William J. Weiner died at the age of 67 on December 29, 2012, after a very successful and respected career focused on Parkinson’s disease and neurological education. As the second editor-in-chief of Current Treatment Options in Neurology, he fused these two skills to provide the leadership to the journal that will now be managed under the expertise of the new editor-in-chief, Dr. Myrna R. Rosenfeld.

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The neurological community will miss the warmth and intellectual rigor of Bill Weiner. Trained by Harold L. Klawans at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago, he joined the department of neurological sciences there for several years, then moved to Florida to lead the Parkinson’s disease program at the University of Miami, and finally moved to Baltimore to be chairperson of the department of neurology at the University of Maryland. His early years focused on neuropharmacology and animal modeling of movement disorders, and later areas of active research and publications included psychogenic movement disorders, clinical trials, corticobasal degeneration, and evidence-based medical reviews. He was particularly active with the American Academy of Neurology, serving on multiple committees, leading efforts for practice parameters, and serving as a faculty member for the society’s educational venues.

Bill was one of my very early teachers—it was a relationship that evolved into one of close and long-standing colleagues throughout my career. When I was a medical student, he guided me in the laboratory and pulled me toward neurology. His warmth and guidance were important to me and to many other young colleagues who owe much of their success today to the early encouragement he provided. Bill also had a special sensitivity to gender issues; he served as as an important advocate of inclusiveness to many women colleagues as they developed their careers and positions in the hierarchy of neurology.

In my view, Bill’s most important legacy to his colleagues is his unerring power of questioning. Bill was known to stand up at meetings and challenge results, and to engage discussants in defending the significance of their data, often casting a healthy doubt on over-interpretation. There was warmth in these challenges, but strength and authority as well. Colleagues learned to look to him for counsel in obtaining an alternate view of their findings and seeking his advice. This skill was particularly well-suited to his many editorial roles during his career, and I had the special pleasure of benefiting from this attribute in the many years that Bill and I co-edited the many editions of Neurology for the Non-Neurologist. Bill combined the attributes of a fine colleague, an expert clinician, a respected leader, and a gentle soul—elements that leave us with enduring memories and a model for excellence.

On behalf of the entire staff at Current Treatment Options in Neurology, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Bill’s wife and fellow neurologist, Dr. Lisa M. Shulman, and the rest of his family.