Catherine A. Phillips, MD, Lectureship
Catherine A. Phillips, MD, was the founding member of UMass Chan Medical School Epilepsy Division. Dr. Phillips joined the Department of Neurology in 1989, being recruited by the founding Chair of the Department of Neurology, David A. Drachman, MD, to support the development of a new comprehensive epilepsy center with a surgical epilepsy program.
Cathy was born in Princeton, NJ, but grew up in Japan where her father, an ordained Presbyterian Minister, worked as a Christian missionary for 17 years. She returned to the United States in 1975 and spent the next 4 years at Oberlin College where she majored in Chemistry. Her family moved to Northern California which led Cathy to medical school at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and she earned her MD in 1983. She completed her internship in internal medicine at Pennsylvania Hospital. Her neurology residency program was completed at the University of Pennsylvania/Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), followed by a fellowship in Electroencephalography and Epilepsy at Graduate Hospital/University of Pennsylvania (HUP) under the mentorship of Michael Sperling, MD.
Cathy always loved caring for patients, and she changed the lives of many patients with epilepsy by understanding how to better control their seizure disorders. Her desire to improve a patient’s quality of life was the catalyst for growing the UMass Chan Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, focusing on patient-centered treatment options, which included epilepsy surgery. She also served as the Ambulatory Physician Leader for the Neurology Clinic along with educating a generation of neurology residents and fellows on the management of epilepsy. She was very active in the Epilepsy Foundation of New England and in 2019 was the featured clinician at that organization’s Candlelight Dinner. She was a dedicated volunteer at the Epilepsy Foundation’s summer camp program for children with epilepsy.
Cathy retired from UMass Chan Medical School in September 2020 and now enjoys spending more time with family and friends. She lives in Shrewsbury with her husband Dr. Stephen Erban who works in the UMass Chan Medical School’s Department of Medicine. They have two adult sons, Benjamin, and Joshua Erban. Joshua is a 2022 graduate of the UMass Chan Medical School.
In 2022, the Phillips-Erban Family established the Catherine A. Phillips, MD, Lectureship.
2026 Catherine Phillips Lectureship Program
Growing Up Without Frontal Lobes: The Story of JP
presented by: Sheldon Benjamin, MD
Sheldon Benjamin, MD, presenting at the Catherine Phillips Lectureship in February 2026.
featured from left to right: Felicia Chu, MD, Benjamin Erban, Stephen Erban, MD, Sheldon Benjamin, MD, AM Barrett, MD, Lawrence Hayward, MD.
Professional Experience
- Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurology,
- Director, psychiatry and neuropsychiatry residency training programs for 30 years,
- Interim Chair of Psychiatry,
- Director, neurospychiatry at UMass Chan Medical School
Sheldon Benjamin, MD, has been selected as the recipient of the Outstanding Educator Award by the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society, the UMass Chan Lamar Soutter Lifetime Achievement Award in Education, the UMass Chan Chancellors Medal for Distinguished Teaching, the American Neuropsychiatric Association's Gary J. Tucker, MD Lifetime Achievement Award in Neuropsychiatry, the Lifetime Service Award in Psychiatric Education from the American Association of Directors of Psychiatry Residency Training, and is honored to receive the American Psychiatric Association's Vestermark Award for lifetime contributions to psychiatric education at the May 2026 meeting.
Dr. Benjamin is a writer and lecturer in Neuropsychiatry. His most recent publication is a new textbook, Psychiatric Neurology: A Clinical Approach, co-edited with UMass neuropsychiatry alumna, Kathy Niu.
Education & Certifications
- Medical Education: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH (1980)
- Residency: Boston University School of Medicine; Tufts Medical Center GME
- Fellowship: Boston University School of Medicine
- Board Certification: Psychiatry
- Board Certification: Neurology
- Board Certification: Behavioral Neurology/Neuropsychiatry
- Director, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
- Member, Psychiatry Review Committee of the ACGME
- Secretary, International Neuropsychiatric Association
- Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association
- Fellow, American Neuropsychiatric Association and American Academy of Neurology
- Past president, American Neuropsychiatric Association and the American Association of Directors of Psychiatry Residency Training
Sheldon Benjamin, MD | UMass Chan Medical School | Professor Emeritus
2025 Catherine Phillips Endowment Lectureship Program
February 4, 2025 - Functional Seizures: “Working Across Disciplines to Improve Patient Outcomes”
presented by: Barbara Dworetzky, MD
Functional Seizures: “Working Across Disciplines to Improve Patient Outcomes”
presented by Barbara Dworetzky, MD, FAAN, FANA, FAES, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, and chief of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Division of Epilepsy in February 2025.
Professional Experience
Barbara Dworetzky, MD, FAAN, FANA, FAES is a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, She has been the Chief of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Division of Epilepsy since 2009. She leads the Bromfield Epilepsy Center and the ACGME-accredited Clinical Neurophysiology and Epilepsy Fellowships.
Dr. Dworetzky has served on multiple boards for patient and professional societies, and is the current president of the Functional Neurological Disorder Society (FNDS) She is internationally known for her work in functional seizures (aka psychogenic nonepileptic seizures/PNES).
Education and Certifications
- ScB with Honors in Psychology from Brown University
- MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine
- Internship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, affiliated Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx
- Residency at Harvard (now MGB).
- Two year fellowship in clinical neurophysiology/epilepsy at BWH, Boston Children’s and Beth Israel.
Her first position was at the Boston VAMC, affiliated with Boston University School of Medicine where she directed several programs. Since her return to the BWH, she and her division have trained 60 clinical and research fellows from all over the world. She has received awards for leadership, professionalism, mentorship, teaching, clinical skills, and has over 140 peer reviewed publications.
2024 Catherine Phillips Lectureship Program - Inaugural event
April 2024 - Responsive Neurostimulation for Epilepsy: Clinical & AI Advances
presented by: Martha Marty Morrell, MD
Marty Morrell presenting in April 2024 for the Catherine Phillips Endowed Lectureship at UMass Chan Medical School, neurology grand rounds.
from left to right: Marty Morrell, MD, and Catherine Phillips, MD
Professional Experience
- Chief Medical Officer, NeuroPace, a company that developed a responsive neurostimulator for the treatment of medically uncontrolled partial seizures
- Faculty, Stanford University School of Medicine
- Director of the Stanford Comprehensive Epilepsy Center.
- Caitlin Tynan Doyle Professor of Clinical Neurology at Columbia University
- Director of the Columbia Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.
Marty Morrell, MD, is actively involved in helping to bring new medical and device therapies to patients with epilepsy. She has authored or co-authored more than 150 publications. Her experience includes fellowship training in epilepsy and EEG training and providing patient treatment strategies working in comprehensive epilepsy centers.
Her service to professional societies includes member of the Board of Directors of the American Epilepsy Society, member and Chair of the Board of the Epilepsy Foundation, member of the Council of the American Neurological Association, and Chair of the Epilepsy Section of the American Academy of Neurology. She is an elected Ambassador for Epilepsy of the International League Against Epilepsy and received the American Epilepsy Society’s 2007 Service Award for outstanding leadership and service. She is the current President of the American Society for Experimental Neurotherapeutics.
Education & Certifications
- Medical Education: Stanford University School of Medicine (1984) CA
- Residency: University of Pennsylvania Health System (1988) PA
- Internship: University of Pennsylvania Health System (1985) PA
- Fellowship: Graduate Hospital (Closed) (1990) PA
- Board Certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Epilepsy (2013)
- Board Certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Neurology (1989)