October 26, 2024, Filed Under: NewsJulich & Freedman Receive AI Health Outcomes Research Grant Kristina Julich, MD Daniel Freedman, DO Pediatric epileptologists Kristina Julich, MD, and Daniel Freedman, DO, were selected by Dell Med and UT Austin’s IC2 Institute to receive $150,000 for research that will advance the responsible development of AI to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities. Their proposal was one of four funded projects selected from 39 proposals submitted by UT interdisciplinary research teams. Julich and Freedman’s project, “Developing an AI-Based Diagnostic Tool for Epilepsy in Low-Resource Areas,” involves creating a seizure diagnostic tool that approximates the diagnostic algorithm of a trained epilepsy expert clinician. They plan to use this tool as part of the screening process for their existing epilepsy outreach project to improve access to epilepsy care in rural areas of Texas. Read more about their “intelligent” seizure diagnostic questionnaire.
October 9, 2024, Filed Under: NewsUT Health Austin Pediatric Neurosciences at Dell Children’s Ranked a Top Program by U.S. News & World Report UT Health Austin Pediatric Neurosciences at Dell Children’s is proud to announce that we have been ranked one of the best Neurology & Neurosurgery programs by U.S. News & World Report for 2024-25. This ranking reflects our ability to provide top-quality care for the children entrusted to us. As our program continues expanding its impact in Central Texas and beyond, we remain dedicated to offering outstanding educational opportunities, promoting research and scholarly activity, and delivering exceptional multidisciplinary clinical care for all children with neurological disorders.
October 4, 2024, Filed Under: carousel, NewsWelcome, Dr. Kevin Kumar Join us in giving a warm Texas welcome to Kevin Kumar, MD, PhD, pediatric neurosurgeon and assistant professor of neurosurgery at Dell Med. Dr. Kumar specializes in the treatment of pediatric brain and spine tumors, vascular malformations, developmental anomalies, and epilepsy. Dr. Kumar graduated cum laude with distinction in research from Cornell University and received his MD and PhD from Vanderbilt University’s National Institutes of Health–funded Medical Scientist Training Program. His dissertation focused on investigating neuronal manganese regulation in Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease using high-throughput screening, induced pluripotent stem cells, and chemical biology approaches. He was a member of Aaron Bowman’s laboratory in the Vanderbilt Brain Institute. Dr. Kumar completed his neurosurgery residency at Stanford University, where he served as chief resident. He completed an NIH NINDS R25-funded research fellowship in the laboratory of Marius Wernig in the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, where he developed a platform to replace microglia in the brain as a novel therapy for neurodevelopmental disorders. He completed his pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. At Dell Med, Dr. Kumar launched his research laboratory to develop novel cellular-based therapeutics for pediatric neurological disorders. He has published over 35 peer-reviewed scientific articles and given over 30 presentations at national and international meetings. He has received multiple awards, including the Donald O. Quest Medical Student Basic Science Award by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Elaine Sanders-Bush Neuroscience Research Prize from the Vanderbilt Brain Institute, the John G. Coniglio Prize in Biochemistry from Vanderbilt University, the Edwin Boldrey Young Investigator Award from the San Francisco Neurological Society, the Philip L. Gildenberg Resident Award from the AANS, and the Resident Basic Science Research Award from Stanford University. He is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the American Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, the North American Neuromodulation Society, and the Society for Neuroscience. Welcome to Austin, Dr. Kumar!
October 2, 2024, Filed Under: NewsBrumback Awarded Grant for Neurodevelopmental Precision Medicine Program Audrey Brumback, MD, PhD, was recently awarded a $110,000 grant from the Albany Foundation, an Austin-based nonprofit organization, to fund a precision medicine program she is creating in collaboration with pediatric neurogenetics chief Kristina Julich, MD. The goal of the Gene-to-Treatment program is to rapidly develop personalized treatments for patients with autism and other severe neurodevelopmental disorders based on a patient’s genetic profile. Approximately 1 in 4 patients with a neurodevelopmental disorder (e.g., autism, epilepsy, and/or developmental delay) has a genetic cause that can be detected with a simple cheek swab. Brumback is partnering with basic scientists at UT Austin to assess each patient’s genetics and screen FDA-approved medications in order to determine whether they can be repurposed to treat the patient’s condition.
October 1, 2024, Filed Under: NewsWelcome, Dr. Tao Song Welcome to Tao Song, PhD, a clinical associate professor of neurology and the technical director of the Dell Children’s Magnetoencephalography (MEG) Laboratory. Dr. Song oversees all technical and research activities in the MEG lab, thanks to his specialized expertise in MEG hardware and software and knowledge of both clinical and research applications. Dr. Song earned his PhD in electrical engineering from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and his BSc in optical engineering from Zhejiang University in China. Following his postdoctoral research in the Radiology Imaging Lab at the University of California, San Diego, he joined Elekta, Inc., where he led MEG customer support operations. During his extensive career in industry, he remained dedicated to advancing MEG applications in clinical and research settings, actively collaborating with academic institutions. Before joining Dell Med, Dr. Song served as the director of operations for MEGIN in both the United States and China. His current research focuses on functional brain mapping and innovations in MEG technology. His work is widely published in leading neuroscience and biomedical engineering journals.
September 4, 2024, Filed Under: NewsWelcome Back to Austin, Dr. Allan Lara We’re excited to welcome Dr. Allan Lara to our physical medicine and rehabilitation program. Dr. Lara is a pediatric physiatrist and an assistant professor of neurology at Dell Med. He works closely with families and multidisciplinary teams to ensure children reach their highest potential. Dr. Lara comes to Austin from Houston, where he recently completed his pediatric rehabilitation medicine fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital. He completed his physical medicine and rehabilitation residency and medical school at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and received his undergraduate degree here at UT Austin. Dr. Lara is a member of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. His clinical interests include neuromuscular disorders, electrodiagnostic medicine, spasticity management, brachial plexus injuries, developmental pediatrics, and ultrasound-/EMG-guided procedures. His research interests include mental health screening methods in the pediatric rehab population and botulinum injections for sialorrhea management. He is highly involved in community service and expanding pediatric rehab care to underserved communities. Welcome back to Austin, Dr. Lara!
August 30, 2024, Filed Under: NewsWelcome, Dr. Emily Ramirez This month, we officially welcomed Emily Ramirez, DO, to our Dell Medical School faculty. Dr. Ramirez is an assistant professor of neurology and a pediatric epileptologist and neurogeneticist in the Dell Children’s Comprehensive Pediatric Epilepsy Center. She completed residencies in pediatrics and child neurology as well as her fellowship in pediatric epilepsy here at Dell Med and received her medical degree from the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth’s Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Ramirez has a special interest in complex pediatric epilepsy, neurogenetics, and adolescent transition of care. She is the recipient of the Lisa & Steve Roach Award for Resident Publication.
August 29, 2024, Filed Under: carousel, News16 Faculty Members Receive 2024 Dell Med Teaching Awards Rosario DeLeon, PhD Congratulations to our very own Rosario DeLeon, PhD, pediatric neuropsychologist and assistant professor of neurology, for winning this year’s Susan M. Cox, M.D. Academy Teaching Health Equity Award! This award recognizes Dell Med faculty members who have excelled in teaching about health equity. Additionally, many of our pediatric neuroscience faculty members received a GME Clinical Learning Environment Award from Dell Med. These 15 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 Cliff Calley, MD Sireesha Chinthaparthi, MD Stephen R. Deputy, MD Daniel Freedman, DO Duriel Hardy, MD Samantha Irwin, MSc, MB BCh BAO Kristina Jülich, MD Manikum Moodley, MD Sara Pavitt, MD Steve Roach, MD Ashley Stanley-Copeland, MD Vandana Vedanarayanan, MD Vettaikorumakankav “Veda” Vedanarayanan, MD Dell Med will honor these recipients in an awards ceremony on September 30, with a keynote address presented by Dean Claudia Lucchinetti, MD. Thank you for your outstanding contributions to medical education!
August 9, 2024, Filed Under: NewsIrwin Elected as Co-Chair of American Headache Society Special Interest Group Congratulations to Samantha Irwin, MB BCh BAO, associate professor of neurology and director of the Pediatric Headache Fellowship, who was recently elected as co-chair of the Pediatric and Adolescent Special Interest Section of the American Headache Society. She will serve a two-year term alongside Christopher Oakley, MD, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
July 17, 2024, Filed Under: NewsBrumback Article Summarizes NINDS Research Workshop Audrey Brumback, MD, PhD, pediatric neurologist and assistant professor of neurology, was the lead author of “Catalyzing Communities of Research Rigour Champions,” recently published in Brain Communications. The article summarizes the discussions from a workshop of the same name sponsored by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The authors describe how “rigor champions” within diverse areas of biomedical research are promoting rigorous, transparent research practices and provide a primer that encourages the broader research community to prioritize such practices. The article outlines recommendations to incorporate rigorous research practices into training and degree requirements. The NINDS workshop was held last year at the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, Maryland. Brumback was one of 50 attendees invited to discuss obstacles to research reform and develop initiatives for catalyzing change. Read the article at https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcae120.
