
Michelle C. Johansen, MD, PhD
Vascular Neurology
- Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty
About Michelle C. Johansen
Primary Academic Title
Associate Professor of Neurology
Background
Neurologist Michelle C. Johansen specializes in prevention and treatment of stroke. She is the inaugural Guy McKhann Associate Professor of Neurology — the title was established in honor of the founder of the Johns Hopkins Department of Neurology.
Dr. Johansen’s research and clinical interests focus on stroke etiology and vascular contributions to cognitive decline. She studies the intersection between the brain and the heart, specifically how changes in the heart’s structure and function point toward the cause of stroke and impact brain health, including cognition.
She received the American Stroke Association’s Vascular Cognitive Impairment Award for her work showing that myocardial infarction is associated with acute and progressive decline in cognition, the American Academy of Neurology’s A.B. Baker Teacher Recognition Award and the Johns Hopkins Department of Neurology’s Clinical Faculty Brain Award for excellence in teaching. She has received multiple grants to fund her research from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute on Aging and the American Heart Association.
Dr. Johansen’s work has been published in many high-ranking medical journals such as The Journal of the American Medical Association, and she has been interviewed as an expert for news outlets such as CNN and Medical News Today, as well as for webinars and podcasts. She is a member of the American Neurological Association and chair of its Education Innovation Committee, and she is a fellow of the American Heart Association.
She received her medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia, where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, and she earned a postdoctoral degree in clinical investigation from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Johansen completed a medicine internship and neurology residency at the University of Virginia, followed by a clinical fellowship in cerebrovascular neurology at Johns Hopkins. She joined the Johns Hopkins Department of Neurology faculty in 2017.
The Johansen Lab: johansenlab.org
Videos
Research Interests
Cardioembolic Stroke, Stroke, Cerebrovascular Disease
Research Summary
Dr. Johansen’s research interest lie in the heart brain connection, specifically with regards to earlier diagnosis and ultimately prevention of cardioembolic stroke. Current research efforts focus on characterizing and then utilizing cardiac anatomy in ischemic stroke patients to improve stroke subtype diagnosis, codify risk of stroke recurrence and describe patient functional outcomes.
Selected Publications
Chapman, S. N., Mehndiratta, P., Johansen, M. C., McMurry, T. L., Johnston, K. C., & Southerland, A. M. (2014). Current perspectives on the use of intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) for treatment of acute ischemic stroke. Vascular health and risk management, 10, 75.
Erich L. Kiehl, M.D.,Alex M. Parker, M.D., Ralph M. Matar, M.D.,Matthew M. Gottbrecht, M.D., Michelle C. Johansen, M.D., Mark P. Adams, R.N., Lori A. Griffiths, R.N., Katherine L. Bidwell, Pharm.D. Venugopal Menon, M.D., Kyle B. Enfield, M.D., Lawrence W. Gimple, M.D. C-GRApH: A Validated Scoring System For The Early Stratification Of Neurologic Outcomes After Out-of- hospital. Journal of the American Heart Association. 10.1161/JAHA.115.003821.
Courses & Syllabi
American Academy of Neurology Podcast-Lessons of the Week Series and Breaking Research segments, 1/1/13 - 12/30/15
Honors
- Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Society
- Robert F Byrd Scholarship
- Golden Key Honor Society
- KL2 Young Investigator Grant, 1/1/17
- American Heart Association Mentored Clinical and Population Research Grant, 1/1/16
- American College of Medical Quality; Quality Scholar, 1/1/16
- University of Virginia Colligan Quality Improvement Grant, 1/1/14
- Department of Neuroscience Award for Excellence in Clinical Neurology, 1/1/11
Lectures & Presentations
- American College of Medical Quality, Quality Scholar, "Targeting Stroke in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab through creation of the Aldrete-FAST Score: Preliminary results of a prospective quality improvement project", Lab, 1/1/15
- HEAD Talks: Ideas in Neurology Worth Sharing; "Overcoming irrational fear: Utilization of IV tPa in low NIHSS patients.", Presentation, 1/1/16
- International Stroke Conference Junior Investigator proposal, "FAST-PC: The Feasibility of Using the Aldrete-FAST Screening Tool to Detect Stroke in Post Cardiac Catheterization Setting", Proposal
- Johns Hopkins High Value Research Symposium, "Paradigm shift: Utilization of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in Johns Hopkins Acute Stroke Care" accepted for presentation, presentation, Johns Hopkins, 1/1/16
Memberships
- American Heart Association/American Stroke Association
- American Academy of Neurology
- Alpha Omega Alpha
- American College of Medical Quality
- American Chemical Society
- American College of Physicians
- Cavalier Varsity Athletic Alumni Association
- Gold Key Honor Society
Professional Activities
- American Heart Association, Peer Reviewed Journal Subject Expert Reviewer, 1/1/17
- Circulation, Peer Reviewed Journal Subject Expert Reviewer, 8/1/16
- Neurology, Peer Reviewed Journal Subject Expert Reviewer, 5/1/16
- PlosOne, Peer Reviewed Journal Subject Expert Reviewer, 5/1/16
- Stroke, Peer Reviewed Journal Subject Expert Reviewer, 1/1/16
Locations
- Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center
- 601 North Caroline Street, Floor 5, Baltimore, MD 21287
- phone: 410-955-9441
- fax: 410-955-6402
Expertise
Education
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Graduate School, Clinical Investigation, PhD, 2020Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Fellowship, Vascular Neurology, 2017University of Virginia School of Medicine
Residency, Neurology, 2015Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Medical Education, Medicine, MD, 2011Board Certifications
Vascular Neurology
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 2016Neurology
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 2015Insurance
- Aetna
- CareFirst
- Cigna
- First Health
- Geisinger Health Plan
- HealthSmart/Accel
- Humana
- Johns Hopkins Health Plans
- MultiPlan
- Pennsylvania's Preferred Health Networks (PPHN)
- Point Comfort Underwriters
- Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS)
- UnitedHealthcare
- Veteran Affairs Community Care Network (Optum-VACCN)