Neurology

The Division of Child Neurology is committed to providing excellent clinical care, educating trainees at all levels, and advancing knowledge through biomedical research.

Education

The Division of Child Neurology is dedicated to educating the next generation of clinicians about child neurology. The division participates in the education of medical students, residents in pediatrics, neurology, and psychiatry, and future child neurologists.

Residency Program

Our current Child Neurology Residency Program opened in 2007. It is integrated with the pediatrics residency program, is closely aligned with the adult neurology training program, and provides a rich environment for learning. We are excited about sharing our love of child neurology with the physicians of the future.

A Faculty-focused Academic Medical Center

UI Health Care faculty enjoy defined academic time, plus benefits like doubling your retirement contribution. With a short commute and low cost of home ownership, it's no surprise we attract the best academically trained providers.

Research

Child neurology faculty members have active research activities across the spectrum of clinical, translational, and basic science.

Faculty members participate in, or direct, natural history studies in neuromuscular disease and epilepsy. They participate in national and international clinical trials of possible treatments in neuromuscular diseases.

Child neurology faculty members have participated in identifying new genes that cause epilepsy and other genetic disorders of the nervous system, and study the effect of toxins or viruses on the developing brain.

Faculty members are also active within the Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center, which explores therapeutic strategies for the treatment of various muscular dystrophies.

Division Investigators and Labs

Labs

Investigators

Alex Bassuk, MD, PhD: Research focuses on the neuroanatomy, molecular biology, protein biochemistry, and genetic mechanisms in human diseases and animal models.
Aaron Boes, MD, PhD: Neuroimaging and noninvasive brain stimulation.
Michael Ciliberto, MD: Clinical improvement in the treatment and diagnosis of epilepsy.
Anna Dabrowski, MD, PhD: How epilepsy-associated gene variants alter the brain during development, specifically with a focus on synaptic connections between neurons.
Joseph Glykys, MD, PhD: Research interests include neuronal volume, GABA A receptors, neocortex, seizures and neonatal seizures.
Jing Jiang, PhD: How to better understand the neural and psychological processes underlying social interaction and their relations to neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Katherine Mathews, MD: Participant in multicenter natural history studies in Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Friedreich ataxia. Directs a natural history and outcome measure study of the dystroglycanopathies, a group of rare types of muscular dystrophy, as part of the Iowa Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Specialized Research Center. Site PI for industry-sponsored clinical trials for neuromuscular diseases.
Levi Sowers, PhD: Studies the neurocircuitry underlying migraine and post-traumatic headache. Podcast | Scopus

Recent Division Publications

All of our division are involved in research. Several of our faculty are research focused, devoting significant portions of their professional time to research endeavors. However, impressively, even our clinically focused faculty continue to help drive important research progress in our field.

Clinical Care

All child neurology faculty members are board certified in neurology with special qualifications in child neurology. Child neurology faculty members work together with pediatric neurology nurse practitioners and specialized nursing staff to deliver outstanding care in all aspects of child neurology.

Faculty and staff work closely with other clinicians throughout the UI Healthcare system offer our patients comprehensive care. The division has particular clinical expertise in epilepsy, neurogenetics and neuromuscular disorders.

As part of the Iowa Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, the division provides a full range of treatment and evaluation including ketogenic diet, vagal nerve stimulator, and surgical evaluation. The neuromuscular program provides multidisciplinary care to individuals with diseases of the muscles or nerves. Child neurology clinics are held in the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital Pediatric Specialty Clinic and in outreach clinics across the state of Iowa.

Learn about our services and clinics and request an appointment.