The Johns Hopkins Epilepsy Fellowship Program

The Johns Hopkins Epilepsy Center is a NAEC Level IV center located in the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Trainees are supervised and mentored by medical school faculty in a comprehensive training program focused on the diagnosis and management of epilepsy in both adults and children.  The high volume surgical program provides experience in stereo and subdural EEG, functional mapping, laser ablation, RNS and VNS.  Rotations include adult and pediatric epilepsy monitoring units, routine and continuous EEG, epilepsy clinic, and elective rotations in intraoperative monitoring and research.

On this page: Director Faculty Current Fellows | Alumni | Contact

Program Overview

Duration and Accreditation: The Johns Hopkins program offers two Epilepsy fellowship tracks:

  • A one-year ACGME accredited fellowship track that fulfills ABPN requirements for certification in epilepsy.
  • A two-year fellowship track that includes an ACGME accredited first year, and a second ACGME equivalent year for additional experience in epilepsy surgery, electives and research.

Program Features:

  • Clinical management of adult and pediatric inpatients and outpatients.
  • Interpretation of EEGs in inpatients and outpatients with and without epilepsy.
  • Emphasis on diagnostic and clinical management of adult and pediatric patients undergoing long-term inpatient video-EEG monitoring for epilepsy and related conditions, including surgical management of medically refractory epilepsy. Patients are monitored in the Johns Hopkins and Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Epilepsy Monitoring Units (EMUs), Neuro-Critical Care Unit (NCCU), and in other inpatient clinical units at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
  • Additional opportunities include:
    • Participation in investigational drug trials.
    • Longitudinal follow-up of patients who have undergone neuromodulation therapies such as RNS.
    • Initiation and continuation of ketogenic diet therapies in the adult and pediatric population.

Eligibility: Physicians who anticipate completion of an accredited residency in neurology or child neurology are encouraged to apply 

How to apply: Please apply through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) and include your CV, a personal statement, and three letters of recommendation, including one from your residency director.  Applications will be accepted annually through January 31.

Contact Information

For application information or questions, please contact the fellowship coordinator Joanne Barnett:

The Johns Hopkins Epilepsy Center
Attention: Joanne Barnett
600 North Wolfe Street,
Meyer 2-147
Baltimore, Maryland, 21287-7247
Phone: 410-955-7338, extension 4
Fax: 410-502-2507
Email: [email protected]

Program Director

Fellowship Faculty

Current Fellows

First-Year Fellows

Nitya Beriwal

Medical School: Lady Hardinge Medical College  (2019)
Pediatrics: University of Chicago (2021-2023)
Pediatric Neurology: University of Chicago (2023-2026)

Nitya Beriwal, MBBS

Patrick Bernabela, DO

Medical School: Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine (2022)
Neurology: Albany Medical Center (2022-2026)
Patrick Bernabela, DO

Everardo Castaneda, MD

Medical School: Centro de Estudios University Xochicalco (2015)
Neurology: West Virginia University  (2022-2026)
Everardo Castaneda, MD

Kori Porosnicu Rodriguez, MD, MPH

Medical School: Johns Hopkins University (2022)
Internal Medicine: Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center (2022-23)
Neurology:  Johns Hopkins Hospital (2023-2026)


Photo of Dr. Kori Porosnicu

Danial Syed

Medical School: University of Iowa (2022)
Neurology: Baylor College of Medicine (2022-2026)
Danial Syed, MD

Second-Year Fellows

Meghna Hegde

Medical School: SRM Medical College and Research Institute (2018)
Neurology: University of Kansa Medical Center (2021-2025)
Meghna Hegde

Fellowship Alumni

Nisha Hollingsworth, M.D. | 2026
Current Position: Faculty, West Virginia University

Dawn Lammert, M.D., Ph.D. | 2026

Archana Nelliot, M.D. | 2026
Current Position: Faculty, Johns Hopkins University

Anna Patnaik, M.D. | 2026
Current Position: Faculty, Johns Hopkins University

Shashwat Pokharel, M.B.B.S. | 2026
Current Position: Faculty, Medical College of Wisconsin

Glenn Rivera, M.D. | 2026

David Stewart, M.D.. | 2026
Current Position: Faculty, Temple University

Saud Abdullah Alsahli, M.B.B.S. | 2025

Wesley Budd, D.O. | 2025

Jaeho Hwang, M.D. | 2025
Current Position: Faculty, Northwestern University

Sahithi Battini, M.D. | 2024
Current Position: Staff Neurologist, Kaiser Permanente, Santa Clara

Doris Deng, M.D. | 2024
Current Position: Faculty, University of California, Irvine

William Li, M.D. | 2024
Current Position: Faculty, Cedars-Sinai Medical Care Foundation

Lauren Morris, M.D. | 2024
Current Position: Staff Neurologist, St. Christopher's Hospital for Children

Rachel Penn, M.D. | 2024
Current Position: Staff Neurologist, Jersey Shore University Medical Center

Lindsay Schleifer Bhandari, M.D. | 2023
Current Position: IOM Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh

Vishal Pandya, M.D. | 2023
Current Position: Faculty, Medical College of Wisconsin

Sonali Sharma, M.D. | 2023
Current Position: Faculty, Medical University of South Carolina

Waleed Abood, M.D. | 2022
Current Position: Faculty, Wayne State University

Stephen Briggs, M.D. | 2022
Current Position: Faculty, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Siddharth Gupta, M.D. | 2022
Current Position: Staff Neurologist, The Kennedy Krieger Institute

Babitha Haridas, M.B.B.S. | 2022
Current Position: Faculty, The Johns Hopkins University

Jay Bronder, M.D. | 2021
Current Position: Staff Neurologist, The Neurology Center, Washington, DC

Naveed Chaudhry, M.D. | 2021
Current Position: Faculty, University of Colorado

Mohaned Osman, M.D. | 2021
Current Position: Staff Neurologist, Boystown National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE

Khalil Husari, M.D. | 2020
Current Position: Faculty, The Johns Hopkins University

Claudio Osorio, M.D. | 2020
Current Position: Group practice, Orlando, FL

Susan Fong, M.D., Ph.D. | 2019
Current Position: Faculty, University of Cincinnati

Jaivir Rathore, M.D. | 2019
Current Position: Private Practice, Lakeland, FL

Susan Ellor, M.D. | 2018
Current Position: Private Practice, Cary, North Carolina

Samata Singhi, M.D. | 2018
Current Position:

Dalila Lewis, M.D. | 2017
Current Position: Faculty, University of Wisconsin

Tanya McDonald, M.D., Ph.D. | 2017
Current Position: Faculty, The Johns Hopkins University

Christa Habela, M.D. | 2016
Current Position: Faculty, The Johns Hopkins University

Erik Sass, M.D. | 2016
Current Position: Private Practice, Carolinas Health Care System, Charlotte, NC

Mary Gregory, M.D. | 2015
Current Position: Private Practice, Prisma Health, Columbia, SC

Emily Johnson, M.D. | 2015
Current Position: Faculty, The Johns Hopkins University

Elizabeth Felton, M.D., Ph.D. | 2014
Current Position: Faculty, University of Wisconsin

Elakkat Dharmaraj Gireesh, M.D. | 2014
Current Position: Private Practice, Florida Epilepsy Center, Orlando, FL

Mohammedhamed Labbaf, M.D. | 2013
Current Position: Private Practice, NOVA Neurology Center, Manassas, VA

Angela Wabulya, M.B.Ch.B. | 2013
Current Position: Faculty, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Sarah Kelley, M.D. | 2012
Current Position: Faculty, The Johns Hopkins University

Taryn Fortune, M.D. | 2011
Current Position: Staff Neurologist, The Neurology Center, Wheaton, MD

Suma Muthugovindan | 2010
Current Position:

Tung Tran, M.D. | 2010
Current Position: Faculty, Duke University

Mackenzie Cervenka, M.D. | 2009
Current Position: Faculty, The Johns Hopkins University

Susan Shaw | 2008
Current Position: Faculty, University of Southern California

Joshua Ewen, M.D. | 2007
Current Position: Staff, The Kennedy Krieger Institute, Faculty, The Johns Hopkins University

Pegah Afra, M.D. | 2006
Current Position: Faculty, Weill Cornell Medicine

Adam Hartman, M.D. | 2006
Current Position: Faculty, The Johns Hopkins University

Mohamad Koubeissi | 2005
Current Position: Faculty, GW Medical Faculty Associates