I grew up in Norman, Oklahoma. I “defected” to go to UT Austin for undergrad. I was a Dean’s Scholar and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry. During college, I studied abroad for one year in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. I then graduated from the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. I earned my PhD in Neuroscience in 2006 and my MD in 2008. For my PhD, I studied how the newborn brain differs from the adult brain in how electrical signals are transmitted, and how these differences can lead to seizures in infants. I completed Pediatrics internship at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) followed by Child Neurology residency via the Neuroscience Pathway, a special training program for physician-scientists. I am certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Neurology with Special Qualifications in Child Neurology. Following residency, I joined the faculty at UCSF and gained further subspecialty scientific training in the lab of Dr. Vikaas Sohal studying how the brain’s electrical activity is altered in autism. I also gained special clinical expertise in autism spectrum disorder through treating patients at the UCSF Pediatric Brain Center’s Sensory, Neurodevelopment, and Autism Program. In addition, I was the Child Neurologist for Katie’s Clinic for Rett Syndrome and Related Disorders at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital – Oakland. I am fluent in Spanish, and serve as the Child Neurologist for Rotary Club’s Proyecto Niño, an annual medical service mission in Mexico.

I joined the Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics at Dell Med in January of 2017. My time is split between scientific investigations and seeing patients. Clinically, I specialize in the evaluation and treatment of children with autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. Scientifically, I use a diverse array of approaches such as optogenetics, calcium imaging, behavioral assays, and patch clamp electrophysiology to understand how the brain’s circuitry is disrupted in disorders like autism. My long-term goal is to develop circuit-based therapies to improve the lives of people with autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders.