October 30, 2025, Filed Under: NewsIqbal & Rizk Featured in Statesman Story on Intraoperative MRI M. Omar Iqbal, MD Elias Rizk, MD, PhD, MSc Assistant professor of neurosurgery M. Omar Iqbal, MD, and pediatric neurosurgery chief and neurosurgery professor Elias Rizk, MD, PhD, MSc, were featured in an Austin-American Statesman article on the new intraoperative MRI at Dell Children’s. “Not many children’s hospitals in the country have this,” Dr. Rizk said. “This is next-level acute patient care.” Read the article.
October 15, 2025, Filed Under: NewsBrumback Interviewed by NY Times as Autism Expert Audrey Brumback, MD, PhD, who specializes in the clinical assessment and management of autism spectrum disorders and related disorders, was interviewed by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, NPR, Reuters, and multiple other media outlets in response to the FDA’s announcement of the possible association of acetaminophen use during pregnancy and an increased risk of autism. Dr. Brumback is a child neurologist and physician-scientist who investigates the neurophysiological mechanisms of autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions. She develops neuromodulation therapies for specific neuropsychiatric symptoms that localize to the prefrontal network. Her work has been supported by the NIH through NIMH and NINDS.
October 4, 2025, Filed Under: News12 Faculty Members Receive 2025 Teaching Awards Kudos to our 12 pediatric neuroscience faculty members who received GME Clinical Learning Environment Awards from Dell Medical School. These individuals received near-perfect (4.9 or 5.0) cumulative resident teaching scores for the year based on their ability to create a positive environment for learning and the patient experience. Kristen Arredondo, MD Glendaliz Bosques, MD Dave F. Clarke, MD Daniel Freedman, DO Duriel Hardy, MD Kristina Julich, MD Louisa Keith, MD Chelsey Ortman, MD Sara Pavitt, MD E. Steve Roach, MD Vandana Vedanarayanan, MD “Veda” Vedanarayanan, MD
October 2, 2025, Filed Under: NewsFreedman Appointed to CNS Vaccine Task Force Daniel Freedman, DO, associate director of the pediatric epilepsy fellowship program and co-director of the psychogenic nonepileptic events clinic, was chosen to serve on the Child Neurology Society’s Vaccine Action Task Force (VAX-TASK), a new initiative dedicated to equipping child neurologists with the knowledge and advocacy resources needed to address vaccine-preventable diseases, educate families and caregivers, and help restore public trust in vaccination. Dr. Freedman will work with the committee to issue evidence-based public statements, create informational webinars, build partnerships with other organizations to strengthen the CNS’s advocacy efforts, and draft content distributed to patients, clinicians, and policymakers on the importance of vaccination.
October 1, 2025, Filed Under: NewsDeputy Named to Sue M. Cox, M.D. Academy of Distinguished Educators Congratulations to Stephen R. Deputy, MD, professor of neurology and director of the child neurology residency program, was elected to Dell Medical School’s Sue M. Cox, M.D. Academy of Distinguished Educators. The academy recognizes sustained achievement and excellence in education, including direct teaching, curriculum and faculty development, advising and mentoring, educational leadership, and educational research. Deputy was inducted at the annual Dell Med Educational Innovation, Research & Awards Symposium on September 29.
August 1, 2025, Filed Under: carousel, NewsMultidisciplinary Providers Contribute to Scholarly Literature Our program contributes scholarly articles on a variety of topics, and we encourage publications from all members of the team. The featured articles below, for example, include contributions from child neurologists, child neurology residents, a nurse practitioner, and a pediatric neurosurgeon. Kevin Kumar, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurosurgery at Dell Medical School, was the lead author of a recent Frontiers in Surgery article that analyzed the effectiveness of deep brain stimulation (DBS) and responsive neurostimulation (RNS) in children with drug-resistant epilepsy. DBS was used primarily for palliation of generalized or mixed drug-resistant epilepsy after other therapies failed, and 71% of these patients experienced a 50% or greater seizure reduction. RNS was used for patients with a better-defined seizure focus and no prior epilepsy surgery. Eighty percent of the RNS patients achieved clinical seizure freedom, and 20% had a 90% reduction in seizure burden. RNS also provided valuable data for future interventions. Both DBS and RNS are useful options for children with drug-resistant epilepsy. Child neurology residents Catherine Kronfol, MD, PGY-4, and Aaron Hocher, MD, PGY-3, described a newborn who was transferred from another hospital because of metabolic acidosis, respiratory distress, and suspected seizures. Abnormal facial movements and posturing were initially suspected to represent seizures, but continuous electroencephalography showed no epileptiform discharges during the movements. His initial serum ammonia level was dramatically elevated (1284 μg/dL). Urine organic acids, plasma amino acids, serum pyruvate, and carnitine were normal, but next-generation DNA sequencing of serum confirmed evidence of Ureaplasma urealyticum, an organism that produces copious amounts of ammonia. After treatment with azithromycin, his ammonia level normalized, and when seen at 13 months of age he was developmentally normal. Severe hyperammonemia does not always result from genetic metabolic disorders. Samantha Irwin, MSc, MB BCh BAO, an associate professor of neurology, and Sara Pavitt, MD, an assistant professor of neurology, reviewed the assessment and management of headache in children in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ education journal Pediatrics in Review. The far-reaching review includes typical clinical manifestations, common headache triggers, red flags that could indicate more serious conditions, the epidemiology of headaches in children, symptomatic and preventive medications, and neuromodulation devices for headache. Janet Wilson, MSN, CPNP-PC, has years of experience treating children with drug-resistant epilepsy with the ketogenic diet. She frequently volunteers in Kenya and the Caribbean islands, where the use of the ketogenic diet is often hindered by the cost of nutritional supplements and extensive laboratory monitoring and by the limited availability of the ingredients commonly used to make diet recipes. She has identified locally available ingredients that are suitable for maintaining ketosis and taught people how to implement the diet. In a recent issue of Epilepsy Currents, Wilson teamed with colleagues from the United States, Jamaica, India, and Kenya to discuss optimization of refractory epilepsy care in resource-limited settings, including implementation of dietary therapies. Uchitel J, Lui A, Knowles J, Parker JJ, Phillips HW, Halpern CH, Grant GA, Buch VP, Hyslop A, Kumar KK. Intracranial neuromodulation for pediatric drug-resistant epilepsy: early institutional experience. Front Surg. 2025 Apr 8; 12:1569360. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsurg.2025.1569360 Pavitt S, Irwin SL. Headache care. Pediatr Rev. 46(3):129-138. https://doi.org/10.1542/pir.2024-006402 Kronfol C, Hocher A, Roach ES. Neonatal hyperammonemia due to Ureaplasma sepsis. Ann Child Neurol Soc. 2025;3:57-58. https://doi.org/10.1002/cns3.20107 Yardi R, Radhakrishnan K, Samia P, Wilson J, Ali A. Managing refractory epilepsy in a resource-limited setting—doing more with less. Epilepsy Curr. Published 2025 May 27. https://doi.org/10.1177/15357597251318562
August 1, 2025, Filed Under: NewsPavitt Named to Dell Children’s Pediatric Leadership Board Sara Pavitt, MD, associate chief of pediatric neurology and chief of the pediatric headache center, was elected to the Dell Children’s Pediatric Leadership Board in July. Composed of representatives from Dell Children’s Medical Group, The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, and area private practices, the board partners with Dell Children’s Medical Center leadership to inform strategic investments, programmatic development, and hospital growth. As an ambassador of Dell Children’s, Dr. Pavitt will also focus on building relationships with community providers.
July 23, 2025, Filed Under: NewsPavitt Named Clinician of the Year in Pediatric Leadership Our program recently hosted an awards luncheon for Sara Pavitt, MD, associate chief of pediatric neurology and chief of the Dell Children’s Pediatric Headache Center, who was selected as Clinician of the Year in the category of pediatric leadership by Ascension Medical Group. The award recognizes innovative, servant, and transformational leaders who inspire others, foster success, and cultivate an open, trusting culture. Congratulations, Dr. Pavitt, for an award well deserved!
July 17, 2025, Filed Under: NewsDell Children’s Medical Center Adds Portable MRI In the last few years, MRI technology has advanced sufficiently to allow small, safe, portable machines that can be brought to a patient’s bedside. Dell Children’s Medical Center’s new portable MRI circumvents the need to transport patients away from their care unit, making MRI more feasible for critically ill patients requiring ventilation, ECMO, or other vital support measures. For these patients, being moved from the intensive care setting for the 60–90 minutes that is typically needed for an MRI represents a substantial risk; the portable MRI, however, provides diagnostic-quality images in less than 30 minutes without requiring the patient to leave the room. Our portable MRI’s open design also allows a caregiver to remain with the child during the study, in some instances eliminating the need for sedation. “The portable MRI helps us rapidly identify and treat an array of neurological conditions in children who are too ill to safely transport for neuroimaging,” said Chelsey Ortman, MD, an assistant professor of neurology who was instrumental in acquiring the technology. “For many of these children, earlier diagnosis will translate into a better outcome.”
July 10, 2025, Filed Under: NewsClarke Elected Chair of ILAE-North America Dave Clarke, MD, professor of neurology at Dell Medical School and Kozmetsky Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Pediatric Epilepsy, has been elected as chair of the International League Against Epilepsy’s North American branch, representing the United States, Canadian, and Caribbean chapters. Clarke, who has served as a board member of ILAE-North America since 2013, will begin his four-year term as chair in August.
