Edward Valenstein, MD

Edward Valenstein, MD, was born in New York City on December 19, 1942. Being a talented artist and musician, he went to the High School of Music and Art in New York City. He then graduated from Harvard College and received his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In 1968, he joined the residency program at the Harvard Neurological Unit at Boston City Hospital with Norman Geschwind as his primary mentor. After discharge from the Army, he joined the faculty at Dartmouth School of Medicine. In 1974, he was recruited to the University of Florida College of Medicine (UF-COM), and remained in Gainesville, Florida, until he retired in 2010.

As a brilliant clinician, Ed knew and understood the scientific foundations of medicine. He considered caring for patients a privilege and combined empathy for his patients with wonderful communication skills. He was a listener, and after making a patient feel comfortable, he obtained a detailed history and performed exemplary examinations. As a brilliant thinker, he would merge his patient’s history and examination with his vast knowledge to develop precise and logical diagnostic and therapeutic plans. On those rare occasions when there was something he did not know, he would use all resources to find the answer.

Ed was also a dedicated educator. Students and residents observed how well he took care of patients, and he could explain complex problems clearly. He took interest in each student and resident with whom he worked. He loved being a neurologist and this love invited students’ and residents’ curiosity and engendered excitement. As well as teaching behavioral neurology and clinical neurophysiology, he served as the Program Director of the UF-COM Neurology Residency Program for several decades and was able to attract and mentor many wonderful residents.

As residents, Ed Valenstein and Ken Heilman started conducting research. One of their first articles1 reported that injury to the lateral frontal lobe or anterior cingulate gyrus caused a neglect syndrome. Based on these observations, they described the neural network that allows humans to attend to relevant stimuli. Neurology® selected this article2 as one of the 2 most influential behavioral neurology articles. Thereafter, Dr. Valenstein, together with Bob Watson, Ken Heilman, and others, performed and published many exciting neurobehavioral studies about neglect, episodic memory, emotional communication, apraxia, and other disorders. For example, he authored an important article demonstrating that injury to the retrosplenial cortex induces impaired episodic memory.3 Ed also cowrote and coedited 5 editions of Clinical Neuropsychology,4 considered by many reviewers as the “classic” behavioral neurology/neuropsychology text.

When Mel Greer retired as Chair of Neurology at UF-COM in 2002, Ed took this position. Mel was a “hard act to follow,” but under Ed’s kind and patient leadership, the Department flourished. His philosophy was not “what can you do for me” but rather “how can we help”…with your career, patient care, education, and research. His leadership helped to make his Department one of the best in the nation.

After he retired from the UF-COM in 2010, he and his wife Candace moved to Tallahassee to be near their son Noah, daughter-in-law Jen, and future granddaughter, Ava. They also frequently traveled to North Carolina to be with their other son, Aaron, and daughter-in-law Becca. After moving to Tallahassee, Bob Watson invited Ed to join the faculty at Florida State University College of Medicine to teach and mentor medical students. Ed had lived with a malignancy for many years, but even as his illness progressed, he continued doing what he loved—teaching. On March 8, 2013, this cancer took his life.

Ed was a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. In addition to his contributions to patient care, research, and education, he was an irreplaceable friend to many. This humble but brilliant man’s important contributions will be immortal, and he will be deeply missed by all who were blessed to know him.