Our Expert Team
Find your care
Our specialists offer the full range of inpatient and outpatient stroke and vascular neurology services.
To learn more, please call 310-794-1195.
The Faces of UCLA Neurology's Stroke Center
Our stroke specialists (vascular neurologists) are experts in advanced treatments for stroke and other cerebrovascular conditions.
They continually research, innovate and implement the latest techniques in stroke care.
Directors
Jeffrey L. Saver, MD, FAHA, FAAN, FANA
Professor and Senior Associate Vice Chair for Clinical Research Carol and James Collins Chair,
Department of Neurology Director, UCLA Comprehensive Stroke and Vascular Neurology Program David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Dr. Saver is SA Vice-Chair and Professor of Neurology at UCLA, and Director of the UCLA Comprehensive Stroke and Vascular Neurology Program. He trained at Harvard Medical School, the Harvard-Longwood Neurology Training Program (neurology), the University of Iowa (neurobehavior), and Brown (vascular neurology). Author of over 670 research articles, 2 books, and 40 book chapters, Dr. Saver’s research interests are in acute stroke treatment, stroke prevention, neuroimaging, clinical trial design, and neurocognitive consequences of stroke. He served as PI of the NIH-NINDS FAST-MAG trial, Global Co-PI of the SWIFT PRIME trial, and Chair of the American Heart Association Stroke Council. He is currently Associate Editor at JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Editorial Board Member at the journal Circulation. Dr. Saver is a recipient of the Feinberg Award from the American Stroke Association, the Distinguished Scientist Award from the American Heart Association, and the Lifetime Research Award from the World Stroke Organization.
Latisha Sharma, MD, FAHA
Professor of Neurology
Walter Brutsch Endowed Chair
Director, UCLA Health Comprehensive Stroke and Vascular Neurology Center
Director, Stroke Center Medical Quality
Director, TeleStroke Program
Dr. Sharma is a Professor of Neurology at UCLA and the Walter Brutsch Endowed Chair. Dr. Sharma holds program appointments as Director of the UCLA Health Comprehensive Stroke and Vascular Neurology Center, Director of UCLA Stroke Center Medical Quality and Director of the UCLA TeleStroke Program. She is a Fellow of the American Heart Association. She is a past recipient of the American Academy of Neurology Clinical Research Fellowship Award and the American Heart Association Bugher Foundation Award. Dr. Sharma’s clinical interests include cerebrovascular disease, stroke, simulation medicine, pediatric stroke, stroke in young adult, telestroke and stroke prevention.
Stroke Program Manager
Kayla Kilani, MPH, RN, BSN, PHN, MICN
Kayla Kilani, MPH, RN is a registered nurse with over 19 years of experience. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from California State University, Chico, and a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management from UCLA.
Kayla developed her clinical expertise in Emergency Nursing at an academic Level 1 Trauma Center serving both adult and pediatric populations, with specialization in STEMI care, comprehensive stroke, and pediatric emergency services at UCLA. For the past seven years, she has served in leadership roles focused on critical care and prehospital stroke response.
She is currently the Stroke Program Manager for UCLA Health and Nurse Manager for the UCLA Health Mobile Stroke Unit, where she leads both strategic development and clinical operations. Her expertise includes Lean management (certified), process improvement, and quality initiatives aimed at enhancing care coordination and patient outcomes.
Kayla is deeply committed to transforming stroke care delivery and advancing Mobile Stroke Units as a national standard of care.
