Ariane Lewis, MD

The brain is the most exciting organ, because it controls who we are, how we feel, and what we do. My interest in the brain and my passion for caring for people led me to become a neurologist.

As the director of NYU Langone’s Division of Neurocritical Care, I treat patients who are critically ill due to brain, spine, and nerve conditions. Some patients are admitted to the neurointensive care unit to manage blood pressure after a stroke. Others have difficulty breathing due to a complication of myasthenia gravis, a condition that causes muscle weakness, or Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disorder in which the immune system damages nerves. Still others may experience weakness due to spinal cord compression or persistent seizures, known as status epilepticus.

I work closely with patients and their families to establish treatment goals. I aim to give each patient the best possible outcome.

My interests include quality improvement in neurocritical care and social, ethical, and legal issues related to end-of-life care. At NYU Langone, I am a member of the Ethics Committee. I am also a member of the Ethics, Law, and Humanities Committee—a joint committee of the American Academy of Neurology, American Neurological Association, and Child Neurology Society—and a past chair of the Neurocritical Care Society’s Ethics Committee.

I was selected to be a fellow of the Neurocritical Care Society based on my clinical and academic leadership in the field. In addition, I received NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Innovator Award for Teaching Excellence for incorporating simulation in neurology education. I also received the Department of Neurology Innovator Award for my leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I am deputy editor of Seminars in Neurology and a deputy editor of the “Disputes and Debates” section of Neurology. In addition, I have served as the guest editor of Neurosurgical Focus and the AMA Journal of Ethics.