Five New Neurologists Join Faculty

The Division of Neurology recently welcomed to its faculty five neurologists, whose wide-ranging interests include neurogenetic epilepsy, neuroinflammatory diseases, medical ketogenic diets and tuberous sclerosis.

Susan Fong, MD, PhD

Susan Fong, MD, PhD, earned her medical degree and a master’s and PhD in neuroscience at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. She completed her pediatrics residency at Cincinnati Children’s, followed by a neurology residency and epilepsy fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Fong returned to Cincinnati Children’s in 2019 and is now a staff neurologist specializing in epilepsy.

One of Fong’s mentors at Johns Hopkins was neurologist Eric Kossoff, MD, a world-renowned expert in medical ketogenic diets. During her residency and fellowship, Fong published with Kossoff, and in 2018, she attended the Sixth Global Symposium on Ketogenic Therapies for Neurological Disorders in Korea. At Cincinnati Children’s, she has been charged with restructuring and expanding the medical ketogenic diet program.

“Many of our providers have been offering ketogenic diets for several years, and I am working with a team of physicians and registered dietitians to establish best practice standards so that the program can be successful at a large scale,” Fong says. “We are expanding our referral network to support patients in communities whose providers may not be familiar with ketogenic diets. Telemedicine can be a great tool for this, allowing patients to stay close to home for their follow-up visits.”

Kelly Kremer, MD

For Kelly Kremer, MD, joining the faculty at Cincinnati Children’s was an opportunity to return to her hometown and work with mentors from her residency years. Kremer, an epileptologist, graduated from University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and did her neurology residency at Cincinnati Children’s and University of Cincinnati, where she was co-chief resident.

Before joining the faculty, Kremer spent four years at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, where she helped build the hospital’s epilepsy surgery program. Kremer’s current clinical responsibilities include caring for patients with new onset and refractory epilepsy.

“This is an exciting time to be an epileptologist because our understanding of genetic causes of epilepsy has grown significantly in the last five to 10 years,” Kremer says. “Pediatric neurologists and neurosurgeons at Cincinnati Children’s are committed to offering patients the most advanced diagnostics and treatments, such as stereotactic EEG and responsive neurostimulation therapy. We work as a unified team to provide patients with optimal care, no matter what they need.”

Nan Lin, MD

Nan Lin, MD, specializes in medication-resistant epilepsy — caring for the approximately 30% of epilepsy patients who don’t respond to anti-seizure medication.

“Uncontrolled seizures affect many aspects of a child’s life, from their academics to their mental health,” Lin says. “I feel fortunate to work at an institution whose Comprehensive Epilepsy Center provides integrated care — everything from behavioral medicine and specialized diets to the novel, cutting-edge strategies we use to identify surgical candidates.”

In addition to her clinical responsibilities, Lin will participate in clinical research to explore the causes and potential treatments of intractable epilepsy, including epilepsy caused by underlying metabolic and genetic conditions.

“I’m hoping to identify imaging or serological markers that can help us anticipate drug resistance so that we can jump ahead to options such as vagal nerve stimulation, a ketogenic diet or surgical evaluation,” Lin says. “With so many new therapies available, it’s a time to be hopeful for kids who previously would not have been able to achieve seizure freedom.”

Lin graduated from University of Minnesota Twin Cities Medical School and completed both her pediatric and neurology residencies at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania. She did her pediatric epilepsy fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s.

David Ritter, MD, PhD

David Ritter, MD, PhD, was inspired to become a neurologist while growing up with a sibling who had seizures and epilepsy.

“Through that experience, I learned that when a child is sick, the entire family has to adjust,” Ritter says. “I try to communicate to families that I care about what’s going on. Not just medical concerns, but issues affecting parents and siblings, too, like vacations, long-term plans and family dynamics.”

Ritter earned his medical degree and PhD in neuroscience from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He completed his medical training at Cincinnati Children’s and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, where he did a pediatrics residency and neurology residency. Ritter specializes in treating children and adolescents with neurogenetic diseases that cause autism and epilepsy, specifically tuberous sclerosis and PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome. Ritter’s lab research involves studying how ion channels are altered and lead to disease states, which will hopefully lead to novel therapeutics.

One day a week, Ritter sees patients in the Tuberous Sclerosis Clinic at Cincinnati Children’s, one of the largest tuberous sclerosis clinics in the U.S. and the first to offer clinical trials for new tuberous sclerosis therapies. “Our team is starting to test an mTOR inhibitor, sirolimus, in infants as a presymptomatic treatment for seizures, autism, kidney complications and brain lesions,” he says. “Based on our research and clinical experience, we believe this therapy has the potential to prevent neurodevelopmental symptoms and seizures in children with this rare disease.”

Veeral Shah, MD

Veeral Shah, MD, has a joint faculty appointment in the Division of Neurology and Department of Ophthalmology. Shah, the only pediatric neuro-ophthalmologist in the state of Ohio, is leading a multidisciplinary team at Cincinnati Children’s to establish the Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Center. The center provides sophisticated testing, cutting-edge treatments and personalized, long-term follow up for patients with neuroinflammatory conditions such as multiple sclerosis, central nervous system lupus and optic neuritis.

Shah’s clinical and basic research focuses on the molecular genetics of optic nerve development and neuro-protection. His study of the optic nerve focuses on idiopathic intracranial hypertension and optic neuropathies, including demyelinating disease, traumatic optic neuropathy and hereditary optic neuropathy. He also studies vision development, specifically abnormal ocular movements, such as nystagmus.