List of leadership and faculty
Program Director – Alicia Bennett, DO
Dr. Alicia Bennett is board certified in neurology and vascular neurology. She earned her medical degree at Des Moines University in Iowa. Alicia continued on to complete an internal medicine internship and adult neurology residency at the University of Utah. During this time, she developed a passion for stroke and remained at the University of Utah to complete a fellowship in vascular neurology as that year’s StrokeNet trainee. Alicia enjoys inpatient neurology with a particular passion for helping victims of stroke. She is currently the medical stroke director at both The Medical Center or Aurora and Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center, a board member of the Neurohospitalist Society and a member of the Maternal Mortality Review Committee for Colorado.
Core Faculty & Department Chair – Christopher Fanale, MD
Dr. Fanale’s hometown is in Pennsylvania, where he graduated from Penn State with a degree in Biology. After completing his medical training, he moved across country to San Diego to specialize in stroke and cerebrovascular disorders. He then settled here in Colorado to join Blue Sky Neurology. He was instrumental in establishing the CO-DOC Telemedicine Program which provides telestroke services to communities in Colorado and surrounding states. He received the American Red Cross Healthcare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 for this endeavor. He serves as the Medical Director of Blue Sky Neurology and is the lead investigator for many acute stroke clinical trials. He works mostly with hospitalized, neurologically ill patients. He also enjoys raising his 3 children with his wife and exploring Colorado.
Core faculty
Maysun Ali, DO
Dr. Maysun Ali has completed her studies from coast to coast and all across the United States. Her undergraduate degree was completed in 2005 at Utah State University, then she relocated to West Virginia to attend medical school at West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, graduating in 2010. Her next educational accomplishment was completed in Texas: a medicine internship at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio (UTHSCSA). Dr. Ali remained in Texas at UTHSCSA to complete her neurology residency in 2011. Finally, Dr. Ali attended the University of California San Diego to complete her fellowship in vascular neurology. She joined Blue Sky Neurology in 2015, and is ready to practice inpatient neurology with us here in Denver. Dr. Ali is a member of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Heart Association.
Christian Burrell, MD
Dr. Christian Burrell was born and raised in Oklahoma where he earned his medical degree at the University of Oklahoma. He went on to train at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, where he completed his internal medicine internship, neurology residency, and a year as neurology chief resident. He then completed vascular neurology fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Burrell practices at Blue Sky Neurology as a neurohospitalist, specializing in vascular neurology. His medical interests include neurological emergencies, with a focus on acute stroke treatment and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage management. He also has interest in addressing disparities in stroke care delivery. His personal interests include rock climbing, outdoor adventures, and spending time with his wife and son.
Byron R. Spencer, MD
Dr. Spencer was born and raised in St. Louis, MO. He completed his medical school training at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN. He went on to complete his adult neurology training and subsequent fellowship in stroke and cerebrovascular neurology at Mayo Clinic. Arizona. He then went on to complete a second fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology at the University of Utah, Moran Eye Center. Dr. Spencer is board certified in both neurology and vascular neurology. His medical interests include management of acute stroke and intracranial hemorrhage, visual held deficits and diplopia associated with stroke, schemic optic neuropathies, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, optic neuritis and visual phenomenon associated with migraine. In his spare time he loves spending time with his wife, watching movies and going to Denver Nuggets games.