David Drachman, MD, the founding chair of the Worcester-based University of Massachusetts Medical School's neurology department, died Dec. 5 at the age of 84.
Dr. Drachman served as professor and chair of UMMS' neurology department from 1977 to 2002. He was an early advocate of Alzheimer's research and received acclaim for his exploration of dementia and the neurology of aging. During his career, he also served as the president of the American Neurological Association and played a key role in forming what is now the Alzheimer's Association.
In 1996, he founded the UMMS chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha, a medical school honor society.
"He has left behind a rich and enduring legacy," said UMMS Chancellor Michael Collins, MD. "To the medical community, he will be recalled as the author of the single most extensively researched neurological paper on the criteria for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease; to his patients and colleagues, he will be regarded as an expert clinician to whom they could turn in a time of need; and to our institution, he will be remembered as the founding chair of our neurology department."