Stanford Child Neurology Division Team

William Gallentine, DO

Dr. William Gallentine is a Clinical Professor of Neurology at Stanford University.  A product of Waynesburg University, he subsequently received his D.O. from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and then completed a pediatrics residency at Geisinger Medical Center.   Dr. Gallentine next undertook both his child neurology residency and clinical neurophysiology fellowship at Duke University, where he remained on the faculty as a pediatric epileptogist for 11 years, prior to joining Stanford as in 2018.

Dr. Gallentine’s research interests focus on the role of inflammation and genetics in the development of epilepsy, and the overlap between the two.   His research is aimed at discovering novel biomarkers of epileptogenesis and identifying potential therapeutic targets within the inflammatory cascade as a new approach to treating and preventing epilepsy.   He is also interested in the exploration of novel mutation-specific therapeutics for children with genetic epilepsies.

Dr. Gallentine’s clinical interests focus on children with refractory epilepsy.  He offers clinical expertise in all aspects of epilepsy management, including medications, dietary therapy, surgical planning, and neurostimulation.  He has developed specific interests in autoimmune and genetic epilepsies.  His epilepsy and inflammation clinic focuses on children with antibody-mediated autoimmune epilepsy (including NMDA receptor encephalitis), Rasmussen’s encephalitis, recurrent febrile seizures, febrile status epilepticus, genetic epilepsies with seizures triggered by fever (Dravet syndrome , GEFS+), fever-induced refractory epileptic encephalopathy (FIRES), mesial temporal temporal lobe epilepsy, and infantile spasms. His epilepsy genetics clinic provides multi-disciplinary care focused on the evaluation and management of children with known or suspected genetic epilepsy syndromes with an emphasis on mutation-specific therapy.

At Stanford he is a Co-Director of the child neurology outpatient clinics and serves as the Outpatient Medical Director for pediatric epilepsy.  He is an active member of the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society, American Epilepsy Society, and American Academy of Neurology.  Dr. Gallentine has a passion for teaching neurology residents and fellows.  He has been a Child Neurology Residency Program Director in the past and now serves as the Fellowship Director for pediatric epilepsy here at Stanford.   

When not working, Dr. Gallentine is always up for seeking a new travel adventure with his wife Darla and kids, Caleb, Anya, and Gabe.  They definitely consider themselves “foodies,” always looking to try a new dish.  He enjoys attending sporting events, going to the movies, and hanging out with his dog Kona in the park. 


Fiona Baumer, MD

Dr. Fiona Baumer is an Assistant Professor in Neurology at Stanford University with a focus on pediatric epilepsy. Dr. Baumer received her B.A. in Human Biology at Stanford University, M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and M.S. in Epidemiology and Clinical Research at Stanford Medical School. She trained in pediatrics and child neurology at Boston Children’s Hospital before returning to Stanford in 2015 for epilepsy training as the first Maggie Otto Fellow in Pediatric Epilepsy.  She joined the Stanford neurology faculty in 2016.

Dr. Baumer’s clinical and research interests include difficult to treat pediatric epilepsies and the interaction between epilepsy and cognition. She has expertise in non-invasive neurostimulation using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and runs the clinical TMS program, which focuses on pre-surgical brain mapping. Dr. Baumer’s research program focuses on the impact of epilepsy on brain connectivity. The goal of her research is to understand how epilepsy affects normal developmental processes such as language acquisition with hopes of developing novel, non-invasive therapies for the cognitive comorbidities of epilepsy. She is currently recruiting children with childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (Rolandic epilepsy) and absence seizures for her studies.

Outside work, Dr. Baumer can mostly be found chasing her three young children, but also enjoys hiking, camping, and letterboxing throughout the Bay Area.


Shannon J. Beres, MD

Dr. Shannon Beres is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Neurology at Stanford University.  Dr. Beres received her B.S. at the University of California, Los Angeles, and M.D. at the Medical College of Virginia. She completed her pediatrics and neurology residencies at the University of California, San Francisco.  She then completed further specialization with a pediatric and adult neuro-ophthalmology fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.  Her interests in pseudotumor cerebri syndrome, optic neuritis, optic glioma, and eye movement abnormalities were extended by research in these areas. Dr. Beres joined the faculty at Stanford in 2015 as a child neurologist with a special interest in neuro-ophthalmology.

Dr. Beres’ personal interests revolve around her husband, two daughters, and family.  She enjoys being outdoors, swimming, coaching soccer, traveling, and musicals. 


Cynthia J. Campen, MD, MS

Dr. Cynthia Campen is a Clinical Professor in Neurology at Stanford University. She received her B.S. from University of California, Davis, and her M.D. from University of California, San Francisco, where she completed her residency in pediatrics. She then left the Bay Area briefly for her child neurology residency at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She returned to California for her fellowship in pediatric neuro-oncology at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, during which she also completed a M.S. in epidemiology and clinical research. Dr. Campen now provides clinical care through pediatric neuro-oncology and as co-director of the Stanford Children's Neurofibromatosis Clinic. She is also the Program Director for Child Neurology Residency.

Dr. Campen’s research interests include clinical trials for pediatric brain tumors and the tumors associated with neurofibromatosis as well as neuroimaging biomarkers in neurofibromatosis type 1. She is an active member of the American Academy of Neurology, Child Neurology Society, Children’s Oncology Group, and Society for Neuro-Oncology.

Outside work, Dr. Campen enjoys spending time with friends and family, hiking and camping in beautiful Northern California, cooking, knitting, and listening to live music. 


John West Day, MD, PhD

Dr. John W. Day is a Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics (Genetics) and, by courtesy, Neuropathology.  He directs the Division of Neuromuscular Medicine, which integrates care of pediatric and adult members of families affected by neuromuscular disorders.  He received his B.A.in Physics at Oberlin College, his M.D. at the University of Minnesota, and his Ph.D. in Neuroscience (cellular and synaptic physiology) at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.  He trained in adult neurology, clinical neurophysiology/EMG, and neuromuscular medicine at UCSF.  He was a Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics, and Cell Biology and Genetics at the University of Minnesota, where he founded and directed the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Center, before being recruited to Stanford to direct the Division of Neuromuscular Medicine in 2011.

The Stanford Neuromuscular program has played a significant role in developing new treatments for spinal muscular atrophy, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, myotonic dystrophy, and many other acquired and inherited disorders of nerve and muscle.  The Stanford team treated the first infant affected by SMA with nusinersen in 2013, and the first infant in the phase 3 trial of Zolgensma in 2017.  Stanford’s program has emphasized development of outcome measures and biomarkers to assess treatment efficacy of neuromuscular disorders, now focusing on the muscle and CNS features of myotonic dystrophy and other congenital myopathies for which novel treatments are now entering into clinical trials.  Dr. Day is a senior advisor for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Foundation for Nemaline Myopathy, on scientific advisory committees for the MDA, the SMAFoundation, CureSMA, and Cure Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (CureCMD), and on the board of directors of the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation and CureCMD.

When not working, Dr. Day loves to travel and hike with his wife, and their two adult children, and is an avid baker and cook. 


Dawn C. Duane, MD, MPH

Dr. Dawn C. Duane is a Clinical Professor of Neurology at Stanford University. Dr. Duane received her B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley, and her M.D. from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Prior to medical school, she worked for Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research and pursued epidemiological research in conjunction with the California Department of Health. While in medical school, Dr. Duane obtained a M.P.H. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She later completed her residencies in pediatrics and neurology at St. Joseph’s Hospital and the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona.

After residency, Dr. Duane returned to the Bay Area and joined the child neurology faculty at Stanford. Now she coordinates both the child neurology resident continuity clinic and the neuropsychopharmacology clinic, a joint child neurology and child psychiatry effort, which Dr. Duane established. Dr. Duane is the Co-Director of the child neurology outpatient clinics and also leads general neurology clinics three days a week.

Dr. Duane lives in Sunnyvale. When Dr. Duane is not being a doctor or mother, she enjoys reading, relaxing with friends, and creating theme parties.


Paul Graham Fisher, MD, MHS

Dr. Paul Graham Fisher is Interim Chair of the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences; Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, and by courtesy, Neurosurgery and Epidemiology and Population Health; the Beirne Family Professor of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology; and the Dunlevie Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.  He was most recently Chief of the Division of Child Neurology for 15 years.

Following his BA, with Distinction, in Human Biology from Stanford University and then his MD at UCSF, Dr. Fisher completed residencies in pediatrics and neurology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and then a fellowship in neuro-oncology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Johns Hopkins.  He also obtained a master’s degree in epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University.  After starting out on the faculty at Hopkins, in 1997 Dr. Fisher was recruited back to Palo Alto, where he started the pediatric neuro-oncology program at Stanford University. His clinical work and research focus on epidemiology, therapy, and late effects of childhood brain tumors and other childhood cancers.  He has authored over 300 scholarly publications on these and other neurology topics.  

Over his time at Stanford, Dr. Fisher has served as a member of the School of Medicine Admissions Committee, IRB member, Neurology Clerkship Director, Child Neurology Residency Program Director, and Senior Vice Chair for Academic Affairs in Neurology. He is a past recipient of multiple teaching awards, including the Arthur L. Bloomfield and Henry J. Kaiser Awards in the School of Medicine, as well as the Phi Beta Kappa Northern California Association Award for excellence in undergraduate education.  He currently teaches the popular undergraduate classes “Cancer Epidemiology” and “The Human Organism” in Human Biology.  He was the Bing Director of Human Biology in the School of Humanities from 2012 through 2019.

Dr. Fisher is presently the Editor-in-Chief for The Journal of Pediatrics, and he serves on the editorial board of Journal of Clinical Oncology.  In 2021, he was elected to the COPE Council of the Committee on Publication Ethics, and he has interests in plagiarism, text-recycling, and the editorial process.

Dr. Fisher’s personal interests are his wife Joy and three grown children, along with downhill skiing, anything baseball, travel with intense picnicking, and his dogs Monkey and Mona.    


Jonathan Hecht, MD, PhD

Dr. Jonathan Hecht is an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor in Neurology at Stanford University. Dr. Hecht received his B.S. from the University of California, Irvine. He then completed an M.D. and Ph.D. at the University of California, San Diego.  His Ph.D. training and research were in the area of developmental neuroscience, focusing on development of the cerebral cortex. Dr. Hecht then completed a residency in pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. After working as a pediatrician in the community, he then returned to UCSF and completed a residency in child neurology. Following his neurology training, he remained at UCSF and did postdoctoral research focusing on the interaction between the meninges and brain in development.

After finishing his postdoctoral fellowship, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he joined the faculty at Children's National Medical Center. Fearing the weather, he then returned to California and worked at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. He finally returned to the beautiful Bay Area to join the child neurology faculty at Stanford in 2014. Dr. Hecht now has a busy full-time, general child neurology practice in the East Bay, where he attends at John Muir Medical Center, as well as Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, where he is able to teach residents and medical students. Dr. Hecht feels that his research experiences have been extremely valuable allowing him to interpret neurological research, and to apply new information to help the care of his young patients.

Dr. Hecht lives in San Francisco. Outside work, he enjoys fixing his golf slice, baseball, and enjoying life in the Bay Area with friends and family.


Ann Hyslop, MD

Dr. Ann Hyslop is a Clinical Associate Professor Neurology at Stanford University. She received her B.A. at Macalester College and M.D. at the University of Texas, Houston. She then completed her pediatrics residency at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City and child neurology residency at the University of Washington. She next completed a clinical neurophysiology fellowship at Miami Children's Hospital after which she had further training in the pre-surgical evaluation of medically intractable epilepsy. She remained as a pediatric epileptologist at Miami Children's Hospital with a concentration in surgical epilepsy for 10 years before joining the Stanford faculty in 2022. 

Dr. Hyslop is an avid diver, seeking out shark dives worldwide, and loves yoga, sailing, and traveling with her husband.  


Susy Shu-Hsin Jeng, MD

Dr. Susy Jeng is a Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology at Stanford University. She received her B.A. at Harvard College and M.D. at the University of California, San Diego. She completed her pediatrics residency at University of California, San Francisco, and is board-certified in pediatrics. After practicing general pediatrics for two years, she returned to UCSF for neurology residency.

Upon completion of her residencies, she joined the faculty at Stanford as a child neurologist with a special interest in medical education. In particular, she enjoys serving as director of Stanford child neurology medical student clerkships, a core preceptor in the resident continuity clinic, and the pediatric education leader in neurology for the Stanford pediatrics residency. She has been an active educator in the community, lecturing about child neurology to pediatricians throughout the Bay Area, as well as nationally, through the American Academy of Pediatrics, where she is serving as the chair of the Education Subcommittee for the Section on Neurology. She is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, Child Neurology Society, and American Headache Society.

Dr. Jeng’s personal interests are centered around her husband, Yee-Li, and their two school-aged children. When there is time and energy left over, she enjoys discovering cheap/good eats and drinks in San Francisco and filling the rest of the time with reading.


Hyunmi Kim, MD

Dr. Hyunmi Kim is a Clinical Professor of Neurology at Stanford University. She received her M.D. and Ph.D. from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea. She completed her residency in Pediatrics at Asan Medical Center and fellowship in child neurology at Ewha Womans University Hospital and National University Hospital in Seoul, Korea. In the United States, she completed her child neurology residency at Medical College of Georgia and epilepsy fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. She obtained her M.P.H. from University of Alabama at Birmingham while she was the faculty there. She was a faculty and director of pediatric epilepsy center at Emory University, before joining the faculty at Stanford University. She is board certified in child neurology, clinical neurophysiology, and epilepsy.

Dr. Kim’s clinical expertise is epilepsy, treatment-resistant epilepsy, and epilepsy surgery, including stereo EEG monitoring and neurostimulation. Dr. Kim’s research interests are multimodal brain imaging and neurophysiologic data analysis to delineate seizure onset foci and propagation networks. She has also established a line of population health research exploring risk factors, treatment pattern, and outcomes in people with epilepsy. 

Dr. Kim is an active member of American Epilepsy Society (AES) and American Academy of Neurology. She served as a member for the Clinical Research Committee at AES from 2019 through 2021. In addition, she was a member of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Special Emphasis Panel in 2021. She is presently an incoming co-chair of the Special Interest Group Ictal Semiology at the AES annual meeting.

Dr. Kim’s personal interests are exploring the National Parks and golfing.


Jenna Klotz, MD, MS

Dr. Jenna Klotz is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology at Stanford University. She received a B.S. in Physics and French Literature from the College of William and Mary. She later completed her M.S. in Physiology at University of Cincinnati, where she also earned her M.D. She then completed residencies in pediatrics and child neurology at Stanford, where she served as both education and administrative chief resident. Subsequently Dr. Klotz completed a clinical neurophysiology fellowship at Stanford with a focus on neuromuscular medicine. She is board certified in pediatrics, child neurology, clinical neurophysiology and electrodiagnostic medicine.

Dr. Klotz joined the Stanford faculty in 2018. Currently, she sees a variety of patients in general child neurology clinic and also works as part of the multidisciplinary pediatric neuromuscular team. She performs pediatric EMG/nerve conduction studies and is director of the pediatric neuromuscular neurodiagnostic lab.

When not at work, Dr. Klotz enjoys spending time with her husband and their three children. She loves cooperative board games, boxing and barre classes, going to the park with her kids, and attempting to bake elaborate cakes for their birthdays.


Juliet K. Knowles, MD, PhD

Dr. Juliet Knowles is an Assistant Professor in Neurology and specializes in epilepsy. She received her B.A. with a double major in Microbiology and Philosophy at the University of Texas, Austin. She then completed her M.D. and Ph.D. in Neurosciences at Stanford University. In graduate school, Dr. Knowles conducted research on novel neurotrophin-based small molecules for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease under the mentorship of chair Dr. Frank Longo. After deciding to become a child neurologist, Dr. Knowles completed her residencies in Pediatrics and Child Neurology at Stanford, where she also served as Chief Resident in Neurology.

Following this, she completed a pediatric epilepsy fellowship, also at Stanford. Her post-doctoral research under the mentorship of Drs. Michelle Monje and John Huguenard led to the discovery of novel role for myelin plasticity in the pathogenesis of pediatric generalized epilepsy (Knowles et al., Nature Neuroscience 2022).

Currently Dr. Knowles cares for patients with pediatric epilepsy and runs an independent basic science lab where she and her team continue to study mechanisms underlying neuronal network dysfunction, seizures, and cognitive dysfunction in pediatric epilepsy, focusing on neuron-glial interactions; genetic forms of epilepsy, including epileptic encephalopathies and generalized epilepsies; and precision therapeutic approaches. Her current projects are particularly focused on interactions between neurons (gray matter) and myelin (white matter). Dr. Knowles’ research is supported by the American Epilepsy Society, a NIH/NINDS K08 award, the CURE Epilepsy Foundation, the Child Neurology Foundation/Pediatric Epilepsy Research Foundation Elterman Award, and the Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institute. Previously, Dr. Knowles was a recipient of the NINDS-funded Child Neurology Career Development Program K12 award.

When she is not in the clinic or the lab, Dr. Knowles loves to spend time with her husband, Joshua, and their two children. She also enjoys reading, training and running in marathons, and spending time in the great outdoors of California.


Sarah Lee, MD

Dr. Sarah Lee is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology, and Medical Director of the Pediatric Stroke Program at Stanford University.  Dr. Lee received a B.A. in comparative literature from Columbia University and worked at The Paris Review and Random House before returning to Columbia to complete a post-baccalaureate premedical program in 2003.  She received her M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where she graduated with special distinction in neurology, and went on to complete her child neurology residency at Stanford, followed by an adult neurovascular fellowship at the Stanford Stroke Center. 

Dr. Lee is Director of the Pediatric Stroke Program at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Associate Director of the Young Adult Stroke Clinic and Telestroke Program at the Stanford Stroke Center.  She sees stroke patients across the lifespan, attending on both the child neurology service as well as the adult stroke service.  Her main clinical and research interests include optimizing the diagnosis, neuroimaging, and hyperacute treatment of stroke in children and young adults.

In her free time, Sarah enjoys reading, playing tennis, and spending time outdoors with her husband and two sons. 


Christopher Lee-Messer, MD, PhD

Dr. Chris Lee-Messer is a Clinical Associate Professor in Neurology at Stanford University. Dr. Lee-Messer received his B.A. at Harvard University and M.D. and Ph.D. at Washington University in St. Louis. He completed an internship in pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, before completing residency in child neurology at Stanford and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. He has also completed an epilepsy fellowship at Stanford.

Dr. Lee-Messer's research has focused on the role of neuronal microcircuits in information processing and development, and he has conducted postdoctoral research in optogenetics in the laboratory of Professor Karl Deisseroth in the departments of Bioengineering and Psychiatry at Stanford.   He now works as a member of the pediatric epilepsy and general child neurology groups.   

Dr. Lee-Messer enjoys spending time with his wife, Jessica, and his son Beckett. His hobbies include running, volunteering at his son's school, and promoting the use of the python programming language in science and education.


Rebecca Levy, MD, PhD

Dr. Rebecca Levy is an Instructor in Neurology at Stanford University. Dr. Levy studied Neurobiology and received her B.A. at Yale University and then completed her M.D. and Ph.D. at Columbia University with research on the neuroscience of schizophrenia and neurometabolic disorders. She headed west to Stanford University for clinical training in the combined child neurology residency followed by a medical genetics fellowship in order to become a neurogeneticist. Her research includes use of three-dimensional, human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural organoids to model early neurodevelopment, as well as clinical projects on phenotypes of rare neurogenetic disorders. Her goal is to diagnose individuals in her clinic, study the underlying pathways of the disorders in her lab, and translate that research into novel treatment approaches.

When not at the lab or the hospital, Dr. Levy enjoys skiing, hiking, and cooking with her family.


Katherine Mackenzie, MD

Dr. Katherine Mackenzie is a Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital of Stanford University.

Dr. Mackenzie received her B.A. with Honors from Stanford and her M.D. from the University of California, Irvine. She trained in pediatrics at Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles.  She then went on to train in child neurology at Stanford University and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Following residency, she completed a fellowship in movement disorders at Stanford under the aegis of Dr. Helen Bronte-Stewart, and followed that with a fellowship focused on pediatric movement disorders with Dr. Jonathan Mink at the University of Rochester.

Dr. Mackenzie directs the Packard movement disorders clinic, focusing on disorders such as dystonia, chorea, tremor, ataxia, tics, and Tourette Syndrome. She is a member of the Child Neurology Society and the Movement Disorders Society.

Outside work, Dr. Mackenzie enjoys hiking, baking, exploring the world, learning new languages, and spending time with her growing family.


Jasia Mahdi, MD

Dr. Jasia Mahdi is an Instructor in Neurology at Stanford University. She received her B.S. in Biochemistry and B.A. in History from Southern Methodist University, and she then received her M.D. from Vanderbilt University. She completed her child neurology residency at St. Louis Children’s Hospital at Washington University.  While in residency, she developed an interest in the neurologic complications that can arise in patients with malignancies, which served as an impetus for her to pursue a pediatric neuro-oncology fellowship. She thus came to Stanford where she was a Beverly and Bernard Wolfe Fellow in Pediatric Neuro-Oncology. During that fellowship she became interested in the role of immunotherapy in the treatment of central nervous system tumors and the neurologic sequelae of CAR-T cell therapy. Her experiences taking care of patients on a clinical trial utilizing CAR-T cell therapy for the treatment of diffuse midline gliomas prompted her to complete a second fellowship at Stanford in pediatric neuro-immuno-oncology to expand further her understanding of immune-based therapies. She now attends on the pediatric and adult neuro-immuno-oncology services, where her primary clinical practice focuses on treating patients with brain and spine tumors with immune-based therapies, and also the child neurology service.

In her spare time, Dr. Mahdi enjoys reading literature, writing narrative non-fiction and short stories, attending concerts, hiking, and partaking in yoga.


Lauren Mattas, M.S., C.G.C

Lauren Mattas, M.S., C.G.C, completed her master’s degree in Genetic Counseling at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in 2014, and was certified by the American Board of Genetic Counseling that same year. She began her career at the Mills Peninsula Dorothy Schneider Cancer Center in San Mateo, providing cancer genetics counseling. She then practiced at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland and supported wide spectrum of patients in cancer, prenatal, and pediatric and adult general genetics.

Lauren came to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford in the Pediatric Neurogenomics Program in 2020. Since that time, she has specialized in providing care for children with rare neurological conditions, including epilepsy, leukodystrophy, brain malformations, and movement disorders. She has been very involved in supervising and teaching graduate students and providing mentorship to future genetic counselors.

In her spare time, Lauren enjoys spending time with friends and family, hiking and backpacking, and traveling the world, mainly to eat delicious food.


Elizabeth Mayne, MD, PhD

Dr. Elizabeth Mayne is an Instructor in Neurology with a focus in pediatric neurocritical care and stroke. She received her B.S. in Biological Sciences at Stanford. She was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University, where she earned a Ph.D. in Physiology. Her graduate work in Professor Ole Paulsen’s lab focused on diffuse neuromodulatory regulation of cortical network oscillations. Following her graduate work, she received her M.D. from Harvard Medical School through the joint Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology. She then returned to Stanford for her pediatrics and child neurology residencies. After residency, she completed a clinical fellowship in pediatric neurocritical care at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago before returning to Stanford to continue her research on pediatric stroke, which is supported by a NIH-NINDS K12 award.

Dr. Mayne is working with Dr. Marion Buckwalter to investigate the long-term cognitive consequences of pediatric stroke. Strokes increase the birth of new brain cells (neurogenesis), but also result in long-term inflammation in the brain. In adults, this stroke-induced chronic inflammation increases the risk of dementia, but its consequences in children are unknown. Using animal models of pediatric stroke, Dr. Mayne seeks to understand how neurogenesis and inflammation interact to affect cognitive development after stroke in childhood. In addition to pediatric stroke, Dr. Mayne’s clinical interests include neuroprotection and prognostication after cardiac arrest, multimodal neuromonitoring, and neurologic care of children with congenital cardiac disease.

When not in the lab or hospital, Dr. Mayne enjoys hiking, cycling, cooking (mis)adventures, and spending time with her family and her two young nieces.


Michelle Monje, MD, PhD

Dr. Michelle Monje is a Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, and by courtesy, of Pediatrics, Pathology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University.

After taking her B.A. in Biology at Vassar College, Dr. Monje received her M.D. and Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Stanford University. As a Ph.D. student she studied microenvironmental determinants of neural stem cell fate choice. She discovered that brain inflammation prevents neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells, work that has proven seminal in understanding the behavior of neural stem cells in disease states and the potential of neural stem cells in regenerative medicine.  Dr. Monje then completed her residency training in neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School Partners program, and then returned to Stanford for a clinical fellowship in pediatric neuro-oncology and a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Philip Beachy.

Dr. Monje is recognized as an international leader in the pathophysiology of glioma, especially diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG)/H3K27M-mutated diffuse midline gliomas and a pioneer in the emerging field of cancer neuroscience. She is a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator, and in 2021 she received a MacArthur Fellowship and also was named to the National Academy of Sciences.  The Monje Lab studies neuron-glial interactions in health and disease, with a particular focus on mechanisms and consequences of neuron-glial interactions in health, glial dysfunction in cancer therapy-related cognitive impairment and neuron-glial interactions in malignant glioma. Together with these basic studies, her research program has advanced preclinical studies of novel therapeutics for pediatric high-grade gliomas and cancer therapy-related cognitive impairment in order to translate new therapies to the clinic. She has led several of her discoveries from basic molecular work to clinical trials for children and young adults with brain tumors including a promising clinical trial of CAR T cell therapy for DIPG and diffuse midline gliomas. Her longstanding clinical focus has been childhood glial malignancies and cognitive impairment after childhood cancer therapy

Outside work, Dr. Monje spends her time with her husband Karl, sons Cole, Alexander and Hudson, and daughters Emma and Sophie. She enjoys spending time with her family and their two Labrador retrievers, Nox and Talisa.


Miguel Moreno, MD

Dr. Miguel Moreno is a Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology at Stanford, with a practice in general child neurology.  After taking his M.D. at Howard University College of Medicine, he trained in child neurology at the University of California, Irvine.  He worked previously at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.  Today he sees children with a variety of conditions including migraines/headaches, epilepsy, concussion, developmental delays, and cerebral palsy. He has a particular interest in using intramuscular botulinum toxin injections to treat migraines and chronic headaches(not spasticity). Dr. Moreno enjoys teaching medical students, residents, and fellows in hospital rounds and in clinic.

Dr. Moreno is a Northern California native who attended college at San Jose State University.  He is proud to help families and children in the surrounding communities of the Bay Area. His outside interests include the occasional 5K runs, taking his family to outdoor festivals, and participating in traditional Mexica Danza.


Jennifer O'Malley, MD, PhD

Dr. Jennifer O’Malley is a Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital of Stanford University.  After receiving her B.S. in Biology and B.A. in Spanish at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Dr. O’Malley completed her M.D. and Ph.D. in Neuroscience through the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.  She then completed her pediatrics and child neurology residencies at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, before being recruited to Stanford.

Dr. O’Malley has longstanding clinical and research interests in movement disorders. Her Ph.D. dissertation research focused on understanding underlying mechanisms of treatment-related dyskinesias. Dr. O’Malley is passionate about improving therapeutic options for children with movement disorders. She has a particular clinical interest in evaluation and treatment of children with dystonia, and she is working with other Stanford movement disorders faculty to develop a pediatric deep brain stimulation program.

Jennifer lives in San Francisco, with her husband Matt. Together, they enjoy cooking, hiking, yoga, and scuba diving.


Sonia Partap, MD, MS

Dr. Sonia Partap is a Clinical Professor of Neurology at Stanford University, and a neuro-oncologist at Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. Dr. Partap received both her B.A. and M.D. at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, before completing residencies in pediatrics and neurology at Brown University and University of Washington, respectively. She then came to Stanford in 2006 as the first Beverly and Bernard Wolfe Fellow in Pediatric Neuro-Oncology. In 2009 she completed a M.S. in epidemiology and clinical research at Stanford. Her research interests include epidemiology, international health, clinical trials in neuro-oncology, and disparities of healthcare. Dr. Partap attends in both child neurology and neuro-oncology and is Fellowship Director for Pediatric Neuro-Oncology.

Dr. Partap was previously elected to the Child Neurology Society's Board of Directors as Councillor of the West. She is also an active member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Section on Neurology, American Academy of Neurology's Section of Neuro-Oncology, Society for Neuro-Oncology, Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium, and Children’s Oncology Group. She also serves on the Medical Advisory Board for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Greater Bay Area.

During her off time, Dr. Partap is a passionate oenologist, traveler, and history buff. She enjoys cheering for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Stanford Cardinal, tennis, and hot yoga.


Brenda E. Porter, MD, PhD

Dr. Brenda Porter is a Professor of Neurology at Stanford University. She obtained her undergraduate degree at Washington University in St. Louis and then joined the Medical Scientist Training Program at Washington University School of Medicine, where she received her M.D. and Ph.D. She traveled east to complete her child neurology fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She went on to complete a combined clinical and research fellowship in epilepsy. Dr. Porter developed an interest in difficult to treat epilepsy, with a special focus on children with neuronal developmental disorders leading to epilepsy such as tuberous sclerosis and focal cortical dysplasia.

Dr. Porter is Director of Pediatric Epilepsy at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Co-director of the Tuberous Sclerosis Clinic at Stanford. Her research is focused on the role of the EEG as a biomarker in tuberous sclerosis complex. Developing therapies for the prevention of epilepsy and improving neuronal development in tuberous sclerosis complex. She is leading a multicenter trial for biomarker discovery in a rare genetic epilepsy, EIEE-25, caused by loss of citrate transporter function. She enjoys mentoring of residents, fellows, and junior faculty at Stanford and through the NIH Child Neurologist Career Development K-12 Award Program (CNCDP-K12).

Brenda is an avid California native gardener, bird watcher and baker.


Lindsey K. Rasmussen, MD

Dr. Lindsey Rasmussen is a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Critical Care Medicine) and by courtesy, Neurology. As the Co-Director of Pediatric Neurocritical Care, her focus is the merging of neurologic monitoring, care, and prognostic efforts with critically ill patients and complex medical problems. Dr. Rasmussen received her B.A at Miami University of Ohio, and M.D at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She completed her pediatrics residency at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington D.C., and subsequently her pediatric critical care fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Following her integral involvement in the pediatric neurocritical care program at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Children’s Center, she was recruited to start a neurocritical care program at the University of Louisville.

Dr. Rasmussen joined the Stanford team in 2018.  Her clinical and research interests are in inflammation following traumatic brain injury, outcome prediction after cardiac arrest, and neuro-monitoring in the pediatric intensive care setting.  She has dedicated her work to building a comprehensive pediatric neurocritical care program here at Stanford with a growing team that concentrates on specialized clinical care, multi-center research, and advanced education for nurses and trainees. She currently serves as Secretary of the international Pediatric Neurocritical Care Research Group and is an active member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics.  Dr. Rasmussen works closely as a career and research mentor to numerous trainees.

Outside work, Dr. Rasmussen is an enthusiastic traveler and live music aficionado. She enjoys time with her family and friends, hiking bay area trails, and trying to keep up with her two children.


Emily Spelbrink, MD, PhD

Dr. Emily Spelbrink is a Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology at Stanford University. Dr. Spelbrink received her B.S. at Emory University in Atlanta, and then her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees through the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of California San Diego. She completed her pediatrics residency at Harbor UCLA, followed by child neurology residency at Stanford, and pediatric epilepsy fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. Her interests in learning and memory were extended by Ph.D. research in these areas and continue to fuel her interests in brain development and epileptic encephalopathies as she treats epilepsy patients.

Dr. Spelbrink joined the faculty at Stanford in 2016 as a child neurologist and epileptologist. She sees outpatients primarily at California Pacific Medical Center, in addition to inpatient and EEG service and teaching at Stanford.

When not at work, Dr. Spelbrink enjoys travel, time and space in nature (hiking, running, backpacking, camping), reading, knitting, yoga, and being with close friends and family.


Isha Srivastava, MD, PhD

Dr. Isha Srivastava is an Instructor in Neurology at Stanford University. She received her B.S. from Johns Hopkins University, where she studied Cellular and Molecular Biology, and Psychology, and then completed her M.D. and Ph.D. at Temple University. Her graduate thesis work in Dr. Peter Crino’s lab investigated the role of mTOR signaling pathway in a preclinical mouse model of cerebral palsy. She subsequently completed a residency in child neurology at Stanford. During residency, she investigated the NLRP3 inflammasome expression in cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (cALD) in Dr. Van Haren’s lab at Stanford.

Her research interest is to evaluate the interplay of lipid metabolism, cell death and neuroinflammation in cALD and other peroxisomal disorders. In 2022, she received the Global Leukodystrophy Initiative (GLIA) Career Development Pilot Project Award to support her ongoing work in this area.

Outside work, Dr. Srivastava enjoys cooking, painting, trying out new Bay Area restaurants, and being by the water.


Lawrence Steinman, MD

Dr. Lawrence Steinman is the George A. Zimmerman Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences; Professor of Pediatrics and, by courtesy, Genetics; and Chair of the Multidisciplinary Program in Immunology. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, he has been on the faculty at Stanford since 1980.

During that time, Dr. Steinman has taken several therapies from the bench to the bedside. He has developed two antigen specific therapies, using DNA vaccines for multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes. Steinman was the senior author on a seminal paper reported in Nature in 1992, reporting the key role of a4b1 integrin in brain inflammation. Pre-clinical studies with a monoclonal antibody to a4b1 integrin reversed paralysis in an animal model of multiple sclerosis, which lead to the clinical development of the drug natalizumab (Tysabri). His current research focuses on what provokes relapses and remissions in multiple sclerosis, the nature of the genes that serve as a brake on brain inflammation, and the quest for a vaccine against multiple sclerosis.

Dr. Steinman was awarded the John M. Dystel Prize in 2004, for his research on multiple sclerosis, by the American Academy of Neurology and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Twice he has been awarded a Javits Neuroscience Award by the United States Congress and the NIH. In 2009 he was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine. In 2011 he was awarded the Charcot Prize for lifetime achievement in multiple sclerosis research.

Dr. Steinman still manages to find time to attend on the neurology service at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, where the residents applaud his teaching. He also organized a course on the Brain and the Immune system that was honored as an awardee for Stanford Graduate for Outstanding Teaching. Outside lab and hospital, he is an avid traveler and ardent Stanford basketball fan with season tickets.


Carolina Tesi Rocha, MD

Dr. Carolina Tesi Rocha is a Clinical Associate Professor in Neurology at Stanford University. She received her B.A and M.D. from University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she completed her residency in pediatrics and neurology at National Hospital Alejandro Posadas and and Hospital Nacional J. P Garrahan, respectively. In 2001, she moved to the United States to complete an international fellowship in neuromuscular disorders, involving basic and clinical research at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. She worked in translational research at Dr. Eric Hoffman’s lab, and later she received her second degree as a child neurologist from Children’s National Medical Center.

 

Dr. Tesi Rocha continued her work at Children’s National as an Assistant Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, where she was the co-director of the MDA clinic, as well as the Director of the Neuromuscular Program and Electrodiagnostic Lab. She moved to Stanford University in 2013, and she is now the director of the pediatric neuromuscular clinic. Dr. Tesi Rocha has over 20 years of experience in diagnosing, treating, and supporting patients with neuromuscular diseases. She is involved in ongoing research defining causes, diagnosis, and novel treatments of genetic neuromuscular disorders. Her clinical research focuses on spinal muscular atrophy, muscular dystrophies, metabolic and congenital myopathies.

Dr. Tesi Rocha’s personal interests are her husband, Sergio; her two grown children, Sophia and Juan Ignacio; and her dog Luca. She also enjoys spending time with friends and family, outdoor running, baking, oil painting and cheering for her Argentinian soccer team River Plate.


Keith P. Van Haren, MD

Dr. Keith Van Haren is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Stanford University. He received  his B.A. in Chemistry at the College of the Holy Cross and his M.D. at the University of Rochester. Dr. Van Haren completed his pediatrics residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and his neurology training at Stanford.  He completed fellowship training in clinical and translational neuroimmunology at Stanford.  

Dr. Van Haren is a child neurologist who specializes in the care of children with neuroinflammatory disorders and leukodystrophies. He is the Director of the Neuroimmunology Clinic at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.  His research team studies questions at the interface of immunology, metabolism, and neuroscience with a focus on adrenoleukodystrophy and multiple sclerosis.  

His interests outside medicine include his family, skiing, and traveling.


Jo Wallace, PhD, LMFT, ATR-BC

Dr. Jo Wallace is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Neurology at Stanford University.  Dr. Wallace joined the Division of Child Neurology in 2015 as a Bass Society and Sobrato-Brisson Faculty Scholar.  She is a pediatric neuropsychologist who provides assessments for both research and clinical based practice with neuro-oncology patients.  Dr. Wallace collaborates on research studies with Stanford pediatric faculty and the international medical field focused on the impact of neurological conditions on neurocognitive functioning and potential cognitive interventions. She has a specialization in art therapy which she utilizes during the assessment process to help engage patients and bring a deeper understanding of the social and emotional well-being of the child.  

Dr. Wallace received her B.A. from Loyola University, her M.A. from Notre Dame de Namur University, and her Ph.D. in Psychology from Palo Alto University. She completed her internship training at Children’s Hospital Orange County.  She provided art therapy to pediatric oncology and hematology patients at Stanford Children’s Hospital for over 10 years.  Dr. Wallace has also been an adjunct professor for the master and doctoral psychology programs at Notre Dame de Namur University for over 15 years where she taught and mentored graduate students.

Outside work, Dr. Wallace can be found playing and competing in golf tournaments around the globe, mastering her yoga poses, and pursuing fine arts opportunities.  


Courtney J. Wusthoff, MD, MS

Dr. Courtney Wusthoff is a Professor of Neurology and by courtesy, Pediatrics (Neonatal and Developmental Medicine) at Stanford University. She is the Associate Chief for the Division of Child Neurology, Neurology Director for the Neurology Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and the Director of Neurocritical Care at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. She received her B.A. in Neuroscience and Behavior at Columbia University in New York, her M.D. at the University of California, San Francisco, and her M.S. at Stanford University. Dr. Wusthoff completed her pediatrics residency at Children's Hospital Oakland, and her neurology and neurophysiology training at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. After her fellowship, Dr. Wusthoff served as Consultant in Perinatal Neurology at the Hammersmith Hospital and Imperial College in London. She is board certified in pediatrics, child neurology, epilepsy, and clinical neurophysiology.

Dr. Wusthoff leads the neonatal neurology and neurocritical care clinical and research teams. She also is a member of the pediatric epilepsy group, with a focus on the care of newborns and infants with seizures. Her clinical and research interests include neonatal seizures, brain monitoring during critical illness, and medical ethics.

Outside the hospital, Dr. Wusthoff enjoys traveling, cooking and discovering new things. She is a California native who is happiest at the beach.