Walter N. Kernan MD

Walter N. Kernan is Emeritus Professor of Internal Medicine and Senior Research Scientist at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Kernan completed his residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital followed by fellowship training in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at Yale. He subsequently joined the Yale faculty in the Section of General Internal Medicine.

In addition to practicing general internal medicine, Dr. Kernan has directed medical school courses and conducted clinical research on topics at the interface of internal medicine and cerebrovascular disease. From 1993-2016, he founded and directed the Ambulatory Component of the Internal Medicine Clerkship. His research on student education focused on effective strategies for teaching in the ambulatory care setting and evaluation of teaching quality. In cerebrovascular disease, Dr. Kernan’s research has included clinical trials of new therapies for prevention of recurrent stroke (estrogen, thiazolidinediones), cohort studies of prognosis, case-control studies of risk factors, and cross-sectional examinations of quality of care. He was principal investigator for the Insulin Resistance Intervention after Stroke (IRIS) Trial which showed that pioglitazone was effective for prevention of stroke and myocardial infarction among non-diabetic patients with a recent ischemic stroke or TIA and insulin resistance. The IRIS trial lent support for additional research on other behavioral, dietary, and pharmaceutical interventions that target dysmetabolic states, such as pre-diabetes, diabetes, and obesity.

Dr. Kernan’s professional service has included membership on committees at Yale Medical School, including senior faculty promotions committees, faculty search committees, and special committees appointed by the Dean. Outside Yale, he has served as a member of review committees for the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, including NSD-K (Clinical Trial Initial Review Group) and NST-1 (Training Award Review Group). He has served on several committees for the American Heart Association and was chair of the associations Stroke Scientific Statement Oversight Committee during 2016-2018.