William P. Flavin, M.D., Ph.D.

Department of Neurology
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

UCLA Alice C. Rubin Integrated Memory Clinic
Clinic Appts: (310) 794-1195 {Memory Evaluation}
Clinic Fax: (310) 794-7491

Biography

Dr. William Flavin is a neurologist and physician-scientist at the UCLA Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer's Research and Care and the UCLA BrainSPORT program. He specializes in sports neurology and traumatic brain injury (TBI)-related neurodegenerative diseases such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). A former collegiate football player at the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Flavin earned a degree in Biochemistry before completing his MD/PhD training at Loyola University Chicago. Following neurology residency and sports neurology fellowship training at UCLA, he joined the faculty in 2025. His clinical practice focuses on concussion care and long-term brain health for athletes of all kinds, while his research investigates the role of the tau protein in Alzheimer's disease and CTE. His goal is to understand how brain injury contributes to neurodegeneration and identify new therapeutic opportunities to reduce long-term risk for TBI-affected patients.

Specialty

Concussion, persisting post-concussion symptoms, traumatic brain injury (TBI)-related memory disorders, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)

Board Certifications

American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Affiliations

Physicians

Education and Degrees

BS (cum Laude), Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame , Notre Dame, IN

PhD, Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL

MD, Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, IL

Intern, Medicine, West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

Resident, Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

Clinical Instructor, Sports Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

Post-doctoral Fellow, Neurodegeneration, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

Publications

Flavin WP, Bickart KC, Le Belle JE, Babikian T, Harris MB, Kamins J, Pineda JA, Choe MC, Giza CC, Prins ML. Evolution of the Neurometabolic Cascade of Traumatic Brain Injury. Neurologic Clinics. 2026 Aug; 44(3): 393-414. PMID: 42379666  DOI: 10.1016/j.ncl.2026.05.001

Flavin WP, Hosseini H, Ruberti JW, Kavehpour HP, Giza CC, Prins ML. Traumatic brain injury and the pathways to cerebral tau accumulation. Frontiers in Neurology. 2023 Aug 11;14:1239653. PMCID: PMC10450935  DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1239653

Flavin WP, Bousset L, Green ZC, Chu Y, Skarpathiotis S, Chaney MJ, Kordower JH, Melki R, Campbell EM. Endocytic vesicle rupture is a conserved mechanism of cellular invasion by amyloid proteins. Acta Neuropathologica. 2017. 134 (4): 629-653. PMID: 28527044  DOI: 10.1007/s00401-017-1722-x

Calafate S, Flavin WP, Verstreken P, Moechars D. Loss of Bin1 promotes the propagation of tau pathology. Cell Reports 2016. 17 (4): 931-940. PMID: 27760323  DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.09.063

Samuel F*, Flavin WP*, Iqbal S*, Pacelli C, Sri Renganathan SD, Trudeau L-E, Campbell EM, Fraser PE, Tandon A. Effects of Serine 129 phosphorylation on alpha-synuclein aggregation, membrane association, and internalization. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2016. 291 (9): 4374-85. PMCID: PMC4813466 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M115.705095 [*equal contribution]