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Debra E. Roberts, M.D., Ph.D.
UR Medicine Faculty The University of Rochester Medical Faculty Group (URMFG) consists of over 900 specialist and primary care providers spanning 19 departments. URMFG is certified by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.
Accountable Health Partner Accountable Health Partners (AHP) is a network of over 2,000 community and UR medical faculty and a dozen leading hospitals throughout the region. AHP offers a full range of care.
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About Me

Professional Background

Debra Roberts, MD, PhD is Assistant Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Medicine and serves at University of Rochester Medical Center in the NeuroMedical ICU. Dr. Roberts earned a BA with honors in Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware and an MD, PhD at Boston University School of ...
Debra Roberts, MD, PhD is Assistant Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Medicine and serves at University of Rochester Medical Center in the NeuroMedical ICU. Dr. Roberts earned a BA with honors in Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware and an MD, PhD at Boston University School of Medicine. Her PhD thesis focused on normal aging of the non-human primate hypothalamus and the effects of orexin on activity cycles in aging. She undertook her clinical training at Washington University in St. Louis, including an internal medicine internship, neurology residency, and neurocritical care fellowship. After completing fellowship, Dr. Roberts joined the NeuroMedical ICU at the University of Rochester.

Dr. Roberts is board certified in Neurology and Neurocritical Care. She has special interests in quality and process improvement in Neurocritical Care, as well as prevention of in-hospital complications in critically ill patients.

Faculty Appointments

Associate Professor - Department of Neurology, Neuro Critical Care (SMD)

Associate Professor - Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (SMD) - Joint

Associate Professor - Department of Neurosurgery (SMD) - Joint

Credentials

Residency & Fellowship

Fellowship, Neurology, Washington University Dept of Ophthalmology-GME. 2013 - 2015

Residency, Neurology, Barnes Jewish Hospital. 2010 - 2013

Internship, Internal Medicine, Barnes Jewish Hospital. 2009 - 2010

Education

MD | Boston University School of Medicine. 2009

Awards

Medical Center Board Excellence Award for Trauma Team. 2020

A.B. Baker Teacher Recognition Award. 2019

Greater Rochester Quality Council Silver Award for Operations Excellence – for UPP team work. 2018 - 2018

Lean Performance Excellence Award, Gold, Innovative Thinker. 2018

Neurology Faculty Teaching Award, University of Rochester Medical Center. 2018

Presidential Citation, Neurocritical Care Society. 2018

Emergency Medicine Department Award for Excellence in Teaching by Off-Service Physician. 2017

812 UPP Team Based Quality Improvement Award. 2017

Excellence Award for Physician granted by University of Rochester Medical Center Board. 2016

MD-PhD Deans Scholarship. 2000 - 2009

Richard M. Johnson, Jr. Memorial Award for outstanding junior in the biologic sciences. 1999

Charles Peter White Fellowship, monetary award for undergraduate research. 1999

Beta Beta Beta, Biological Honor Society. 1998 - 2000

Beta Beta Beta, Biological Honor Society, Chapter President. 1998 - 2000

Golden Key National Honor Society. 1998

Science and Engineering Scholar, monetary award for outstanding junior in the biological sciences. 1998

First Year Honor's Certificate. 1997

Alpha Lambda Delta, Freshman Honor Society. 1997

Dean's List. 1996 - 2000

Publications

Journal Articles

Risk factors and associated complications with unplanned intubation in patients with craniotomy for brain tumor.

Li YI, Ventura N, Towner JE, Li K, Roberts DE, Li YM

Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia.. 2020 March 73 :37-41. Epub 02/05/2020.

Go Bag" for external ventricular drain placement.

Rahmani R, Houk C, Gargan C, Paulzak A, Fodness J, Roberts.

D. Minimizing door to treatment time:

Cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage: Is more endovascular therapy the answer?

Roberts D, Nourollah-Zadeh E

Neurology.. 2019 July 3093 (5):192-193. Epub 07/05/2019.

Continuous EEG monitoring predicts a clinically meaningful recovery among adult inpatients

Clin Neurophysiol. 2019; 36(5): 358-364.

Saran JS, Hussain AH, Papadakos PJ, Roberts D.

Cerebral fat embolism syndrome. 2019. In

Post-Acute Care Discharge Delay for Neurology Inpatients: Opportunity to Improve Patient Flow. Neurology Clinical Practice. In Press.

Roberts DE, Holloway RG, George BP.

Neurology Clinical Practice. 2018; .

Post-Acute Care Discharge Delay for Neurology Inpatients: Opportunity to Improve Patient Flow

Roberts DE, Holloway RG, George BP.

Neurology Clinical Practice. 2018; .

Evaluation of Long-Term Cryostorage of Brain Tissue Sections for Quantitative Histochemistry.

Estrada LI, Robinson AA, Amaral AC, Giannaris EL, Heyworth NC, Mortazavi F, Ngwenya LB, Roberts DE, Cabral HJ, Killiany RJ, Rosene DL

The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry : official journal of the Histochemistry Society.. 2017 March 65 (3):153-171. Epub 01/12/2017.

Redi Rahmani, Debra E. Roberts, Tarun Bhalla, Use of Intraventricular Alteplase in a Patient with Moyamoya and Acute Intraventricular Hemorrhage: A Case Report. American Journal of Interventional Radiology. 2017. 1(5)

Use of Intraventricular Alteplase in a Patient with Moyamoya and Acute Intraventricular Hemorrhage. 2017; 1(5).

Neuron numbers in the hypothalamus of the normal aging rhesus monkey: stability across the adult lifespan and between the sexes.

Roberts DE, Killiany RJ, Rosene DL

The Journal of comparative neurology.. 2012 April 15520 (6):1181-97. Epub 1900 01 01.

Development of rhythmic melatonin secretion from the pineal gland of embryonic mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus).

Roberts DE, Okimoto DK, Parsons C, Straume M, and Stetson MH.

Journal of Experimental Zoology. 2003; 296A: 56-62.

Books

Practice of Neurocritical Care 2nd Ed. (2021)

Chapter: Quality Care Metrics

Authors: Olm-Shipman C and Roberts DE.

Publisher: Neurocritical Care Society 2021

Critical Care Medicine: A Clinical Casebook (2019)

Chapter: Management of Intracranial Hypertension and Status Epilepticus. Adult

Authors: Begley C and Roberts DE.

Publisher: Springer Switzerland 2019

Mechanical Ventilation in Critically Ill Cancer Patients (2018)

Chapter: Mechanical Ventilation after Neurosurgery

Authors: Roberts D and Szalados JE.

Publisher: Springer 2018

Adult Critical Care Medicine: A Clinical Casebook (2017)

Chapter: Management of Intracranial Hypertension and Status Epilepticus.

Authors: Begley C and Roberts DE.

Publisher: Springer 2017

Current Concepts in Adult Critical Care (2017)

Chapter: Management of Neuro-ICU Emergencies

Authors: Roberts DE.

Publisher: Society for Critical Care Medicine 2017

Ratings & Reviews

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