December 12, 2023, Filed Under: NewsClarke Receives Penry Award from the American Epilepsy Society Clarke at the AES awards ceremony Dave F. Clarke, MD, professor of neurology and pediatrics at Dell Medical School and holder of the Kozmetsky Family Endowed Chair in Pediatric Epilepsy, received the J. Kiffin Penry Award for Excellence in Epilepsy Care by the American Epilepsy Society (AES) at its recent annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. Clarke leads the Comprehensive Pediatric Epilepsy Center in UT Health Austin Pediatric Neurosciences at Dell Children’s. The J. Kiffin Penry Award is given each year by the AES to honor the late Dr. Penry’s lifelong commitment to improving the care of individuals with epilepsy, promoting epilepsy research, and encouraging scholarly and educational activities and mentorship. Penry was chief of the Clinical Epilepsy Section of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and later associate dean for research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He also began the still-running, highly regarded Penry Epilepsy MiniFellowship, an immersion program that, in the last four decades, has boosted epilepsy management skills for thousands of practitioners. Clarke emphasizes medical and surgical management of drug-resistant epilepsy. Additionally, he has long championed efforts to broadly improve epilepsy treatment and reduce disparities in epilepsy care regionally and internationally via outreach programs in Texas, Africa, and the Caribbean island countries. He is a member of the North American Commission of the International League Against Epilepsy, the Epilepsy Leadership Council Steering Committee, the International Affairs Committee of the Child Neurology Society, and the American Epilepsy Society Advocacy Task Force as well as secretary-treasurer of the National Association of Epilepsy Centers Board. In 2021, Clarke received the Ambassador for Epilepsy Award jointly from the International League Against Epilepsy and the International Bureau for Epilepsy in recognition of his outstanding contributions to furthering the cause of epilepsy internationally. “Dr. Penry was one of my own mentors,” noted E. Steve Roach, MD, chief of UT Health Austin Pediatric Neurosciences at Dell Children’s, “and I can think of no one who better exemplifies Penry’s passion and commitment to improving epilepsy care than Dave Clarke. He is a truly exceptional individual.” The Comprehensive Pediatric Epilepsy Center is the only dedicated pediatric epilepsy center in Central Texas. Its expert staff and advanced technology support up-to-date patient- and family-focused medical, dietary, and surgical epilepsy treatments designed to provide the best possible outcomes for children and adolescents with epilepsy.
December 6, 2023, Filed Under: carousel, NewsPediatric Psychology Internship Program Awarded Highest Level of APA Reaccreditation Amanda Winter-Greenberg, PhD, ABPP The Dell Medical School/Dell Children’s Medical Center Psychology Internship program was awarded reaccreditation for 10 years by the American Psychological Association. The internship is housed in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and is co-directed by Sasha Jaquez, PhD, Ankita Krishnan, PhD, and pediatric neuropsychologist Amanda Winter-Greenberg, PhD, ABPP, an assistant professor of neurology who supervises the internship program’s neuropsychology rotation. The accreditation is the highest level awarded by the APA and signifies that the program adheres to the Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology.
November 29, 2023, Filed Under: NewsDave Clarke, MD, Selected as 2023 Dell Med Visionary Courtesy of The University of Texas at Austin/Dell Medical School Dave Clarke, MD, professor of neurology and pediatrics at Dell Medical School and chief of the Comprehensive Pediatric Epilepsy Program, has been recognized as one of the 2023 Dell Med Visionaries. These clinician-leaders are nominated and selected by their peer leaders for bringing Austin into focus as a premier destination for integrated, patient-centered health care. Clarke’s impact extends far beyond Texas’s capital city—he is a globally recognized epileptologist who works persistently to improve access to epilepsy care around the world. “The work I do to train epileptologists and advocate for resources in Kenya and the Caribbean looks different, but is actually very similar to the work I do in Texas and with partners across the U.S.,” says Clarke. “It’s thinking outside the box about how we train people and connect them with experts in top-level centers to do consults remotely—and get families the answers they need as fast as possible.” Congratulations, Dr. Clarke!
November 11, 2023, Filed Under: NewsWellons Presents at Second Annual Timothy M. George Memorial Lecture Jay Wellons, MD, MSPH, presenting keynote lecture John (Jay) Wellons III, MD, MSPH, professor of neurological surgery and pediatrics and chief of pediatric neurological surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, presented at the second annual Timothy M. George, MD, Memorial Lecture Research Symposium: Outcomes in Pediatric Neuroscience at Dell Children’s on November 10. Wellons, a past pediatric neurosurgery mentee of George, discussed the state of fetal surgery for spina bifida after the Management of Myelomeningocele Study. This year’s lectureship was expanded to create a mini symposium with other speakers, including pediatric neuroscience faculty members M. Omar Iqbal, MD; Elizabeth Tyler-Kabara, MD, PhD; and Dave F. Clarke, MD. Omar Iqbal, MD Elizabeth Tyler-Kabara, MD, PhD Dave F. Clarke, MD Timothy George, MD, was a professor of neurosurgery at Dell Medical School and a beloved pediatric neurosurgeon at Dell Children’s Medical Center when he died unexpectedly at age 59 in 2019. Dr. George graduated from New York University Grossman School of Medicine before completing his neurosurgery residency at Yale University and his pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at Northwestern University. He joined the faculty of Duke University in 1996 and in 2006 moved to the then new Dell Children’s Hospital. His research interests included Chiari malformation and the genetic mechanisms of neural tube defects. Timothy M. George, MD
November 7, 2023, Filed Under: carousel, NewsAustin Appointed Chief of Pediatric Neuropsychology Cynthia Austin, PhD, ABPP Cynthia Austin, PhD, ABPP, assistant professor of neurology and neuropsychologist in the Pediatric Neuropsychology Clinic and the Dell Children’s Traumatic Brain Injury/Concussion Clinic, was appointed chief of the nine-member division of pediatric neuropsychology in October. Austin earned her master’s in program evaluation and her doctorate in school psychology from The University of Texas at Austin. She completed an internship in pediatric neuropsychology at the University of Minnesota Medical School and a fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology from Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Her research interests include parent experience and satisfaction with the neuropsychological assessment process as well as predictors and outcomes of traumatic brain injury. Congratulations, Dr. Austin!
November 2, 2023, Filed Under: carousel, NewsPediatric Neurosciences Co-Sponsors Second Annual NF Family Day NF Family Day presenters (L to R) Sasha Jaquez, PhD; Kendra Koch, PhD; Virginia Harrod, MD, PhD; Sage T. Green, DO; and Manikum Moodley, MD The second annual Neurofibromatosis Family Day Meeting was held October 28 at Dell Children’s. Co-sponsored by the Dell Children’s Neurofibromatosis Center of Excellence, the pediatric neurosciences program, and the Children’s Tumor Foundation, this meeting allowed patient families affected by NF to learn the latest developments in clinical care and research through presentations and breakout sessions. Pediatric neuroscience presenters included Manikum Moodley, MD, professor of neurology and co-director of the Neurofibromatosis Center of Excellence; clinical research administrator Kendra Koch, PhD; and neurofibromatosis center coordinator Karla Robles-Lopez, MD, PhD.
October 31, 2023, Filed Under: NewsA Warm Welcome to Tanner Britton, Digital Documentarian Tanner Britton Join us in welcoming Tanner Britton, digital documentarian and academic content creator, to the pediatric neurosciences team. Tanner previously worked as the multimedia producer for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts in Austin. He received a Bachelor of Music in business and performance from McNally Smith College of Music and has experience as a filmmaker, photographer, and videographer for commercials, documentaries, music videos, and events throughout the country. An sEEG installation procedure captured by Tanner
October 17, 2023, Filed Under: NewsEdmond Receives Lifetime Achievement Award Congratulations to pediatric neuro-ophthalmologist Jane Edmond, MD, who received a lifetime achievement award from Houston Methodist Hospital and the Houston Ophthalmological Society. Edmond is director of the Mitchel and Shannon Wong Eye Institute at Dell Medical School, interim vice dean of professional practice, professor and chair in the Department of Ophthalmology, and 2023 president-elect of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
October 13, 2023, Filed Under: NewsWelcome, Dr. Willsey! Help us give a warm welcome to Kylene Willsey, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology. Willsey joined our team in October from Green Tree Pediatrics in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she practiced as a general pediatrician. She will be working primarily with the Dell Children’s Traumatic Brain Injury/Concussion Clinic. Willsey received her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and completed her pediatrics residency at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She has been involved in the community through various sports-related initiatives, including coaching, providing sports coverage for high school football games, and performing baseline concussion testing for high school football players. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness, and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. Welcome, Dr. Willsey!
October 3, 2023, Filed Under: carousel, NewsWelcome, Dr. Irwin! Join us in welcoming Samantha Irwin, MB BCh, MSc, a pediatric neurologist who specializes in headache disorders, including posttraumatic headaches. Irwin is as an associate professor of neurology and the director of the Pediatric Headache Fellowship program at Dell Medical School. Irwin earned her master’s in neuropsychology at Maastricht University and her medical degree at the School of Medicine Trinity College Dublin. She completed a pediatric neurology residency at the University of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, where she was chief resident, and a headache neurology fellowship at the University of California San Francisco. Before coming to Austin, Irwin was an assistant professor of neurology and the Pediatric Headache Fellowship director at UCSF. Irwin’s research focuses on clinical trials evaluating potential new treatments for headache disorders in children and adolescents. In addition, she is investigating the role of structured exercise as part of a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to treating pediatric headache. Irwin is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, Child Neurology Society, American Headache Society, Canadian Headache Society, International Headache Academy, and International Child Neurology Association. She serves on the editorial board of Annals of the Child Neurology Society.
