Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Director of Duke Autoimmune Brain Disease Program
Duke University School of Medicine
POSITION TITLE:
Associate Professor (Starting January, 2018)
Duke University School of Medicine
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Rheumatology
EDUCATION/TRAINING:
University of Rochester, Rochester NY: BS, Cell and Developmental Biology (5/1997)
University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY: MD (5/2001)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Michigan: MS, Health & Healthcare Research (5/2009)
My interest in collaborative care along with my interest in the rapidly expanding area of pediatric inflammatory brain disease lead to my current research and clinical efforts focusing on pediatric autoimmune brain diseases. I am Director of the Pediatric Autoimmune Disease Program at Duke providing clinical care and research opportunities for patients with a full spectrum of autoimmune brain diseases. I started this integrative clinic with a pediatric neurologist 7 years ago. It has grown into a nationally recognized program providing a unique collaborative model of care. Patients are referred to our clinic from across the country for diagnosis and management. The program has evolved from primary clinical to one engaged in the development of practical approaches for the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune brain diseases. We are conducting translational research studies looking for novel biomarkers and I co-lead a national working group developing diagnostics and treatment guidelines for pediatric patients. This work has resulted in several publications, numerous presentations at national conferences and recent international collaborations.