. Anishee Undavia did her residency training at the University of Chicago followed by fellowships in both clinical neurophysiology and neuromuscular medicine at UCLA. She currently serves as the director of the neurology clerkship at Einstein. She focuses on disorders including myasthenia gravis, inflammatory and hereditary myopathy, ALS, autoimmune neuropathies, among others. She runs the monthly EMG/Neuromuscular conference with the residents and a multidisciplinary review of muscle biopsies throughout the year. She also spends time reading EEG in the neurodiagnostic lab. She loves working with students and residents and helping them reaching those “Aha!” moments during their training. In her free time, she enjoys exercise, cooking, and dancing with her daughters.

Daniel Birnbaum, DO

Title: Faculty
Specialty: General Neurology; Epilepsy

Dr. Daniel Birnbaum is a neurologist at Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia, where he leads the epilepsy division and EEG lab. Dr. Birnbaum helped revise the epilepsy curriculum at Einstein. He is interested in using technology to improve efficiency into the workplace and has recently started a project to incorporate automation into the daily work of a physician. Within neurology, he has special interests in the epilepsy and headache subspecialties. He is also the proud father of a baby boy who loves to chase him around the house and is a dedicated body-weight exercise enthusiast. He is always trying find new ways to tackle the greater questions of life and enjoys a collection of podcasts that include conventional and unconventional thinkers like Tim Ferriss and Reid Hoffman.

Christopher Bradley, MD

Title: Faculty
Specialty: General Neurology; Epilepsy

Dr. Christopher Bradley grew up in the mountains of northern New Mexico and was educated in the finest pool halls of Cambridge, MA, and Berkeley, CA. He went to medical school at Emory University in Atlanta and has since had a strong loyalty to Coca-Cola. He completed residency in neurology and epilepsy fellowship at Yale. He then practiced neurology in southern California before returning to Philadelphia for the weather. He enjoys hiking, travelling, cooking, reading and music (classical to punk, and beyond). He lives in the PA countryside in a 1704 farmhouse with his wife, kids, and pets. He enjoys practicing and teaching neurology and is grateful for the patients he has been privileged to treat over his career.

Rabia Choudry, MD

Title: Faculty; Chief of Neurology at EMCM
Specialty: Neuromuscular Disorders; EMG

Einstein is quite literally family for Dr Rabia Choudry. Her uncle was a pharmacist here in the 1980s. Dr Rashad Choudry, her brother, is the Chief of Vascular Surgery at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery; her sister-in-law, Dr Sue Lee, is a hand surgeon with Einstein Orthopedics; and her cousin, Dr Mariam Mahmud has worked with Trappe Pediatric Care, also an Einstein practice. Her interests include peripheral neuropathy, myasthenia gravis, myopathy, and other neuromuscular disorders. Dr Choudry also sees general neurology patients. Dr. Choudry stumbled upon her love for cooking last year. Her favorite recipes include Mongolian beef, cherry jam and air fryer frittatas. She also enjoys cultivating her succulent collection and practicing yoga.

Maria Diaz Rojas, MD

Title: Faculty
Specialty: Vascular Neurology; Stroke

Dr. Diaz Rojas is an Einstein Neurology alumna, class of 2020, and is joining the faculty upon completion of her Vascular Neurology fellowship UT Houston. Her clinical interests are stroke, TIA, endovascular thrombectomy, acute stroke care, carotid disease, intracerebral hemorrhages, PFO and stroke.

"I consider myself privileged to have trained at Einstein Medical Center. Einstein offers a broad spectrum of neurological diseases and it provides a great environment to work and learn. If you train at Einstein, you can work anywhere you want! I love to sing, travel and work out."

Jonathan Dissin, MD

Title: Faculty
Specialty: Stroke; Neuro-Hospitalist; MS

Dr. Dissin is the medical director of our Inpatient services, and spends time with residents on Consult, Inpatient, and Stroke services.

David Hammer, MD

Title: Faculty
Specialty: Epilepsy; Sleep Medicine

David Hammer completed training in Neurology and Sleep Medicine at Boston University Medical Center and Epilepsy fellowship at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. His clinical interests are in epilepsy and sleep medicine including disorders such as narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome. He enjoys working with residents and loves to teach. In his free time, Dr. Hammer’s interests include history, golf, and chess.

Shuai-Chun Lin, MD

Title: Faculty
Specialty: Neuro-Ophthalmology

Dr. Lin’s clinical interests include afferent visual pathway disorders such as optic neuropathies, chiasmal, retrochiasmal, and cortical visual impairment; efferent neuro-ophthalmic disorders such as pupil abnormality, eyelid and eye movement disorders; orbital disorders and systemic disorders with ocular involvement. Dr. Lin completed fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania, after she earned her MD degree from National Yang-Ming University and completed her Ophthalmology residency. She also had extensive clinical and translational research training as a research fellow at Mayo Clinic, University of San Diego and Wills Eye Hospital. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, trying new recipes, spending time with family, biking and kayaking; she also loves yoga and dancing.

Saman Zafar, MD

Title: Faculty
Specialty: Neurophysiology

Dr. Zafar is an Einstein Neurology alumna, class of 2019, and joined the faculty upon completion of her Neurophysiology Fellowship at Cornell, NYC. She attended Rawalpindi Medical College in Pakistan, then practiced as a family medicine physician in Liverpool, England before entering the field of Neurology. Her clinical interest is in epilepsy, and she loves teaching residents and medical students. She also loves spending time with her family, visiting museums and traveling.

Non-Physician Faculty

Patricia Hushen, RN, MSN

Title: Faculty
Specialty: Stroke Program Coordinator

As the nurse leader of our stroke program, Trisha spends a lot of time on the inpatient floors helping the residents with the technicalities of stroke care. Through her thoroughness and expertise, she has led Einstein to achieve the following awards: Get with the Guidelines Gold plus, Target Stroke Honor Roll Elite - Advanced Therapy. She enjoys running, rowing and biking, as well as spending time with her children and grandson.