Hal Blumenfeld, MD, PhD

Hal Blumenfeld, MD, PhD, is a neurologist at Yale Medicine specializing in epilepsy. He is also the director of the Clinical Neuroscience Imaging Center at Yale School of Medicine.

Dr. Blumenfeld’s interest in the brain and consciousness began in college, where he majored in philosophy. He then studied medicine at Columbia University and completed his neurology residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. He arrived at Yale University in 1996 for his fellowship, where he was mentored by neurologists Susan and Dennis Spencer and has remained on the faculty ever since.

As a physician, Dr. Blumenfeld has a lot of empathy for his patients. “I think that one of the most important things about medicine is really trying to understand things from the patient’s viewpoint and to really care about what our patients are feeling,” he says.

Epilepsy patients in particular face unique challenges because their seizures are unpredictable and can have a severe impact on their lives. These episodes can be frightening, and Dr. Blumenfeld views his role of a physician as one who gives people back a sense of control by reducing seizures and minimizing treatment side effects.

To that end, Dr. Blumenfeld’s focus when working with patients is on developing the right treatment plan. He understands that each patient is unique and will react differently to medications and procedures.

In addition to seeing patients, Dr. Blumenfeld conducts research on treatments to restore consciousness during and after seizures for epilepsy patients. He is also the Mark Loughridge and Michele Williams Professor of Neurology, Professor of Neuroscience and of Neurosurgery at the Yale School of Medicine.