Dr. Zaldy Tan is the new medical director of Cedars-Sinai’s Jona Goldrich Center for Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorder. (photo courtesy of Cedars-Sinai)

Following an extensive national search, Cedars-Sinai has appointed Dr. Zaldy Tan as the medical director of the Jona Goldrich Center for Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders and director of the memory and aging program. Tan is an experienced memory and geriatric medicine specialist and a prominent investigator in the field.

“Dr. Tan brings unique clinical and research expertise to Cedars-Sinai,” said Dr. Nancy Sicotte, Women’s Guild Distinguished Chair in Neurology. “We are delighted to have him as a critical member of our newest program in dementia. He will develop and lead our network-based memory disorders care program.”

The Jona Goldrich Center for Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders, part of the Department of Neurology, was established last year with a $10 million gift from Melinda Goldrich and Andrea Goldrich Cayton in honor of their late father, Jona Goldrich. The goal of the center is to develop new patient-care therapies that address the challenges of the rapidly growing population of patients with memory disorders.

“I’m excited to be a part of building the Cedars-Sinai Alzheimer’s and memory disorders center, and helping it achieve the level of excellence of our heart, cancer, stroke and other programs,” said Tan, the Carmen and Louis Warschaw chair in Neurology. “What compelled me to make the move is that the possibilities are endless at an institution like Cedars-Sinai.”

Cedars-Sinai’s Department of Neurology also recently welcomed epilepsy specialist Dr. Lisa Bateman to her new position as director of the surgical epilepsy program.

“One percent of Americans live with some form of epilepsy,” Bateman said. “Thirty percent of those cases aren’t controlled with traditional medication. In the past several years, there have been a number of new techniques in terms of seizure monitoring, localization and treatment of epilepsy surgically that really expand what we’re able to offer people who may be candidates for these procedures.”

Bateman joins the health system from Columbia University Medical Center, where she served as an associate professor of neurology. Her research focuses on sudden unexpected death in epilepsy and how the brain recovers after seizures.

“We know that seizures affect other body systems, like your heart and your breathing,” Bateman said. “We think that has a lot to do with why some people unfortunately die suddenly after a seizure. We’re looking to better understand that physiology and how we can intervene to change it and reduce the most devastating outcomes of epilepsy.”

Cedars-Sinai is located at 8700 Beverly Blvd. For information, visit cedars-sinai.org.