Michelle C. Johansen, MD

Write a Review410-955-9441

Neurologist Michelle C. Johansen specializes in prevention and treatment of stroke. She is the inaugural Guy McKhann Associate Professor of Neurology — the title was established in honor of the founder of the Johns Hopkins Department of Neurology. Dr. Johansen’s research and clinical interests focus on stroke etiology and vascular contributions to cognitive decline. She studies the intersection between the brain and the heart, specifically how changes in the heart’s structure and function point toward the cause of stroke and impact brain health, including cognition.  She received the American Stroke Association’s Vascular Cognitive Impairment Award for her work showing that myocardial infarction is associated with acute and progressive decline in cognition, the American Academy of Neurology’s A.B. Baker Teacher Recognition Award and the Johns Hopkins Department of Neurology’s Clinical Faculty Brain Award for excellence in teaching. She has received multiple grants to fund her research from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute on Aging and the American Heart Association. Dr. Johansen’s work has been published in many high-ranking medical journals such as The Journal of the American Medical Association, and she has been interviewed as an expert for news outlets such as CNN and Medical News Today, as well as for webinars and podcasts. She is a member of the American Neurological Association and chair of its Education Innovation Committee, and she is a fellow of the American Heart Association. She received her medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia, where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, and she earned a postdoctoral degree in clinical investigation from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Johansen completed a medicine internship and neurology residency at the University of Virginia, followed by a clinical fellowship in cerebrovascular neurology at Johns Hopkins. She joined the Johns Hopkins Department of Neurology faculty in 2017. The Johansen Lab: johansenlab.org