UF neurologist Michael S. Jaffee, MD, an expert in brain injury and sleep medicine, has been named chair of the UF College of Medicine’s department of neurology.

He succeeds Michael Okun, MD, who has served as the department’s chair since 2015 and will continue as a practicing neurologist, faculty member and executive director of the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases at UF Health. Jaffee, the Bob Paul Family Professor of Neurology, has served as the department’s vice chair since coming to UF in 2016.

“I look forward to building on the wonderful foundation and momentum that Dr. Okun has established,” Jaffee said. “Our faculty members have an amazing combination of expertise, passion and a drive to collaborate, and when you put that all together, it creates a culture that allows us to provide the highest quality of care, research and education.”

The department recently experienced vast growth, expanding into all subspecialties of neurology, guided by Okun’s principle that the patient is the sun and teams of care providers and researchers should orbit around them. The department now boasts 15 specialty fellowships and is committed to educational excellence at every level, Jaffee said.

Jaffee is the founding director of UF’s Brain Injury, Rehabilitation and Neuroresilience Center and is board-certified in neurology, psychiatry, sleep medicine and brain injury medicine, with additional certifications in behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry. Much of his career focus has been on developing multidisciplinary strategies for assessment and management of traumatic brain injury.