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Robert E. Hoesch, M.D., Ph.D.

Chief, Division of Neurocritical Care

Specialties

Languages

  • English

Bio

Robert E. Hoesch, MD, PhD oversees the care of patients in University Hospital’s state-of-the art Neuro Critical Care Unit (NCCU) as well as direct the unit’s daily operations. The unit was expanded to 23 beds in 2009, is one of the largest NCCUs in the western US, and is the only intensive care unit in the region fully dedicated to the care of neurological patients and staffed with physicians and nurses specially trained in the care of patients with brain, spine, and nervous system diseases.

In addition to his duties in the NCCU, Dr. Hoesch plays a central role in the training of Neurology and Neurosurgery residents and fellows in the NCCU and in addition to fortifying the continued advanced training of the NCCU nursing staff. Recognizing the unique role that University Hospital plays in the region, Dr. Hoesch has goals to support patients with neurological conditions in other hospitals in the region.

Dr. Hoesch’s research focuses on the brain’s ability to recover from injury with a special focus on understanding the molecular mechanisms of motor learning in the brain. Robert Hoesch has both translational and clinical neuroscience research interests. In the lab, his research is focused on developing and characterizing a model of motor learning in mice. As part of this characterization, he uses in situ hybridization of immediate early gene expression to localize the synaptogenesis responsible for the learning. Using this model, he intends to study how motor learning occurs after brain injury, such as stroke and traumatic brain injury, and to develop new therapeutic interventions to ameliorate motor disability. His clinical research focuses on technology development and treatment for neurological emergencies in the Neurosciences Critical Care Unit and the treatment of medical consequences of critical neurological illness.

Before joining the Department of Neurology at the University of Utah, Dr. Hoesch was an Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He completed an internship on the Osler Medical Service, a residency in Neurology, and a fellowship in Neurosciences Critical Care at Johns Hopkins. In addition to his fellowship training, Dr. Hoesch also received specialized training in the diagnosis and management of patients with acute and chronic hydrocephalus and intracranial hypertension. Dr. Hoesch completed his MD and PhD (cellular neurophysiology) at the University of Maryland in 2004.

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Board Certification and Academic Information

Academic Departments Neurology - Assistant Professor
Academic Divisions Neurocritical Care
Board Certification American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology