Clinical Associate Professor
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Epilepsy; Multiple Sclerosis; Neurology; Neuropsychology; Pediatrics
As a neuropsychologist with training in both child and adult neuropsychology, my clinical practice focuses on the comprehensive neurocognitive and psychological evaluation of children, adolescents and adults. My primary focus is in pediatric neuropsychology; I see children ages 3 to 18 with a variety of developmental and neurological disorders. I also evaluate adults with developmental disorders and epilepsy. One of my areas of expertise is in pre- and post-surgical assessment, primarily for patients with intractable seizure disorder. As a consultant with our epilepsy unit at Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, I work with patients’ neurologists and neurosurgeons regarding seizure focus, cognitive integrity and prognostic factors related to surgical outcome. I also serve as the primary neuropsychologist for the Pediatric MS Center of Excellence, one of six such centers in the U.S. designated by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society that offers comprehensive, multidisciplinary evaluation and care for children with demyelinating conditions. I provide neuropsychological assessment for the children and conduct research in the center and with collaborating sites within the network.
In addition, I have extensive training and experience in assessment and diagnostic clarification for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. In my outpatient clinic at Buffalo General Medical Center, I focus on thorough evaluations of neurocognitive function to provide not only diagnostic clarification, but a better understanding of specific areas of strength and weakness to help guide my patients’ medical treatment, school interventions and other therapeutic interventions. Given findings from the neuropsychological evaluation, I provide specific recommendations to help my patients achieve the greatest degree of success possible.
My research interests include understanding neurocognitive functioning in pediatric patients with demyelinating disorders and epilepsy treatment and surgical outcomes. Conducting clinical research allows me to use information from my clinical work to guide research questions, improve understanding of patient populations and provide better care and guidance regarding treatment interventions to my patients.
As a teacher, I work with medical residents and psychology graduate students to improve their understanding of neurocognitive functioning and neurocognitive assessment in children and adults with a variety of disorders such as MS, demyelinating disorders, epilepsy, head injury and autism spectrum disorder. I also tailor training if a resident/student has a particular area of interest. In addition, I serve as a mentor for neurology residents and psychology graduate students on research projects and offer more extensive training in neuropsychological assessment and diagnostics. I am also available to work with recently graduated undergraduates and master’s students who would like to gain research experience.