Dr. Lucas Elijovich improving care in the stroke belt
By JAMES DOWD
For Lucas Elijovich, MD, a career in neurology began with a fascination for the human nervous system and evolved into a mission to build innovative programs that advance patient care, physician training, and neurological sciences across the Mid-South.
Today, Elijovich serves as a neurologist at Semmes Murphey Clinic and holds faculty appointments in the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC). He also serves as director of Neurocritical and Neurointerventional Surgery for Le Bonheur Children's Hospital's Neurosciences Institute, and as co-director of the Le Bonheur Vascular Anomalies Center.
Over the past 16 years, Elijovich has helped shape Memphis into a regional center for advanced neurovascular and neurocritical care, while training the next generation of specialists in a field where expertise remains in high demand.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Elijovich moved to the United States with his family when he was three years old. Medicine was a familiar part of life from an early age. Both of his parents were physicians, with his mother practicing critical care medicine in Argentina before pursuing psychiatry in the United States, and his father specializing in hypertension research.
After growing up in New Jersey, Elijovich attended Tufts University, where a formative undergraduate experience helped set his career path. A neuroanatomy course sparked a deep interest in the structure and function of the brain and spinal cord. The opportunity to study physical specimens and explore the complexity of the nervous system convinced him that neurology offered the intellectual challenge and clinical impact he was seeking.
“The study of the brain and spinal cord fascinated me,” Elijovich said. “When I went to medical school and got to examine physical specimens, I was hooked.”
Elijovich earned a medical degree at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston before beginning neurology residency training at New York University. As his interests increasingly centered on cerebrovascular disease, stroke, neurocritical care, and emerging endovascular treatments for neurological conditions, Elijovich knew he wanted additional training beyond traditional neurology.
To pursue those interests, he completed a fellowship in stroke and neurocritical care at the University of California, San Francisco.
"It was a very special place in terms of how they trained residents and fellows," Elijovich said. “The collaborative culture and multidisciplinary approach to patient care left a lasting impression on me.”
Following UCSF, Elijovich returned to New York for additional training in interventional neuroradiology under Dr. Alejandro Berenstein, one of the field's pioneers. The experience provided exposure to advanced techniques that were helping redefine the treatment of stroke and other neurovascular disorders. The combination of neurology, critical care, and minimally invasive intervention would become a defining feature of his career.
In 2010, Elijovich joined Semmes Murphey Clinic, drawn by the opportunity to build programs and help expand neurological services in a city with a rich neurosurgical tradition. Coming to Memphis offered a different challenge than simply joining an established practice.
His experiences at UCSF demonstrated how integrated neurological and neurosurgical programs could improve patient care, education, and research. Memphis presented a chance to apply those lessons in a growing academic and clinical environment.
Working closely with colleagues at Semmes Murphey Clinic and UTHSC, Elijovich helped strengthen the academic connections between neurology and neurosurgery while advancing neurocritical care services throughout the region.
Among his most significant accomplishments has been helping establish a neurocritical care fellowship training program at UTHSC. Building one required collaboration across institutions, faculty recruitment, curriculum development, and the creation of clinical experiences capable of training future specialists.
The result is a program that has become a key component of neurological education in the region. Today, the fellowship stands as one of the few programs of its kind in the Southeast and provides advanced training for physicians managing critically ill patients with stroke, traumatic brain injury, intracranial hemorrhage, and other complex neurological conditions.
"There were opportunities to build a clinical program and put things in place that weren't here," he said. “We were able to build a neuro critical care fellowship training program from scratch.”
The effort reflects Elijovich's belief that patient care and physician education must evolve together. Academic partnerships between Semmes Murphey Clinic and UTHSC have been instrumental in that growth, allowing physicians to combine high-level clinical practice with teaching and mentorship.
As stroke care continues to evolve, specialists increasingly rely on multidisciplinary teams that integrate neurology, neurosurgery, neurocritical care, and endovascular intervention.
And Elijovich's career has spanned that transformation.
His training and leadership roles position him at the intersection of these disciplines, helping develop systems of care that improve outcomes for patients with some of the most time-sensitive and complex neurological conditions.
“The biggest challenge is patient access to care, so clinical care has been a big focus,” Elijovich said. “It doesn’t matter if a facility is there if patients can’t get appointments in a timely manner. We make ourselves available to ensure that we offer clinical care when it’s needed.”
The ability to bridge multiple specialties has become increasingly important as advances in imaging, intervention, and critical care continue to reshape neurological practice. Now midway through his second decade in Memphis, Elijovich remains focused on building programs that expand access to advanced neurological care while preparing future physicians to meet the challenges of an evolving field.
From his early fascination with neuroanatomy at Tufts University to leadership roles in stroke, neurocritical care, and neurointerventional medicine, Elijovich’s career reflects both the rapid growth of neuroscience and the importance of collaborative program development.
“We’re very involved in men’s health and neurology on a day-to-day basis because we live in the stroke belt in the southeastern U.S. We have better treatments today, but prevention is key,” Elijovich said. “I always tell patients to take care of themselves and get moving to help reduce the risk of strokes. A good half-hour walk several times a week is a great place to start. Do what you can and build on it.”
In addition to his passion for helping patients, Elijovich hopes to help strengthen the city's reputation as a center for neurological and neurosurgical excellence. And he plans to continue that work for a long time to come.
“Memphis is home and it’s where I plan to stay; it’s not a stop on my professional journey,” Elijovich said. “I’m involved in fulfilling and important work, and I love this community. There are so many positive things here and we want to keep working to make it even better.”