Guido J. Falcone, MD, ScD, MPH
Cards
About
Titles
Associate Professor of Neurology
Academic Chief, Division of Neurocritical Care, Neurology; Director of Clinical Research in Neurocritical Care, Neurology; Training Director, Yale/AHA Bugher Center for Intracerebral Hemorrhage Research, Neurology; Staff Neurointensivist, NeurologyBiography
I am a Neurologist with subspecialty training in Neurocritical Care and Stroke, and an Epidemiologist with expertise in Population Genetics and Big Data. While on clinical duties, I treat critically ill patients that have sustained a significant neurological injury due to ischemic stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage, intraparenchymal hemorrhage, traumatic brain injury, seizures, recent neurosurgery, decompensated neuromuscular diseases, and several others.
My research lies at the interphase of clinical neurology, neuroimaging, population genetics and genomic medicine. I am interested in understanding how common and rare genetic variation influences the occurrence, severity, functional outcome and recurrence of stroke, both hemorrhagic and ischemic. Genetic variants influencing these phenotypes can be used for numerous applications, including: (1) identification of novel biological mechanisms involved in causing stroke and determining its severity and outcome, (2) answering non-genetic epidemiological questions using gene mutations as instruments (in the statistical sense of the word), and (3) risk stratification of patients according to their genetic profile. Through the International Stroke Genetics Consortium, I work in close collaboration with numerous investigators interested in stroke genomics from around the world.
Appointments
Neurology
Associate Professor on TermPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Center for Biomedical Data Science
- Center for Brain & Mind Health
- Center for Neuroepidemiology and Clinical Neurological Research
- Neuro Intensive Care & Neurological Emergencies
- Neurology
- Yale Center for Genomic Health
- Yale Medicine
Education & Training
- Board Certification
- United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties, Neurocritical Care (2017)
- Neurocritical Care Fellowship
- Harvard Medical School / Massachusetts General Hospital / Brigham and Women's Hospital (2016)
- SPOTRIAS Fellowship
- Massachusetts General Hospital (2014)
- ScD
- Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology (2014)
- MPH
- Harvard School of Public Health, Quantitative Methods (2010)
- Neurology Residency
- F.L.E.N.I. (2008)
- MD
- University of Buenos Aires School of Medicine (2002)
Research
Academic Achievements and Community Involvement
Clinical Care
Overview
Guido Falcone, MD, ScD, MPH, is a critical care neurologist who treats patients with severe brain injuries from trauma, strokes, hemorrhages, and seizures, among other conditions. “I usually meet patients with these injuries immediately after they come to the hospital,” Dr. Falcone says. He also sees patients suffering from symptoms caused by neuromuscular diseases or complications from brain surgery.
“One important characteristic of our specialty is that many important decisions need to be made in those initial few minutes to hours,” Dr. Falcone says. “We also need to factor in the patient’s wishes, but often they are unconscious and cannot communicate.”
In those cases, Dr. Falcone relies on the patient’s family for guidance. “This can cause a tremendous amount of stress as they carry the huge responsibility of representing their loved ones,” he says.
Dr. Falcone keeps this additional stress in mind when he’s talking with the patient’s family about a diagnosis and what to expect next. “It’s very important for us to be honest and explain to them what we know and don’t know so that this uncertainty can be taken into consideration when we’re making a clinical decision,” he says. Dr. Falcone says he and his colleagues in the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (Neuro ICU) frequently update families on the status of a patient’s condition and progress.
“Something I came to realize after a few years in the field is that we help patients and families all the time. Sometimes, we help them get better,” Dr. Falcone says. “But another important part of our job is to give the very best end-of-life care, with the same approach we use when curing a disease or saving lives, if that is necessary.”
In his research, Dr. Falcone specializes in population genetics and genomic medicine, two related fields that involve analyzing large amounts of data and searching for different variants of genes that might influence human disease. He works with a team that uses information from across disciplines, such as neuroimaging data, for example, to conduct studies. “We want to use data to understand not just what causes disease, but also who is at high risk of developing it,” Dr. Falcone says. “Genes are such a powerful tool in patient care because our genetic information is constant from birth.”
Clinical Specialties
Links & Media
News
- July 05, 2023
Cyprien Rivier, MD, MSc Wins ESOC Young Research Investigator Award in Stroke
- February 08, 2023
Santiago Clocchiatti-Tuozzo, MD Honored with Bernard J. Tyson Career Development Award and Stroke Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Groups Travel Grant
- February 07, 2023
Daniela Renedo, MD Wins American Heart Association Stroke Basic Science Award
- January 31, 2023
Yale Study Links Genetics and Blood Pressure Control in Stroke Survivors