Brenda Banwell, M.D., has been named pediatrician-in-chief and co-director of Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. She also serves as director of the Department of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Banwell began in the position on Sept. 1, 2024. 

In her role with the Children’s Center, Banwell will collaborate closely with David Hackam, M.D., Ph.D., pediatric surgeon-in-chief, to help manage the hospital’s multifaceted clinical and research centers.

Banwell joins Johns Hopkins from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she served as chief of the Division of Neurology and co-director for both the Neuroscience Center and the Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroinflammatory Clinic. She was also a professor of neurology and pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

As a renowned expert in the research and treatment of pediatric multiple sclerosis and other neuroimmune disorders, Banwell specializes in and studies the use of neuroimaging to assess the clinical and cognitive impact of the conditions, as well as the function of the immune system in children with these disorders.   

“We are delighted to have Dr. Banwell join the Johns Hopkins Medicine family,” says Theodore L. DeWeese, M.D., dean of the medical faculty and chief executive officer of Johns Hopkins Medicine. “Dr. Banwell’s extensive experience as a leader in the field of pediatric neurology, as well as a physician-scientist and educator, makes her well-suited to lead the nationally ranked Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.”

Among Banwell’s many honors, she received the Department of Neurology Research Award from the Mayo Clinic, serves as chair of the International Medical and Scientific Board for the MS International Federation and is chair of the International Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Study Group and the Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody–associated Disease (MOGAD) International Research Consortium. Additionally, she serves as chair of the pediatric committee of the National Institutes of Health NeuroNEXT program, which conducts studies on treatments for neurological diseases through academic, private and industry collaborations. Banwell has published more than 250 manuscripts, and has given over 200 invited lectureships or visiting professorships nationally and internationally.

“Dr. Banwell brings an exceptional mix of experience and expertise to the Children’s Center and our health system,” says Kevin Sowers, M.S.N., R.N., F.A.A.N., president of the Johns Hopkins Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine. “She will lead the Children’s Center, along with Dr. Hackam, building on its world-class foundation and taking it to a new level to provide the best care possible for our pediatric patients.”

Banwell earned her medical degree from the University of Western Ontario. She completed a pediatrics residency at the University of Western Ontario and a pediatric neurology residency at the University of Toronto – The Hospital for Sick Children, followed by a fellowship in neuromuscular research at the Mayo Clinic.  

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Johns Hopkins Children’s Center

Get to Know Dr. Banwell, The New Co-Director of Johns Hopkins Children’s Center