Faculty and Staff
John Robert Absher, M.D.
| Title: | Professor |
| Medicine | |
| School of Medicine Greenville | |
| E-mail: | john.absher@prismahealth.org |
| Phone: | 864-454-4500 |
| Office: | 200 Patewood Dr. Suite B350 GREENVILLE SC 29615 |
Bio
| Background: | John R. Absher, MD, FAAN, a full-time neurologist at Prisma Health, is Professor of Neurology at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville. He also holds faculty appointments as Clinical Associate Professor in the Clemson University School of Health Research and at the University of South Carolina - Columbia. Dr. Absher is Board Certified in Neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, in Behavioral Neurology by the United Council of Neurological Subspecialties, and in Neuroimaging and Neurosonology by the American Society of Neuroimaging. Dr. Absher serves as a Medical Director for the University of South Carolina Brain Health Network, Director of the Dementia and Neurobehavior Assessment Clinic, and Director of the Structured Neuroimaging-Intensive Research Program which he founded in 2018. Dr. Absher’s research has been supported by intramural and extramural awards, through which he pursues his neuroimaging research interests through a focus on research education, brain health, stroke, and neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Absher serves as the Associate Director for both the Research Education Component Core (University of South Carolina) and the Clinical Core (Clemson University) for the South Carolina Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, a statewide initiative led by MUSC. He also directs the ADRC REC Dementia Seminar Series, which has provided monthly dementia case conferences since January 4, 2018 and weekly seminars since January 18, 2024. Dr. Absher serves as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Neurology – Applied Neuroimaging, and as Section Editor for neurobehavior as part of the editorial board of the Journal of Neuroimaging. He has served the South Carolina Alzheimer’s Association as a Board Member for approximately 20 years. His service to the School of Medicine Greenville includes both leadership and teaching roles, including service as head of the Faculty Development Committee. Dr. Absher received his B.S. degree in Chemistry from Radford University in 1982, and his M.D. degree in 1986 from Virginia Commonwealth University. His postdoctoral training included internship at the University of Maryland at Baltimore, neurology residency at the University of Iowa, and Neurobehavior fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles. Following his fellowship, Dr. Absher became Assistant Professor of Neurology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and earned joint appointments in both the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. While serving as Assistant Professor he helped to establish both the multidisciplinary Dementia and Neurobehavior Clinic and Neurobehavior and Neuropsychiatry Clinic, and completed a General Clinical Research Center Clinical Associate Physician development award. Dr. Absher founded an academic private practice, Absher Neurology, PA, and also founded and led the Alliance for Neuro Research, LLC, before transitioning back into full-time academic practice with Prisma Health and the School of Medicine Greenville. For more information, see https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-r-absher-md-091a42 |
| Teaching Interest(s): | General Neurology, behavioral neurology, dementia, brain health, stroke, neuroimaging, research methods, evidence-based medicine, and quality measurement. |
| Research Interest(s): | Brain morphometry in health and disease, as measured by neuroimaging Brain imaging and clinical data repository development Neurodegenerative diseases and head trauma Cerebrovascular diseases and the relationship of focal brain damage to network dysfunction Neuropsychothalamology |
| Honors & Awards: | Dean's Award Psychiatry Resident Teaching Award Mentor, Donald M. Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum Awardee, Donald M. Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum FAAN Medical Foundation Teaching Scholar Award Medical Foundation Teaching Scholar Award Faculty Foreign Travel Award Lawrence C. McHenry Award Neurology Resident's Day Award Alpha Sigma Chi (Leadership) Virginia Academy of Family Physicians Merit Award Student Honors Day Award American Chemical Society James Lewis Howe Award Omicron Delta Kappa (Leadership) Radford University Outstanding Student Award (Academic) National Science Foundation Research Scholarship Phi Kappa Phi (Academic) |
| Professional Affiliations: | Organization for Human Brain Mapping Member Association for Computing Machinery Member International Network for the Science of Team Science Member American Society of Neuroimaging Member American Academy of Neurology Member Alpha Sigma Chi Member Omicron Delta Kappa Member Phi Kappa Phi Other - Neurocritical Care Society Member American Academy of Physicians and Surgeons Member Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers Member American Medical Association Association of Clinical Research Professionals Member Greenville County Medical Society Member Medical Group Management Association Member South Carolina Medical Association Member American Neuropsychiatric Association Member Behavioral Neurology Society Member Society for Neuroscience Member American Association for the Advancement of Science Member International Society for Neuroimaging in Psychiatry Member Society for Medical Decision Making Member American College of Physicians Member International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War Physicians for Social Responsibility American Medical Student Association American Chemical Society |