Uniformed Services University Announces Lt. Col. Adam M. Willis as Chair of Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine

Distinguished Air Force neurologist and DARPA program leader to guide newly-integrated USU department.

Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Adam M. Willis has been selected as chair of the newly integrated Department of 

Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine at USU's School of Medicine. (Photo credit: Tom Balfour, USU)

December 4, 2025 by Claire Pak

The Uniformed Services University (USU) F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine has announced the appointment of Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Adam M. Willis as chair of the newly integrated Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine.

Willis is a highly accomplished neurologist and neurointensivist with a distinguished record in military medicine, medical science, and defense innovation.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Willis to lead this new department,” said Dr. Eric Elster, dean of the School of Medicine. “His expertise in neurology, neurocritical care, and defense innovation will be invaluable as we continue to advance USU’s mission of educating military health professionals and advancing cutting-edge research.”

Willis completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Physics. He went on to earn both a Master of Science and PhD in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, followed by his medical degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His neurology residency was completed at the San Antonio Military Medical Center, and he later pursued a fellowship in neurocritical care at the University of Texas Southwestern. He is board certified in neurology and neurocritical care and holds the special experience identifier as a physician member of the Critical Care Advanced Transport Team (CCATT).

Willis currently serves as a program manager in the Biological Technologies Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a position he has held since 2023. In this role, he leads initiatives aimed at advancing technologies to improve warfighter survivability and performance, managing a $250 million portfolio across 96 institutions in areas including casualty care, neuroscience, autonomy robotics, and human team performance.

USU School of Medicine has announced the appointment of Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Adam M. Willis as chair of

 the newly integrated Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine. (Courtesy photo)

Prior to joining DARPA, Willis served as the medical director of Joint Integrated Clinical Medicine within the 59th Medical Wing Office of the Chief Scientist at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, and practiced as a staff neurologist and neurointensivist at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. He also holds an appointment as an associate professor of Neurology at USU and has secured multi-million-dollar grants supporting research in brain injury biomechanics, neuroergonomics, and operational medicine.

Elster added, “Dr. Willis’s outstanding combination of clinical expertise, research excellence, and leadership in defense medicine makes him uniquely qualified to guide the Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine into the future.”

Elster also praised Army Col. (Dr.) Brett Theeler, chair of the Department of Neurology, and Dr. Paul Pasquina, chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, for their dedicated service.

Under Theeler’s leadership, the Department of Neurology has achieved numerous milestones, including key staffing appointments, clerkship enhancements, major grant awards, and continued excellence on the Association of American Medical Colleges Graduation Questionnaire for the neurology clerkship and neuroscience module. Nationally, Theeler serves on the Clinical Pathways Development Team for Brain and Central Nervous System Cancers and is a founding board member of the Association VA Neurology Services with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He will retire from the Army in August 2026 and join the faculty at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Pasquina, the founding chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, has guided the department through substantial growth in research funding, publications and presentations, educational outreach, clinical impact, service, and the Wounded Warrior Service Dog Program. He has been appointed to lead the new Center for Advanced Research in Military Optimization, Readiness, and Rehabilitation (ARMORR) division within the Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine.

ARMORR represents the strategic consolidation of three major USU organizations—the Center for Rehabilitation Sciences Research, the Consortium for Health and Military Performance, and the Musculoskeletal Injury Rehabilitation Research for Operational Readiness (MIRROR) program—into a unified division dedicated to advancing human performance, resilience, and recovery across the Military Health System. Under Pasquina’s leadership, ARMORR will enhance interdisciplinary collaboration, accelerate research-to-practice translation, and strengthen support for warfighters and beneficiaries through innovative approaches to readiness, rehabilitation, and force health protection.

Dr. Willis will officially assume the role of Chair on June 1, 2026.