Neurology

Neurology is a specialty dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of nervous system disorders. Neurologists care for patients with a wide variety of disorders, including epilepsy, dementia, headaches, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, sleep disorders, and infection or injury to the brain or spinal cord.

Our Experts

Iris Alicia Brossard, MD, is a graduate of Hunter College of CUNY and earned her medical degree from Albany Medical College, Albany, N.Y. She completed an internal medicine internship at Albany Medical Center, a residency at the University of Colorado Department of Neurology, and a fellowship in electroencephalography and epilepsy at the University of Massachusetts at Worchester Medical Center. She joined Horizon Neurology –UPMC in 2003.

Dr. Brossard is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She previously practiced with The Neuroscience Center, Idaho Falls, Idaho; Emporia Street Neurology/Med Law Consultants, PA, Wichita, Kan.; Wichita Clinic, PA, Wichita; and Lackawanna Medical Group, Scranton, Pa. Dr. Brossard also was a clinical assistant professor of Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, and Behavioral Science at the University of Kansas Medical School, Wichita.

A member of the American Academy of Neurology, Dr. Brossard has served as associate investigator in several research studies relating to neurology.

Dr. Brossard sees children ages two and older and programs the vagal nerve stimulator for epilepsy.

Michael K. Matthews Jr., MD, PhD, earned an undergraduate degree in psychology and a doctorate in biological psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. He earned his medical degree from the University of Nebraska School of Medicine. His post-graduate training includes a post-doctoral fellowship with the North Carolina Department of Human Resources; Department of Mental Health, Division of Research; and Department of Zoology through North Carolina State University; a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Nebraska Medical Center; a medical internship and a neurology residency at Albany Medical Center; and a behavioral neurology fellowship at Boston University School of Medicine.

A general and behavioral neurologist and a biological psychologist, Dr. Matthews joined
Horizon Neurology – UPMC in 2000. Behavioral neurology interests include medical ethics, dementia, head injury, recovery of function, aphasia, neurology-psychiatry liaison, frontal lobe disorders, combined pharmacotherapy, and neurobehavioral management of chronic problems such as headache and cognitive prostheses.

Dr. Matthews is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, including the Geriatric Neurology, Behavioral Neurology, and A.B. Baker sections; the Pennsylvania Medical Society; the Mercer County Medical Society; the Behavioral Neurology Society; and the University of Pittsburgh Center for Philosophy of Science. He is a diplomate of
the National Board of Medical Examiners and is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Before joining UPMC Horizon, Dr. Matthews was an assistant professor of psychology at Yankton College, Yankton, S.D., and an assistant and associate professor of neurology at MCP-Hahnemann School of Medicine, Allegheny University of the Health Sciences, Philadelphia. He also was an independent practitioner in behavioral neurology at the
UPMC Shadyside Center for Complementary Medicine and medical director for the Institute for Cognitive Prosthetics, Bala Cynwyd, Pa.

Dr. Matthews has served as the principal investigator or co-investigator on several research studies and has published many papers, abstracts, and articles relating to behavior and neurology. He sees patients ages 18 and older.