Penn Medicine Provider
Neurology
Allison Willis, MD
5.0
(58)
Sees patients age 18 and up
Penn Neurology Pennsylvania Hospital
Make an appointmentCall 800-789-7366

About me

  • Director, Translational Center of Excellence for Neuroepidemiology and Neurology Outcomes
  • Research Director, Resource Center for Minority Aging Research, Perelman School of Medicine
  • Chief, Division of Neurology, Philadelphia VA Medical Center
  • Professor of Neurology
  • Professor of Epidemiology in Biostatistics and Epidemiology

I am an Associate Professor of Neurology and of Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Additionally, I am a Senior Scholar in the CCEB, a senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, a Faculty Scholar at the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology Research Training, and Director of the Department of Neurology’s Translational Center of Excellence for Neuroepidemiology and Neurology Outcomes Research, and Co-Director of the Resource Center for Minority Aging Research.  I have formal research training in analytical and spatial epidemiology, pharmacoepidemiology, health outcomes research. My formative post doctoral clinical and research training occurred at Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, in the departments of Medicine, Neurology, and Epidemiology. I am fellowship trained movement disorders specialist.

I have developed a clinical research program in translational neuroepidemiology, and neuroaging patient oriented research, which focuses on institutionalization of scientific discovery into clinical practice and policy, and the health outcomes and disparities associated therewith.  I have received funding from NINDS, NIA, PCORI, MJFF, APDA and the PF.  My current work focuses on drug-disease interactions in Parkinson Disease, and health disparities as experienced by individuals with neurological conditions across the lifespan. I regularly present my work at national meetings of neurologists and PD researchers and other academic institutions. I serve as Chair of the Health/Care Outcomes and Disparities Working Group of the Parkinson Study Group, and have held several leadership and organizing roles in the American Neurological Association. I am the 2015 recipient of the American Academy of Neurology’s Jon Stolk Award, and the 2019 recipient of the UPenn Marjorie Bowman Award .  I have  published over 130 peer reviewed research manuscripts and abstracts.

Education and training

  • Medical School: University of Illinois
  • Residency: Barnes-Jewish Hospital - Washington University, St. Louis
  • Fellowship: Barnes-Jewish Hospital - Washington University, St. Louis

What my patients think about me

Average Rating
5.0

58 reviews

Comments are submitted by patients and reflect their views and opinions. The comments are not endorsed by and do not necessarily reflect the views of Penn Medicine.

March 2025
5.0
5.0
dr. willis is great at responding to my questions - she is professional, and knowledgeable. i have great faith in her as my neurologist.
February 2025
5.0
5.0
dr. willis is not only knowledgeable and observant, she always sends us home with new and useful advice, encouraging recommendations.
February 2025
5.0
5.0
doctor takes her time and listens.
February 2025
5.0
5.0
my doctor is terrific

Insurance accepted

My Locations

Learn about location

Penn Medicine hospital privileges

  • Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
  • Pennsylvania Hospital: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
  • Penn Presbyterian Medical Center: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
Dr. Willis is a Penn Medicine physician.

Qualifications and experience

Treatments and Conditions

My research

Pham Nguyen, Thanh Phuong, Thibault, Dylan, Gray, Shelly L, Weintraub, Daniel, Willis, Allison W Impact of Anticholinergic Burden and Clinical-Demographic Characteristics on Incident Dementia in Parkinson Disease , Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology: 2025,08919887241313376

Nguyen, Thanh Phuong Pham, Le, Vy, Weintraub, Daniel, Willis, Allison W Impact of pimavanserin on prescribing practices in parkinson disease , Clinical Parkinsonism & Related Disorders: 2025,100317

Hamedani, Ali G, Willis, Allison W, Ying, Gui-Shuang Self-reported visual difficulty, age-related eye disease, and neuropsychiatric outcomes in older adults , Ophthalmic Epidemiology, 32(1): 2025,103-111

Dublin, Sascha, Albertson‐Junkans, Ladia, Pham Nguyen, Thanh Phuong, Pavon, Juliessa M, Hastings, S Nicole, Maciejewski, Matthew L, Willis, Allison, Zepel, Lindsay, Hennessy, Sean, Albers, Kathleen B Defining key deprescribing measures from electronic health data: A multisite data harmonization project , Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 73(2): 2025,399-410

Vo, Anh Khoa, Crispo, James AG, Liu, Lisa JW, Thibault, Dylan, Willis, Allison W, Griesdale, Donald EG, Kramer, John LK, Cragg, Jacquelyn J Examining the effects of race/ethnicity and other factors on outcomes of care for complex regional pain syndrome type 1 in the United States , PLOS Global Public Health, 5(1): 2025,e0004022

Pham Nguyen, Thanh Phuong, Thibault, Dylan, Hamedani, Ali G, Willis, Allison W Attitudes and beliefs towards medication burden and deprescribing in Parkinson disease , BMC neurology, 24(1): 2024,325

Acton, Emily K, Hennessy, Sean, Gelfand, Michael A, Leonard, Charles E, Bilker, Warren B, Shu, Di, Willis, Allison W, Kasner, Scott E Direct-acting oral anticoagulants and antiseizure medications for atrial fibrillation and epilepsy and risk of thromboembolic events , JAMA NEUROLOGY, 81(8): 2024,835-844

Aamodt, Whitley W, Sun, Chuxuan, Dahodwala, Nabila, Elser, Holly, Schneider, Andrea LC, Farrar, John T, Coe, Norma B, Willis, Allison W End-of-life health care service use and cost among Medicare decedents with neurodegenerative diseases , Neurology, 103(9): 2024,e209925

Tropea, Thomas F, Hartstone, Whitney, Amari, Noor, Baum, Dylan, Rick, Jacqueline, Suh, Eunran, Zhang, Hanwen, Paul, Rachel A, Han, Noah, Zack, Rebecca Genetic and phenotypic characterization of Parkinson’s disease at the clinic-wide level , NPJ Parkinson's Disease, 10(1): 2024,97

Tropea, Thomas F, Hartstone, Whitney, Amari, Noor, Baum, Dylan, Rick, Jacqueline, Suh, Eunran, Zhang, Hanwen, Paul, Rachel A, Han, Noah, Zack, Rebecca Molecular Integration in Neurological Diagnosis (MIND) Parkinson''s Disease Inception Cohort Study Protocol , : 2024