Student’s Pediatric Epilepsy Research Published in European Journal

A passion for neurology nurtured in her first year of medical school has paid off for Shaheera Sarwar, M.S., with a journal article published in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic Foundation. As Sarwar approaches graduation from the College of Medicine in May, she reflects on the research aspect of her studies at Northeast Ohio Medical University over the past four years. 

I began to work on this project during the summer of my M1 year after Dana Peterson, Ph.D. – one of NEOMED’s greatest faculty members – put me in touch with my Primary Investigator (PI). Neurology was my passion at the time and I figured this was a perfect way to learn more about the human brain and epilepsy. Elia Pestana-Knight, M.D., a pediatric epileptologist (epilepsy specialist) at Cleveland Clinic Main Campus, served as my mentor. She not only guided me through this project but also allowed me to observe the care of patients involved in the study. 

I initially presented my work at an international conference hosted by the American Epilepsy Society. After continuing to work on this project over the following year in collaboration with a research fellow, we submitted our work and it was recently accepted for publication. Conducting research in medical school very much solidified my passion for research and the value it holds in the care of so many patients. 

“Brain morphological abnormalities in children with cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 deficiency disorder” was published in the March 2021 issue of the European Journal of Paediatric Neurology.