Cheryl Bushnell

Dr. Bushnell completed her neurology residency training, stroke research fellowship, and graduate degree in clinical research at Duke University.  After 6 years on faculty in the Duke Division of Neurology, she joined the Neurology faculty at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in October 2007.  After serving as medical director of the Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Stroke Center and Stroke Section Chief for 9 years, she is currently Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Neurology.  Clinically, she is passionate about both inpatient and outpatient stroke treatment across the continuum, especially the transition of post-acute care and secondary prevention.  Her research spans women’s issues related to stroke, including sex differences in risk and outcomes, and was the chair of the first AHA Guideline for the Prevention of Stroke in Women.  She was co-PI of COMprehensive Post-Acute Stroke Service (COMPASS) Study, a pragmatic clinical trial funded by Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, which compared a holistic, patient-centered post-acute stroke model of care vs usual care in 41 hospitals across North Carolina.  Building on COMPASS, she is the PI for one of the first PCORI-funded Phased Large Awards for Comparative Effectiveness Research (PLACER) awards ($30 million) to compare telehealth management (home monitoring plus lifestyle coaching) vs clinic management to reach target goals for blood pressure 6 months after discharge.  She is also the writing group chair of the updated AHA/ASA 2024 Primary Prevention of Stroke Guidelines.  In October 2024, she became the Executive Director of the Advocate Health Comprehensive Stroke Program with WFUSOM as the academic core.  She is also Director of the Center for Transformative Stroke Care, which will address access and disparities in stroke care through research.