Multiple faculty in the Department of Neurology at the University of Kansas Medical Center were approved for promotion and tenure by University of Kansas Chancellor Douglas A. Girod during the last promotion and tenure cycle. 

Faculty who earned promotion to associate professor are:

• Constantine Farmakidis, M.D.
• Vibhash Sharma, M.D.
• Duaa Jabari, M.D.
• Kimberly Johnson-Hatchett, M.D.

Faculty promoted to professor include:

• Sarah Hon, D.O.
• Carol Ulloa, M.D.

Eric Vidoni, Ph.D., a research associate professor at the University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, earned tenure.

Farmakidis is the associate program director of the clinical neurophysiology fellowship. He lectures medical students and psychiatry residents, and he participates in the neurology residency lecture series. An active researcher in one of the largest neuromuscular medicine clinical trial units in North America, he has been the principal investigator or sub-investigator on multiple clinical trials. He gives patient education presentations through the local area. Farmakidis also is co-director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinic at The University of Kansas Health System.

Sharma is a highly specialized movement disorder expert with experience in Deep Brain Stimulation, a technique that treats advanced Parkinson’s Disease, tremors and other movement disorders. In addition to lecturing neurology residents, medical students and physical medicine and rehabilitation residents, Sharma has mentored fellows on their research projects. He has 21 published research manuscripts and actively serves as a sub-investigator on several pharma-sponsored clinical trials. He also is a frequent lecturer at local patient and caregiver symposiums on Parkinson’s disease. 

A neuromuscular specialist with unique skills and a strong regional reputation, Jabari is the associate program director for the neuromuscular medicine fellowship. He provides formal didactics for neurology residents as well as formal presentations for clinical neurophysiology and neuromuscular medicine fellows. Jabari also provides clinical instruction to fellows, residents and medical students rotating in the neuromuscular clinic, and he has served as a mentor to four learners on their research projects. He has been a principal investigator or sub-investigator on multiple primarily pharma-sponsored clinical trials.

Johnson-Hatchett, who holds a voluntary faculty appointment with the department, is a strong bedside instructor for neurology and internal medicine students at the Kansas City Veteran’s Administration Medical Center. She also is chief of medicine at the Kansas City VA. Johnson-Hatchett has given several community presentations and is credited with two published research abstracts, one oral presentation and three research poster presentations.

Hon, who previously served as volunteer clinical faculty with the department, joined the faculty full-time in June. She also is a general neurologist and vice president of the Neuroscience Service Line at The University of Kansas Health System. In addition to practicing for more than 23 years, she is an active teacher, including hosting KU and Kansas City University of the Biosciences neurology clerkship students. Hon has served nationally on multiple committees for the American Academy of Neurology. Locally, she is president-elect of the Kansas City Clinical Neuroscience Society.  

A nationally recognized epilepsy specialist, Ulloa is chief of the department’s Epilepsy Division. She is an active clinical instructor, leading weekly epilepsy surgery conferences that include epilepsy and clinical neurophysiology fellows. She mentors and advises students, including neurology residents. Ulloa was chosen by the American Academy of Neurology to participate in its Diversity Leadership Program, and she also spearheaded the first Healthcare Disparities Assembly at KU Medical Center. She is a co-investigator on multiple epilepsy clinical trials, and she is credited with six peer-reviewed publications and 11 research poster presentations.    

Vidoni leads the Outreach, Recruitment and Education Core at the University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. In that role, he helps provide community education on dementia and works to increase the number of participants in KU ADRC clinical trials. The recruitment strategies he developed are now a model for large-scale academic clinical trial recruitment. He also created and co-directs the Kansas Aging and Dementia Training Pipeline, a program that supports aspiring researchers from undergraduate though junior faculty status. In addition to authoring or co-authoring more than 100 published research manuscripts, Vidoni actively mentors and advises learners.

The six neurology faculty who were promoted and the one faculty member who earned tenure were among 110 individuals at KU Medical Center campuses who were approved by the chancellor. The promotions were effective July 1.