Professor, Neurology
School of Medicine

Professor, Anatomy & Neurobiology
School of Medicine

Professor, Political Science
School of Social Sciences

Professor, Pathology
School of Medicine

Director, Center for Neuropolitics
School of Medicine

Mechanisms of stroke, vascular neurobiology, blood-brain barrier, political psychology

Dr. Fisher was Chair of the UCI Department of Neurology from 1998-2006, during which time the Department of Neurology entered the Top 10 in NIH Research Funding for Neurology Departments nationwide. Dr. Fisher established the stroke program at UCI, was Founding Director of the UCI Stroke Center (forerunner of the current UC Irvine Health Comprehensive Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center), and spearheaded the effort that made the stroke program at UCI the first academic stroke program in the country to be certified as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission (JCAHO). His edited work from 1989 "Medical Therapy of Acute Stroke" was the first book of its kind addressing acute stroke therapy. He was recently named Director of the Center for Neuropolitics (UCI School of Medicine).

Dr. Fisher's Stroke Research Program investigates mechanisms of stroke from both basic science and clinical perspectives. He has received NIH research grant funding since 1984 as a Principal Investigator, and from 1994-1999 he was Program Director for the NIH Program Project Grant "Mechanisms of Ischemic Stroke". His scholarly work includes multi-disciplinary efforts that involve political science, law, and psychology. His research accomplishments include groundbreaking work in many areas: brain regulation of thrombosis and hemostasis; effect of cardiac arrhythmias on brain hemodynamics; infection as a precipitant of acute ischemic stroke; pathogenesis of stroke from carotid artery disease; pathology of intracranial atherosclerosis; mechanisms of brain microhemorrhage and microbleeds; delineation of the brain-kidney axis from the perspective of vascular neurobiology; identification of the left atrial septal pouch as a possible stroke risk factor; and a personalized medicine approach to stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation. He has developed multiple new phrases, including hemorrhagic microinfarction, mixed cerebrovascular disease, and the preventable stroke. His multidisciplinary work includes the delineation of legal aspects of stroke, the role of executive dysfunction in aging political leaders, and the impact of dementia on political ideology.

For his work as a stroke neurologist, Dr. Fisher has received approximately 50 citations of clinical excellence from a variety of external organizations.

Dr. Fisher established the first stroke program in Southern California with his arrival on faculty at University of Southern California in 1980. At USC, he worked with Dr. David Blankenhorn in atherosclerosis research before beginning a lengthy collaboration with Dr. Herbert Meiselman in hemorheological studies. In 1998 he moved to UC Irvine as Chair of the Department of Neurology (1998-2006), and established the first stroke prevention clinic in Orange County. He currently continues his research in stroke, vascular neurobiology, and interdisciplinary studies including political psychology.

Kapoor R, Wadi L, Becerra B, Eskander M, Razmara A, Lombardo D, Paganini-Hill A, Kim JK, Fisher M. The Left Atrial Septal Pouch: A New Stroke Risk Factor?. Transl Stroke Res. 2021 Apr;12(2):205-211. PubMed PMID: 33393056; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7925453.

Suzuki S, Wadi L, Moores L, Yuki I, Kim J, Xu J, Paganini-Hill A, Fisher M. Stroke Preventability in Large Vessel Occlusion Treated With Mechanical Thrombectomy. Front Neurol. 2021;12:608084. PubMed PMID: 33763011; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7982657.

Fisher M, Phoenix D, Powell S, Mousa M, Rosenberg S, Greenia D, Corrada MM, Kawas C, Paganini-Hill A. Cognition and Political Ideology in Aging. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2020 Oct 31;. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16935. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID:33128770.

Wadi LC, Grigoryan MM, Kim RC, Fang C, Kim J, Corrada MM, Paganini-Hill A, Fisher MJ. Mechanisms of Cerebral Microbleeds. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2020 Sep 15;. doi: 10.1093/jnen/nlaa082. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID:32930790.

Lau WL, Nunes ACF, Vasilevko V, Floriolli D, Lertpanit L, Savoj J, Bangash M, Yao Z, Shah K, Naqvi S, Paganini-Hill A, Vaziri ND, Cribbs DH, Fisher M. Chronic Kidney Disease Increases Cerebral Microbleeds in Mouse and Man. Transl Stroke Res. 2020 Feb;11(1):122-134. doi: 10.1007/s12975-019-00698-8. Epub 2019 May 4. PubMed PMID:31055735; PubMed Central PMCID:PMC6957561.

Paganini-Hill A, Bryant N, Corrada MM, Greenia DE, Fletcher E, Singh B, Floriolli D, Kawas CH, Fisher MJ. Blood Pressure Circadian Variation, Cognition and Brain Imaging in 90+ Year-Olds. Front Aging Neurosci. 2019;11:54. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2019.00054. eCollection 2019. PubMed PMID:31057391; PubMed Central PMCID:PMC6478755.

Chang R, Castillo J, Zambon AC, Krasieva TB, Fisher MJ, Sumbria RK. Brain Endothelial Erythrophagocytosis and Hemoglobin Transmigration Across Brain Endothelium: Implications for Pathogenesis of Cerebral Microbleeds. Front Cell Neurosci. 2018;12:279. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2018.00279. eCollection 2018. PubMed PMID:30237761; PubMed Central PMCID:PMC6135875.

Effects of phosphodiesterase 3A modulation on murine cerebral microhemorrhages. Sumbria RK, Vasilevko V, Grigoryan MM, Paganini-Hill A, Kim R, Cribbs DH, Fisher MJ. Journal of neuroinflammation. 2017; 14(1):114.

The Cerebrovascular-Chronic Kidney Disease Connection: Perspectives and Mechanisms. Lau WL, Huisa BN, Fisher M.
Translational stroke research. 2017; 8(1):67-76.

Wong JM, Lombardo DM, Barseghian A, Dhoot J, Hundal HS, Salcedo J, Paganini-Hill A, Wong ND, Fisher M. Left atrial septal pouch in cryptogenic stroke. Front Neurol. 2015;6:57. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2015.00057. eCollection 2015. PubMed PMID:25852636; PubMed Central PMCID:PMC4371703.

Cerebral Microbleeds, Hypertension, and Intracerebral Hemorrhage in Cerebral Autosomal-Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy.
Lee JS, Ko K, Oh JH, Park JH, Lee HK, Floriolli D, Paganini-Hill A, Fisher M.
Frontiers in neurology. 2017; 8:203.

A murine model of inflammation-induced cerebral microbleeds.
Sumbria RK, Grigoryan MM, Vasilevko V, Krasieva TB, Scadeng M, Dvornikova AK, Paganini-Hill A, Kim R, Cribbs DH, Fisher MJ.
Journal of neuroinflammation. 2016; 13(1):218.

Cerebral Microbleeds and Thrombolysis: Clinical Consequences and Mechanistic Implications.
Fisher M.
JAMA neurology. 2016; 73(6):632-5.

Definition and Implications of the Preventable Stroke.
Fisher M, Moores L, Alsharif MN, Paganini-Hill A.
JAMA neurology. 2016; 73(2):186-9.

Fisher M, Schneider P. Stroke and the law: principles and practice. Stroke. 2014 Oct;45(10):3141-6. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.114.002864. Epub 2014 Aug 28. Review. PubMed PMID:25169947.

Fisher M, Franklin DL, Post JM. Executive dysfunction, brain aging, and political leadership. Politics Life Sci. 2014 Fall;33(2):93-102. doi: 10.2990/33_2_93. PubMed PMID:25901887.

Fisher M. Cerebral microbleeds: where are we now?. Neurology. 2014 Oct 7;83(15):1304-5. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000000871. Epub 2014 Sep 3. PubMed PMID:25186856.

Fisher M. MRI screening for chronic anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation. Front Neurol. 2013 Oct 4;4:137. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2013.00137. Review. PubMed PMID:24109470; PubMed Central PMCID:PMC3790146.

Fisher MJ. Brain regulation of thrombosis and hemostasis: from theory to practice. Stroke. 2013 Nov;44(11):3275-85. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.113.000736. Epub 2013 Oct 1. Review. PubMed PMID:24085025; PubMed Central PMCID:PMC3954774.

American Academy of Neurology

American Neurological Association

American Heart Association

Society for Neuroscience

International Society for Political Psychology

State Bar of California

American Psychoanalytic Association

Member, Beckman Laser Institute

Member, UCI MIND

Link to this profile
https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=4550

Last updated
12/17/2021