Growing up with a Neurological Disorder: Facilitating Transition to Adult Neurology Care

Susan Lee Fong, MD, PhD

Dr Fong completed her pediatric neurology and epilepsy fellowship training at Johns Hopkins prior to accepting a position as Assistant Professor at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC). She has a Doctorate in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester. Her academic interests are in the treatment of intractable epilepsy (including dietary and surgical interventions), drug development, and transition of care. Her clinical teaching focuses on diagnosis and management of epilepsy and electroencephalography. She is the Medical Director of the ketogenic diet program at CCHMC.

---

Sucheta Joshi, MD

Sucheta Joshi is Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Michigan Medicine (University of Michigan), in Ann Arbor, and Medical Director of the Epilepsy program there. She grew up on the West coast of India, in Mumbai, where she went to medical school at Seth G.S. Medical College and completed a residency in Pediatrics. After moving to the U.S, she trained at the University of California San Francisco (Pediatrics), Stanford University (Child Neurology, Clinical Neurophysiology). Following this, she joined the faculty at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her clinical and academic interests are taking care of children with complex epilepsy, improving access to care via telemedicine and transition of care for adolescents with epilepsy.

Dr. Joshi is the current chair of the steering committee of the Pediatric Epilepsy Research Consortium, which serves to foster collegial and collaborative multicenter research in Pediatric Epilepsy. 

Her association with the Child Neurology society goes back to her residency,  when she was awarded the Junior member award in 2000. Since then the Child Neurology Society has been her academic home, with opportunities to serve on the International affairs committee, the Scientific Planning Committee and now on the Executive Committee as Councilor from the Midwest. 

---

Emily Nurre, MD, MPH

Dr. Nurre completed her Doctor of Medicine and Masters of Public Health with a specialization in clinical and translational science at the Ohio State University. This was followed by a neurology residency at the University of Michigan and an epilepsy fellowship at the University of Michigan. She accepted a position as Assistant Professor at the University of Cincinnati Gardner Neuroscience Institute in 2017 where she partnered with pediatric providers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to develop an Epilepsy Transition Clinic. She has a special interest in transition of care for epilepsy patients as well as alternative therapies for epilepsy. 

---

Jacqueline Janecek, MD

Dr. Janecek completed her neurology residency at the University of Cincinnati and a neuromuscular fellowship at the University of Michigan. She accepted a position as Assistant Professor at the University of Cincinnati Gardner Neuroscience Institute in 2021 in the neuromuscular division. Her clinical interests include muscular dystrophies, myopathies and ALS. She also has a special interest in transition of care for neuromuscular patients with the hopes of creating a multidisciplinary transition clinic for neuromuscular patients in the future.

---

Leslie McKnight Rutkowski, RN

Ms Leslie Rutkowski is the parent of a young adult patient with epilepsy. She is also a Registered Nurse in a pediatric primary care practice. Her son was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 9. The summer before 9th grade, his seizures became significantly more frequent and severe. He had a left occipital lobectomy and was seizure-free on medications for a period of 4.5 years. He successfully completed his Bachelor of Arts despite intermittent breakthrough seizures during his college years. He is currently at the University of Michigan pursuing a Masters degree in social work.

---