Alex Bassuk, MD, PhD investigates a wide-range of diseases including epilepsy, autism, retinal disease, retinal inflammation, retinitis pigmentosa (RP), bone inflammation and traumatic brain injury. His laboratory focuses on the molecular biology, protein biochemistry, and genetic mechanisms in human diseases and in animal models. Along with a diverse cross-disciplinary team of researchers at the University of Iowa, he is pursuing a collaborative and innovative approach to use proteomics, stem cells, fruit flies, zebrafish, and mice to rapidly translate basic science findings into clinical treatments.
Meet Our Faculty
We have a diverse faculty with wide-ranging clinical and research interests. Many are internationally known and have been in the department for many years. We also have bright young faculty who bring new interests and enthusiasm to the practice and teaching of neurology. All clinical faculty participate in resident training, clinical practice, and research. Learn more about our faculty.
Aaron Boes, MD, PhD directs an interdisciplinary program in noninvasive brain stimulation. In addition to his time as a clinical child neurologist, he utilizes transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to treat medically refractory depression in adults. His laboratory focuses on neuroimaging and brain stimulation, with a special interest in how focal brain injuries have functional effects in areas of the brain that are not directly injured. His ultimate goal is to develop novel therapeutic strategies for brain disorders through the combined use of advanced neuroimaging techniques and noninvasive brain stimulation.
Michael Ciliberto, MD is a fellowship trained pediatric epileptologist who is dedicated to the treatment and, where possible, cure of epilepsy for the children of Iowa and surrounding states. He is comfortable with all modalities of diagnosis and treatment of medically intractable epilepsy including dietary and surgical treatments including laser interstitial thermal ablation (LITT) and deep brain (DBS) and responsive neurostimulation (RNS). He is enthusiastic about our participation in experimental drug trials including the use of anti-sense oligonucleotides in the treatment of Dravet syndrome, allowing the newest pharmaceutical agents to be brought to bear in the treatment of epilepsy in his patients. He also is the medical director of the multidisciplinary tuberous sclerosis clinic which brings together practitioner in multiple fields to optimize the care of these complex patients and their families.
Theresa Czech, MD is a child neurologist and epileptologist with a special interest in neonatal neurology and genetics. She is co-director of the neonatal neurocritical care program at the University of Iowa. The neonatal neurocritical care program is a multidisciplinary collaboration aimed at improving the neurological outcomes of our tiniest patients. Dr. Czech enjoys following these patients in clinic and watching them thrive. Dr. Czech takes care of patients with complex epilepsy including infantile spasms. She has a ketogenic diet clinic and also collaborates with Neurosurgery when a patient is a good candidate for a surgical treatment option. Dr. Czech is a transplant (read "captive") to Iowa. She enjoys the friendly and collaborative nature of the hospital. Outside of work, she tags along with Dr. Sprigg to the farmers market and is slowly teaching everyone in the division how to knit.
Anna Dabrowski, MD, PhD is a pediatric epileptologist and physician scientist. She splits her time between clinic and research. Her research focuses on understanding neural circuit changes that occur in genetic epilepsies. She is thrilled to join the University of Iowa Healthcare community.
Joseph Glykys, MD, PhD is a physician-scientist who conducts research on the cellular processes of the inhibitory system and the connection between neuronal swelling and changes in chloride and calcium ion concentration during different pathological conditions. His lab focuses on seizures and hypoxia, particularly in the neonatal brain. He earned his Medical Degree from Universidad de Carabobo in Valencia, Venezuela, pursued a Ph.D. at UCLA, and completed postdoctoral studies and a residency in Child Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School.
Katie Lutz MD is a pediatric neurologist and neuromuscular specialist who enjoys improving lives of children and their families with a wide spectrum of neurological diseases. In addition to her general neurology clinic, she participates in several multidisciplinary clinics at the university. She serves as neuromuscular faculty in the weekly pediatric MDA clinic providing multidisciplinary clinic for children with diagnoses including muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy and other neuromuscular disorders and providing state of the art care including gene therapy and RNA mediated therapies. She is the pediatric component of the University of Iowa's CMT clinic with Dr. Michael Shy. She is also now participating in a recently established neuromotor clinic at the CDD providing multi-disciplinary care for children with cerebral palsy and other diagnoses with physical medicine and rehab, developmental pediatrics, physical therapy and occupational therapy. She has also joined the child neurology residency program as assistant program director organizing the weekly didactic curriculum for pediatric neurology residents.
Sujana Madathil, MBBS, MHSc is a general Pediatric Neurologist and Sleep Medicine Specialist. She sees patients in Sleep medicine clinic, general pediatric neurology clinic and is also part of the neurocritical care follow up clinic. Her special interests include sleep disorders in children with neuro developmental disabilities and epilepsy.
Katherine Mathews, MD is a neuromuscular specialist with additional fellowship training in genetics. She runs the Iowa Neuromuscular Program and Muscular Dystrophy clinic. She conducts clinical research directed to improving outcomes for children and adults with neuromuscular diseases. She has served on NIH and CDC working groups to define the direction of research on neuromuscular disease in the future and has become increasingly involved in collaborative clinical research efforts, many of which are laying a groundwork for clinical trials. She is the PI a project to better understand the natural history of a group of muscular dystrophies known as dystroglycanopathies through the Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center, http://www.medicine.uiowa.edu/mdcrc/ and follows patients with Friedreich ataxia in a similar collaborative project. Dr. Mathews is co-PI for the Iowa MDSTARnet project, a CDC sponsored, multi-center muscular dystrophy surveillance and epidemiology project http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/musculardystrophy/research.html. As part of her commitment to improving care for patients with rare neuromuscular diseases, she leads several industry-sponsored clinical trials at the University of Iowa (see clinicaltrials.gov). She is excited about the progress that has been made in understanding and managing neuromuscular diseases and is looking forward to being able to offer more effective treatments in the future.
Satsuki Matsumoto, MD is a general child neurologist with a special interest in brain tumors. She sees patients in the general child neurology clinic and also collaborates with neuro-oncologists, radiation oncologists, neurosurgeons, pediatric ophthalmologists, and psychologists to deliver comprehensive care to pediatric patients with brain tumors.
James Owens, MD, PhD is a pediatric epilepsy specialist who enjoys partnering with families in the diagnosis and management of childhood seizure disorders. He is delighted to have joined the team at Iowa Health Care both because of the wonderful clinical team here as well as the amazing patients he is able to serve.
Megan Rohlf, MD is a general child neurologist who is fellowship trained clinical neurophysiology. In addition to her general child neurology clinic, she reads EEGs and runs the new onset seizure clinic.
Dimah Saade, MD is a pediatric neurologist and neuromuscular specialist dedicated to diagnosing and treating children with neuromuscular conditions. She is part of the Iowa neuromuscular program and muscular dystrophy clinic. Her diagnostic skills include performing EMG/NCS. Dr. Saade also participates in clinical research studies to improve treatment of children and adults with neuromuscular disorders.
Brittany Sprigg, MD is a pediatric neurologist and epileptologist with clinical interests in neurocritical care, particularly EEG in the ICU, and in the genetics of pediatric epilepsy. In addition to her epilepsy and new onset seizure clinics, she leads projects to improve the quality of our care for neurology patients in the hospital and the clinic. Outside the hospital, she enjoys outdoor activities of all kinds, frequenting the Iowa farmers markets and bookstores, and living her best Little House on the Prairie life through crafting and inexpert but enthusiastic attempts at growing vegetables.
Sreenath Thati Ganganna, MBBS, MD is a pediatric epileptologist with a special interest in management of patients with intractable epilepsy, including presurgical evaluation, vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and ketogenic diet. "I feel privileged to be working at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital which is one of the best children’s hospitals in the country. What I like the most about University of Iowa is the amazing colleagues that I work with and the amazing patients and families that I get to serve in my neurology practice. At Stead Family Children’s, professionally enriching experiences are a part of everyday life for both the faculty as well as the trainees."
Leah Zhorne, MD is general child neurologist with a special clinical interest in headache disorders. She is passionate about improving the quality of patient care in her role as director of the comprehensive headache clinic and in the neurocritical care follow up clinic. She also participates in clinical research, serving as the site PI for the International Pediatric Stroke Study, and as a site sub-investigator in a Gaucher Type 3 Disease clinical trial. Leah also has a special interest in resident education. In her role as Program Director, she continually works to adapt and update the child neurology resident experience to fit the ever-changing needs of our learners.