Pouya A Ameli, MD, MS

Hear how I pronounce my name

Dr. Ameli is a neurointensivist with board certifications in neurology and neurocritical care. He received his medical degree from the University of Central Florida, where he received scholarship support in exchange for being among a selected group of students launching UCF’s College of Medicine. He then completed prestigious residency and fellowship training programs at Vanderbilt and Emory Universities. He was elected to the trainee section leadership for the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) as a resident and selected to participate in the NCS Future Leaders’ Forum in 2018, maintaining various leadership roles in NCS since that time, including a selection to the Neurocritical Care Foundation Board of Trustees. He is also a member of the Society for Critical Care Medicine, the American Academy of Neurology, and the American Heart/Stroke Association.

Dr. Ameli serves as the Medical Director for the UF Health Tribute to Life unit, working hard alongside a multidisciplinary team of experts to facilitate the wishes of those who have selflessly chosen to become organ donors. In this important role, Dr. Ameli seeks to improve the care and respect we provide for those who are giving the most sacred gift to the thousands of patients waiting on transplant lists, while also diligently caring for their loved ones, and holding our team to the highest ethical standards.

Dr. Ameli is also an award-winning educator who actively teaches and mentors pre-health students, medical students, PA students, residents, and fellows. He serves as the Director of the Neurology Clerkship, where he has created several positive improvements for students, and he has been regularly listed among the best educators. He is a sought-after lecturer who regularly provides lectures to learners across UF’s programs in 3 schools, 4 residencies, and 6 fellowships, in additional to being requested to provide education to nursing staff, EMT’s, and other members of the healthcare team.

Dr. Ameli is the founding faculty member for the Medi-Gators Programs, which have helped guide more than 20,000 pre-health students at UF toward their future careers in healthcare. This program has spawned the Medi-Futures programs which seeks to bring the same opportunities to students on other college campuses, now serving students on over 20 campuses nationwide and building a community of future healthcare leaders. Dr. Ameli and his amazing team have been fortunate to receive several awards for their impact through the Medi-Gators and Medi-Futures programs.

Dr. Ameli is also the principal investigator for the SENSE clinical trial, helping to show the efficacy of the SENSE device in providing an alternative way to detect intracranial hemorrhage and stroke and becoming recognized as one of the top-enrolling and well-run research groups for this trial nationally and internationally. Dr. Ameli also participates in educational research, particularly regarding the innovative “Medical Student Clinic” embedded within the neurology clerkship. He also runs a systematic review on self-fulfilling prophecy bias within intracranial hemorrhage prognostication, as well as survey-based evaluation of practice variations in patients recovering from status epilepticus.

Outside of work, Dr. Ameli loves to spend time with his wife, daughter, and dog. He loves afternoon walks with the family, exploring new restaurants, attempting to make all kinds of food at home (with a lot of help from his wife, to make sure it’s edible), and doing his best to stay active through weight-lifting, boxing, and other activities in the Florida sun. He is also a big sports fan with orange-and-blue running through his veins – Go Gators!

Site Principal Investigator, SENSE device clinical trial Principal Investigator, Systematic Review on Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Bias in ICH Other projects related to education, focusing on recruitment of medical students into neurology, support and guidance of pre-health students, and financial literacy of medical students and pre-health students