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Bautista named chair of neurology

Ramon Bautista, MD, MBA, has been with UF Health since 2000.

Ramon Bautista, MD, MBA, a pioneer in epilepsy care, has been named chair of neurology at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville, effective Jan. 1, 2020. He is taking over for Alan Berger, MD, who has chaired the department for 25 years.

Bautista, a professor of neurology who joined UF Health in 2000, has played an essential role in the growth of the department of neurology. He established the first National Association of Epilepsy Centers-certified level 4 epilepsy program in Jacksonville, developing a multispecialty, collaborative program that enables UF Health to offer state-of-the-art epilepsy care.

Today, UF Health’s epilepsy program in Northeast Florida cares for more than 5,000 patients, with a catchment area extending from South Georgia and the Florida Panhandle to Central Florida. The program serves as a study site for many epilepsy clinical trials and has been recognized as the leading national site for study recruitment.

Bautista has played a vital role in the educational mission of the department of neurology. He has been the medical clerkship director since 2009 and served as associate program director of the neurology residency program from 2010 to 2014. He has received numerous teaching awards and has been a finalist for outstanding teacher of the year.

As associate chair of neurology, Bautista has been intimately involved in many of the decisions related to the department’s operations, such as its conversion to the electronic health record. Bautista has represented the Jacksonville campus on multiple college and university committees, including as president of the Faculty Council and faculty senator for the University of Florida. Nationally, he has served on the steering committees of the National Quality Forum, the National Associate of Epilepsy Centers and the American Academy of Neurology. 

Bautista received his medical degree from the University of the Philippines and completed residency training at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. He also completed a fellowship in epilepsy at Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut and a fellowship in clinical neurophysiology at Emory University in Atlanta.  

“UF Health is privileged to have Dr. Bautista as the new chair of neurology at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville. We anticipate great departmental accomplishments as he assumes his new role,” said Leon L. Haley Jr., MD, MHSA, dean of the college and CEO of UF Health Jacksonville. “Meanwhile, we thank Dr. Berger for his many years of leadership, as he has helped position the department as a regional and national leader in the neurosciences.” 

Featured Faculty

Ramon E. Bautista, MD, MBA

Ramon E. Bautista, MD, MBA

Professor - Phyllis Sohn Chair of Neuroscience
Chair, Department of Neurology; Medical Director, Epilepsy Care Center