R&F Bios
Neurology® Resident & Fellow Section Team Members
Please welcome our new Editor, Whitley Aamodt, MD, MPH, and Deputy Editors, Katherine Fu, MD, and Ariel Lyons-Warren, MD, PhD. Learn more about them and the RFS team below.
SECTION EDITOR
Whitley Aamodt, MD, MPH
Whitley Aamodt is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania. She graduated with a degree in neuroscience from the College of William and Mary and completed dual degrees in medicine and public health at the University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio. She also completed her adult neurology residency and movement disorders fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, where she served as the Edmond J. Safra Fellow from 2019-2021. Dr. Aamodt is currently the recipient of an NIH T32 grant in neuroepidemiology and will complete a master’s degree program in clinical epidemiology in 2022. Her research interests include topics in health care disparities, neurological outcomes, and palliative and end-of life care for patients with Parkinson disease and related disorders. She is also passionate about medical education and enjoys working with neurology trainees from around the world.
Facebook: @wwaamodt
DEPUTY EDITORS
Katherine Fu, MD
Katherine Fu is a Movement Disorders Fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles. She graduated with degrees in neuroscience and biological sciences from the University of Southern California and obtained her medical degree from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Her research interests include investigating neuroimaging biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases, and she is interested in learning more about deep brain stimulation and neuromodulation during fellowship as well. She also has an interest in medical education, having completed the Certificate Program in Innovations in Curriculum Design and Evaluation, and now participating in the Fellowship in Medical Education Scholarship offered at UCLA. She is also a co-neurology clerkship site director at the West LA VA Medical Center and one of the leads of the UCLA Neurology Residency Education Track. Her hobbies include creative writing, shao-lin kung fu, and playing viola and ukulele.
Twitter: @KatherineFuMD
Ariel Lyons-Warren, MD, PhD
Ariel M. Lyons-Warren is an instructor in pediatric neurology at Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). She graduated with a degree in neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University and then earned her MD/PhD from Washington University in St. Louis. She completed a child neurology - basic neuroscience track residency at BCM. Her translational research program focuses on sensory processing from neural circuits to sensory phenotypes in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. In addition to her role with the Resident and Fellow Section of Neurology, she organizes an annual Clinical Research Workshop through the Child Neurology Society and developed a six-course series on how to be successful in academic medicine for the BCM Child Neurology residency program.
Twitter: @drdrariel
TEAM MEMBERS
Raphaël Bernard-Valnet, MD, PhD
Raphaël Bernard-Valnet is an adult neurology resident at Lausanne University Hospital (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois), Switzerland. In 2010, he entered the French Institute of Health nationwide MD-PhD program (Ecole de l’INSERM - Liliane Bettencourt), where he earned his PhD in immunology and infectious diseases under the supervision of Prof. Roland Liblau in Toulouse, France. He studied the autoimmune mechanisms underlying narcolepsy with cataplexy. After graduating with his MD from Faculté de médecine de Toulouse, he joined Lausanne, Switzerland for his neurology training. His research and clinical interests focus on inflammatory and infectious diseases of the central nervous system.
Twitter: @Raphael_BrdVlt
Sarah Brooker, MD, PhD
Sarah Brooker is an adult neurology resident at Northwestern Memorial Hospital of Northwestern University. She is originally from Minnesota and completed her undergraduate education at Yale University in 2010. She then joined the Medical Scientist Training Program at Northwestern where she earned her MD and PhD degrees. Her PhD research focused on signaling pathways modulating adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Her current research interests include investigating genetic and inflammatory mechanisms of neurodegenerative movement disorders. Outside of medicine she enjoys figure skating, spending time with family, and exploring the Chicago food scene.
Gianluca Costamagna, MD
Gianluca Costamagna is a Vascular Neurology Fellow at the University of Milan, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Italy. During medical school, he studied for one year in Bonn, Germany, while completing his medical degree at the University of Pavia, Italy. Prior to Neurology residency in Milan, he was awarded the Armenise Harvard Summer Fellowship and worked at Weiner’s lab, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, investigating the role of microbiota in modulating multiple sclerosis in mice. Gianluca truly enjoys medical education, having served as a microbiology, tropical medicine, and human physiology teaching assistant in medical school. As a fellow, he has broad research interests within the field of acute ischemic stroke, with emphasis on stroke mechanisms and translational research. Outside of Neurology, Gianluca loves running, exploring Italian boroughs, and hiking in the Alps.
Tyler Crissinger, MD
Tyler Crissinger is a neurology resident at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. Raised in a small town in southern Louisiana, he completed his undergraduate education in Seattle at the University of Washington, where he studied physiology and American literature, then obtained his medical degree from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in Pennsylvania. He is interested in neuromuscular disorders, medical education, and narrative medicine. He also enjoys reading, writing, music, nature, and motorcycles.
Isabella Ferando, MD, PhD
Isabella Ferando is an adult neurology resident at University of Miami. Originally from Mantova, Italy, she obtained her MD at the University of Bologna with a research thesis on localizing semiologic signs in focal epilepsies. She later moved to Los Angeles where she obtained a PhD in Neurophysiology at UCLA. Her research focused on the role of neurosteroids on GABAA receptors in mouse models of diseases. She later completed two postdocs with research focused first on epilepsy and later migraines, during which time she was awarded the prestigious Epilepsy Foundation postdoctoral fellowship. She published several peer reviewed papers including reviews, in high impact journal such as Nature Neuroscience, Annals of Neurology and the Journal of Neuroscience, and throughout the years she served as peer reviewer for journals like The Journal of Neuroscience and Frontiers. Isabella is passionate about women's health and translational research and in promoting those through scientific communication and educational outreach. During her free time Isabella enjoys spending time with her family, cooking Italian meals, and traveling.
Pedro Fraiman, MD
Pedro Fraiman is an adult neurology resident at Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Originally from Natal, a sunny city in Brazil, he completed medical school at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), where he developed his first steps in neurology and medical education, and graduated summa cum laude. After graduation, he spent one year working on Brazilian Army as medical lieutenant and he was a local investigator on clinical trials of Oxford University vaccine against COVID-19 in Brazil. As a neurology resident, he has a broad research and clinical interests focused within the field of neurogenetics, neuromuscular diseases and neurological manifestation of systemic disorders. Outside of Neurology, during his free time, Pedro enjoys good food (he loves the São Paulo food scene), loves airplanes and travels, reads about II World War, and is a fan of America de Natal, a soccer team from his city.
Jonathan Gaillard, MD
Jonathan Gaillard is a pediatric neurology resident at University of Michigan. Jonathan grew up in Washington, D.C. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia, majoring in biomedical engineering and minoring in engineering business. He then attended Yale University for medical school, during which he spent a year of research as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Medical Fellows Program Awardee and found a love for both genetics and developmental biology. As a resident, Gaillard has developed an interest in pediatric epilepsy genetics. He serves on his program’s resident research committee and helps both organize and present lectures on various neurogenetic topics to the pediatric and adult neurology residents. After residency he plans to complete epilepsy fellowship prior to pursuing an R25 funded project under the mentorship of Dr. Jack Parent to study the development of interneurons. Outside the hospital, Gaillard enjoys hobbies including running, cycling, listening to science fiction audiobooks, podcasts, and playing with his dog.
Claudia Gambrah-Lyles, MD
Claudia Gambrah-Lyles is a child neurology resident at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2013 with a BA in Biochemistry and Spanish and completed her medical degree at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Claudia is passionate about medical education and has been involved in different teaching and curriculum development efforts throughout college and medical school.
Her clinical and research interests include the intersection between neuroimmunology and infectious disease as well as investigating and mitigating racial disparities in neurologic disease. After residency, she plans to pursue a fellowship in neuroimmunology and continue exploring a career in global medicine. In her spare time, she enjoys watersports, learning new languages and sewing a sustainable wardrobe.
Galina Gheihman, MD
Galina Gheihman is an adult neurology resident in the Mass General Brigham Neurology Program in Boston, MA. Originally from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Galina attended the University of Toronto for her undergraduate studies, majoring in neurosciences and psychology. She moved to Boston in 2014 and earned her medical degree at Harvard Medical School. Galina has wide clinical, research, and educational interests including quality improvement and patient safety, leadership and resilience in medicine, and designing, implementing, and evaluating medical education interventions. She loves to mentor, teach, and share her enthusiasm for medicine and neurology with others. When not at the hospital, Galina’s favorite place to be is anywhere outdoors! She enjoys hiking in the mountains, running, dancing, and travelling around the world. She can often be found listening to a podcast or audiobook while on a long walk, or when on the train or plane heading to her next adventure!
Katrina Ignacio, MD
Katrina Ignacio is an adult neurology resident at the Philippine General Hospital. She received her medical degree from the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. Before entering residency, she had been involved in research projects that aimed to update health policies for public health insurance in the Philippines. She is currently the Assistant Chief Resident for Research for the Department of Neurosciences at the Philippine General Hospital. Her clinical interests include vascular neurology and neurophysiology. Outside medicine, she enjoys practicing yoga and going wakeboarding.
Twitter: @Katha_MD
Saba Jafarpour, MD
Saba Jafarpour is a child neurology resident at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. She received her medical degree with honors from Tehran University of Medical Sciences. She completed a research fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and residency in pediatrics at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
She has been actively engaged in research and scholarly activities in pediatric epilepsy, neuroimmunology and neuroinflammatory disorders. She also serves as a member of Residents and Fellows Board of Journal of Child Neurology/Child Neurology Open. In her free time, she enjoys drawing/painting, Persian calligraphy, and biking.
Twitter: @SabaJafarpour
Nadia Khalil, MD
Nadia Khalil is an adult neurology resident at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL. She completed both her undergraduate and medical degrees at USF through its combined 7-Year BS/MD program. She is passionate about medical education and wellness in medicine with additional interests in narrative medicine, medical administration, patient safety, quality improvement, and service. Outside of medicine, she enjoys spending time with family, running, yoga, roller skating, boating, board games, and all-things coffee.
Yasamin Mahjoub, MD
Yasamin Mahjoub is an adult neurology resident at the University of Calgary in Canada. She received a BSc in Neuroscience from the University of Calgary then completed medical school at the University of Alberta. She is passionate about the practice of neurology and loves to teach medical students and junior residents. She has a particular interest in movement disorders and plans to pursue further fellowship training in the field after residency. She is keen on clinical research and hopes to contribute to clinical trials in movement disorders. Outside of the hospital, Yasamin enjoys good conversation, reading, travel, hiking in the nearby Rockies, knitting, and trying new ice cream flavors.
Alexandria Melendez-Zaidi, MD, PhD
Allie Melendez-Zaidi is a child neurology resident at Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine. Allie studied applied mathematics and microbiology at the University of Texas at El Paso before moving to Chicago as a part of Northwestern's Medical Scientist Training Program where she earned MD and PhD degrees. In graduate school she studied microcircuitry and synaptic plasticity within the basal ganglia, with particular interest in interneurons of the striatum and manifestations of diseases of this nucleus. Her current research interests are broad and include channelopathies in genetic epilepsy syndromes and neuroplasticity / rehabilitation in children after brain injury. Outside of medicine she spends time moving (dancing, running, soccer), reading, being outside, and practicing her pediatric exam skills on her two children. She is enthusiastic about communicating with the neurology population at large, grateful for the privilege to take care of patients and families, and for her own health.
Nara Michaelson, MD, MS
Nara Miriam Michaelson is an adult neurology resident at NewYork Presbyterian/Weill Cornell in New York, NY. Originally from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, she moved to the east coast to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and major in brain & cognitive sciences. After undergrad, she did research at Brigham & Women's Hospital, studying the role of T regulatory cells in multiple sclerosis. She attended Dartmouth Medical School, where she was the President of the Student Interest Group in Neurology (SIGN) chapter. Nara is passionate about teaching and studying all aspects of neurology, with specific interests in multiple sclerosis and other inflammatory conditions of the central nervous system. Currently, she is researching imaging biomarkers to further explore the biological mechanisms underlying inflammatory lesions. Her other interests include advancing the role of women in neurology as well as promoting the use of narrative medicine. She has published several short stories and created podcasts for the journal of Academic Medicine and has written poetry for the journal of Academic Psychiatry. She will be starting her fellowship in MS/Neuroimmunology at Harvard/MGH/BWH in July 2023.
Twitter: @Narologist
Alisa Mo, MD, PhD
Alisa Mo is a child neurology resident at Boston Children's Hospital. She graduated from Cornell University with a BA in biology and mathematics. She then completed her MD/PhD from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her PhD research focused on identifying genome-wide differences in DNA methylation and chromatin modifications across subtypes of cortical neurons. Her clinical and research interests are in the area of neurogenetics. Outside of medicine, Alisa enjoys hiking, cooking, and board games.
Eric Lee Stulberg, MD, MPH
Eric Stulberg is an adult neurology resident at the University of Utah. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a BS in organizational studies. He completed his MD at Northwestern University and his MPH in epidemiologic methods at the University of Michigan. His research interests and experience include translating causal inference methods into clinical neurology research, as well as studying how socioenvironmental factors influence neurologic health and healthcare delivery. He also has a growing interest in critical appraisal education in medical training. His clinical interests within neurology are broad. Outside of medicine, he enjoys playing tennis and taking advantage of the surrounding mountains by camping, hiking, and skiing.
Twitter: @elstulberg1
Dattanand (Datta) Sudarshana, MD
Datta Sudarshana is an adult neurology resident at the University of California, San Francisco. He received his bachelor’s degree in microbiology & immunology at University of California, Irvine and completed his medical degree at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. Prior to residency, Dr. Sudarshana spent a year as a research fellow at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), evaluating the utility of manganese as an MRI contrast agent in a first-in-human clinical trial. Clinically, he is passionate about neuroimmunology and neuro-infectious disease. His other interests include medical education, translational research, and global health. Outside of the hospital, Dr. Sudarshana enjoys exploring the local food scene in San Francisco, spending time outdoors and playing basketball.
Stephanie Syc-Mazurek, MD, PhD
Stephanie Syc-Mazurek is an adult neurology resident at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She is originally from Illinois and completed her undergraduate studies in neuroscience at Brown University. She then spent several years as a research coordinator in the Division of Neuroimmunology at Johns Hopkins University where she utilized novel imaging techniques of the brain and retina to study structure-function relationships in patients with neuroinflammatory diseases. Prior to residency, she attended the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY where she received her MD and PhD in neuroscience and then completed a post-doctoral research fellowship. Her research focused on identifying the molecular mechanisms that contribute to ganglion cell death and axonal degeneration in optic neuropathies. Her clinical interests include autoimmune neurology, neuroimmunology, and neuro-ophthalmology which aligns with her research interests of better understanding autoimmune vision loss in order to improve patient care. Outside of medicine, Stephanie enjoys spending time traveling with her husband and sons, home-improvement projects, and growing heirloom tomatoes.
Daniel Talmasov, MD
Daniel Talmasov completed a residency in psychiatry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School, and is now an adult neurology resident at New York University School of Medicine. Daniel’s chief clinical interests lie at the interface of neurology and psychiatry – particularly improving treatment for patients with cases of neurologically-induced psychiatric symptoms, and in the diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from comorbid neurologic and psychiatric processes. Daniel’s leading research interest is in lesional neuropsychiatry – the study of how neurologic disease, e.g. stroke or neurodegenerative disease, can disrupt brain networks critical to supporting normal cognition and behavior, resulting in behavioral, cognitive, or affective syndromes that share features with “primary” or idiopathic psychiatric disorders, in hopes of identifying testable circuit-level hypotheses pertinent to both psychiatric and neurobehavioral diseases. During the course of his residency training, Daniel’s focus has been on neurologic causes of mania, and on lesion-induced auditory and visual hallucinations. Daniel also serves as Assistant Editor at the Harvard Review of Psychiatry. In his free time, he enjoys live music, theater, ballet, traveling, hiking, and history.
Joaquin A. Vizcarra, MD
Joaquin A. Vizcarra is an adult neurology resident at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, USA. He received his medical degree from the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru. After completing his studies, he was awarded the Louise and Raymond Koenig fellowship in neurodegenerative disorders conducting clinical research in movement disorders at the University of Cincinnati under the mentorship of Dr. Alberto J. Espay. After residency, he plans to pursue a movement disorders fellowship. His research interests are broad, with an emphasis on the integration of patient‐centered outcomes and technology measures. Outside medicine, he enjoys playing guitar, piano, and tennis, as well as exploring the Atlanta food scene with his wife.
Twitter: @VizcarraJA
Twitter: @aWise_MD
Denise Xu, MD
Denise Xu is an adult neurology resident at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She graduated from Harvard University in 2011 with a BA in Neurobiology and completed her medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania. She is passionate about medical education and has been involved in direct teaching and curriculum development efforts since college. Clinically, she is interested in neurohospitalist medicine. In her spare time, she enjoys perusing estate/garage sales and used bookstores, hiking, and accumulating new hobbies. The latest: keeping an ever-growing collection of houseplants alive despite all odds.
Aaron Zelikovich, MD
Aaron Zelikovich is an adult neurology resident at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, NY. Originally from Indianapolis, IN, he moved to Chicago to attend Northwestern University where he majored in biology and religious studies. As a senior, he volunteered at the Lurie Children’s Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) clinic where he worked on clinical trials for patients with neuromuscular disorders. He attended medical school at Indiana University School of Medicine, where he continued his research in neuromuscular disorders including projects on exercise and a clinical trial on weekly steroids in muscular dystrophy. He is currently a resident at Weill Cornell, involved in medical education through his work as part of the Resident as Educator track, involved in neurology social media education through NeuroTwitter and the NeuroTwitterNetwork, and neuromuscular clinical trial research analyzing trends of ALS clinical trials over the past two decades. He plans to pursue a clinical neuromuscular fellowship after completing his residency. Outside of neurology, he enjoys playing basketball with friends, spending the afternoon walking around Central Park, and trying all of the food NYC has to offer.
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