Team

Neurology Physicians

Michael Zimbric, M.D., Interim Division Chief Clinical Professor of Neurosciences and Pediatrics, UC San Diego

Shifteh Sattar, M.D., Clinical Director; Medical Director, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center; Medical Director, EEG Laboratory; Associate Clinical Professor of Neurosciences and Pediatrics, UC San Diego

Merveen Appu, M.D., Pediatric Neurologist and Epileptologist

Kristen Barbour, M.D., Associate Physician of Neurosciences and Pediatrics, UC San Diego

Jonathan D. Bui, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Professor of Neurosciences and Pediatrics, UC San Diego

Allison Chirigos, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurosciences, UC San Diego

Katherine Dove, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurosciences, UC San Diego

Aliya Frederick, M.D.,Ph.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurosciences and Pediatrics, UC San Diego

Jennifer Friedman, M.D., Director, Movement Disorders Clinic; Director, Tic/Tourette Center; Clinical Professor of Neurosciences and Pediatrics, UC San Diego

Jeffrey Gold, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Neonatal Neurology; Associate Clinical Professor of Neurosciences and Pediatrics, UC San Diego

Jennifer Graves, M.D., Ph.D., M.A.S., Director, Rady Children’s Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Center; Director, UC San Diego Neuroimmunology Research Program; Associate Professor of Clinical Neurosciences, UC San Diego

Natalie Guido-Estrada, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Neurosciences and Pediatrics, UC San Diego

Richard Haas, M.D., Director of the Mitochondrial and Metabolic Disease Center; Professor of Neurosciences and Pediatrics, UC San Diego

Andrew Hannawi, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurosciences and Pediatrics, UC San Diego

Anuja Jindal, M.D., Program Director of Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Fellowship; Associate Clinical Professor of Neurosciences and Pediatrics

Olivia Kim McManus, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Neurosciences, Pediatric Neurology, Epilepsy & Clinical Neurophysiology

Chamindra Laverty, M.D., Clinical Director of Muscle Disease; Associate Clinical Professor of Neurosciences and Pediatrics, UC San Diego

Jennifer Meylor, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurosciences, UC San Diego

Hannah Oppenheim, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurosciences, UC San Diego

Brittany Passiak, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurosciences, UC San Diego

Praveen Raju, M.D., Ph.D Director, Pediatric Neuro-Oncology & Nathan Gordon Chair in Neuro-Oncology

Michelle Sahagian, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Neurosciences and Pediatrics, UC San Diego

Marie Sweat, M.D., Pediatric Neurologist and Neuromuscular Specialist, Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurosciences, UC San Diego

Doris Trauner, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Neurosciences and Pediatrics, UC San Diego

Sarah Wiegand, D.O., Assistant Clinical Professor, Neurosciences, UC San Diego

Jennifer Yang, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor, Neurosciences, UC San Diego

Nurse Practitioners

Andrea Bell, DNP, CPNP-PC, FNP-C
Andrea is a board-certified pediatric and family nurse practitioner. Prior to becoming a registered nurse, she graduated from UC Davis with Bachelors’ degrees in Psychology and Italian, with a minor in Human Development and then attended Roseman University of Health Sciences in Utah, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Andrea has worked in a variety of settings but has always had an interested in childhood development. She received her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the University of San Diego. Andrea joined the neurology team in 2023 and her primary focus as a nurse practitioner is to help with pediatric patient with neurodevelopmental disorders as well as see children with general neurological conditions. In her free time, she loves to spend time traveling, playing classical piano, cooking, hiking, and spending time with family.

Todd Chamoy, NP
Todd is a nurse practitioner with certifications in pediatric and family medicine from the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board and the American Nurses Credentialing Center, respectively. He earned dual bachelor’s degrees in biology and art & design from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before pursuing a career in nursing. He received both his Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees from the University of San Diego. Prior to becoming a nurse practitioner, Todd spent nine years as a registered nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), developing experience caring for critically ill infants and their families. In the NICU, he was a member of the NeuroNICU team, which sparked his interest in caring for children with neurological disorders. In 2026, he joined the Neurology team, where he provides care for patients in both the outpatient clinic and inpatient hospital settings. Outside of work, Todd enjoys training and competing in masters track and field events.

Amber Contillo, M.S.N., FNP-C
Amber earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Miami and her Master of Science in Nursing from Florida International University. She is nationally certified as an advanced registered nurse practitioner through American Association of Nurse Practitioners.Amber has always had a special interest in neurology, with a subspecialty in epilepsy. She began her career as a registered nurse working on the Neurology/Neurosurgery unit at Miami Children’s Hospital and developed a keen interest in helping children with epilepsy. She went on to work as a neurology nurse practitioner, where she was able to expand her role to include the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit neuro-neonatal intensive care and neuro-pediatric intensive care units. She joined the Rady Comprehensive Epilepsy Center team in 2017 as the epilepsy nurse practitioner.Amber is currently focusing on quality improvement in patient care and education in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. She is a part of the nursing Neuro Council and heads the epilepsy education days to provide education on seizure safety and management. She is also involved in community outreach to provide education on epilepsy to patients and families. She looks forward to training other nurse practitioners in epilepsy patient care and management as the Rady Comprehensive Epilepsy Center continues to expand.

Michelle Huang, FNP- BC
Michelle Huang is a nationally certified nurse practitioner through the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Stony Brook University and her Master of Science in Nursing from Pace University. She started her career in 2015 as a registered nurse on the pediatric floor which included an Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at NYU Langone Health. There she cared for many pediatric epilepsy patients which prompted her interest and transition into the role of a neurology nurse practitioner at the NYU Langone Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. She joined the Rady Children’s Neurology team in 2022 and her focus will be primarily caring for children with epilepsy and headaches.

Gail Reiner, D.N.P., FNP-C
Gail Reiner’s focus throughout her more than four-decade-long career has been on health promotion and quality of life for patients and families. In working with patients with tic disorders and Tourette syndrome, she monitors their development and medical outcomes. Gail provides comprehensive behavioral intervention for tics (CBIT). She coordinates behavioral and/or medical therapy with strategies for management of life issues pertaining to school, work, social relationships and the patient and family’s goals. Her research focuses on mitochondrial disease, Smith-Magenis syndrome, mitochondrial disorders, autism and CBIT. Gail, who has a doctorate in nursing, is the mother of a child with a rare genetic disorder, Smith-Magenis syndrome, which has enhanced her compassion for all patients affected by neurologic conditions. She also leads a Smith-Magenis clinic on a quarterly basis. She is a co-author on “Frequency and complexity of de novo structural mutation in autism” and “A clinical trial of safety and tolerability for the selective dopamine D1 receptor antagonist ecopipam in patients with Lesch-Nyhan disease.”

Neurology Residents

Jason Adams, M.D., Ph.D.
Hometown: Woodland Park, CO
Undergraduate education: University of Colorado
Medical/Graduate school: UC San Diego
Academic interests: Neurocritical care & TBI; neuro-oncology; neurodevelopment & neurodegeneration; memory, cognition and behavior; human evolution and consciousness; genetics

Cara Cusi, M.D.
Hometown: Temecula, CA
Undergraduate education: UC San Diego
Medical school: UC Riverside
Academic interests: General Neurology, Palliative Care and Neuropsychiatry

Jordan Eisner, M.D.
Hometown: Calabasas, CA
Undergraduate education: UC Berkeley
Medical school: UC Davis
Academic interests: Neuroimmunology, Medical Education

Kelsey Ladt, M.D.
Hometown: Paducah, KY
Undergraduate education: University of Kentucky
Medical school: UC San Diego
Academic interests: Pediatric Neurocritical Care and medical devices

Shadi Shams, M.D.
Hometown: Sunnyvale, California
Undergraduate: University of California, Berkeley
Medical school: Rowan University
Academic interests: Neurogenetics, Precision Medicine, Clinical and Translational research, Medical Education

Michaela Tsuha, M.D.
Hometown: Honolulu, HI
Undergraduate: Occidental College
Medical school: University of Hawaii
Academic interests: General neurology, epilepsy

Nurses

Research Coordinators

Vanessa Enriquez, CRC
vaenriquez@health.ucsd.edu

Sasha Shenk, M.S., CRC
sshenk@rchsd.org