James McNamara, MD
James McNamara, MD, chair of the Duke Department of Neurobiology, is a professor of neurobiology, pharmacology, and neurology. He is nationally known for his research into epileptogenesis, the process by which a normal brain becomes epileptic.
McNamara earned his undergraduate degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee and his MD degree from the University of Michigan. He served his internship and residency at the University of Michigan Hospital, then worked as a neurologist at the U.S. Army Hospital in Fort Hood, Texas, before coming to Duke in 1973 as the chief resident in neurology.
Progressing through the academic ranks at Duke, McNamara became a professor of medicine in neurology in 1985. He also served as director of the Epilepsy Center of the Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center and founded the Duke Center for the Advanced Study of Epilepsy. He was named chair of the Duke Department of Neurobiology in 2002.
McNamara has delivered numerous lectures and is the author of more than 125 scientific papers related to his research into the mechanisms by which a normal brain becomes epileptic. He is a member of the editorial board of Neuron and has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including two Jacob Javits Neuroscience Investigator awards from the National Institutes of Health and the research recognition award from the American Epilepsy Society.
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