Shannon M. Kilgore, MD, FAAN

Shannon M. Kilgore, MD, FAAN, practices neurology within the Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Palo Alto, CA. She works as both the director of stroke services and the Palo Alto representative of the National VA Parkinson’s Disease Consortium. Additionally, Kilgore focuses on pharmaceutical pricing and medication safety, representing neurology on the Medical Advisory Panel to Pharmacy Benefits Management, which determines the formulary for the entire Department of Veterans Affairs. She also serves as the physician lead for the regional VA Integrated Service Network (VISN) Pharmacy Benefits Committee and on Palo Alto’s Medication Management Committee.

A native Texan, Kilgore obtained her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin and her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She then completed her neurology residency and fellowships in both cerebrovascular disease and movement disorders at Stanford. In 2003, she brought this unique combination of experience to the VA where she has taught medical students, neurology residents, and geriatrics fellows in both outpatient and inpatient settings, as a Clinical Associate Professor, Affiliated of Stanford’s Department of Neurology. At Stanford, she serves as the site director for the Neurology residency program and as a member of the Clinical Competency Committee.

Kilgore has maintained a long-held interest in combining both education and advocacy. She joined the Neurology Review Committee for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) twice, first as a resident/fellow, serving on the ACGME/ABMS Competencies Project. This sparked her interest in education policy, leading to her return to the Neurology Review Committee as a regular member, ultimately serving as chair, before rotating off in 2017. She has continued work within the ACGME on the initial Neurology Milestones, as well as on Milestones 2.0, and chaired the original Vascular Milestones committee. Having represented the AAN at the American Medical Association (AMA) since 2004, she was elected to the AMA’s Council on Medical Education in 2019, allowing her to advocate for medical students, residents, international medical graduates, and practicing physicians to the various accreditation/certification/licensure and oversight bodies within medicine. She has also sought to broaden the influence of neurology within the greater medical community while balancing the perspectives and needs of other specialists.

Kilgore also serves the Academy on the Editorial Board of Continuum: Lifelong Learning in Neurology^® and the Education Committee, overseeing the Program Accreditation work group. She has also been a member of the Government Relations Committee, contributed to the Drug Pricing Task Force, and attended multiple Neurology on the Hill events. A member of the 2014–2015 Emerging Leaders Forum class, she now enjoys giving back as a mentor within the various AAN Leadership Programs.