Jason T Lerner, MD, FAES
Associate Chief of Clinical Pediatric Neurology
Director, Adolescent Epilepsy Center at UCLA
As many of you already know, my wife Kelli has had epilepsy since childhood. The idea for the Adolescent Epilepsy Center at UCLA developed from the stories and struggles I have seen and heard from Kelli, my many patients, their families and others with epilepsy I have met throughout my career.
Most of my training was on the East Coast. I received my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from The College of New Jersey, my MD from Rutgers Medical School and completed a Pediatrics Residency at Penn State, Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania. I also completed a Pediatric Neurology Residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx New York as well as a Pediatric Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship at UCLA. After graduation I accepted a faculty position at UCLA and have been here ever since. Read more >
Joyce Matsumoto is a California native who is now somehow surrounded by people from New Jersey. She attended Pacific Union College and received Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Chemistry with a Biochemistry emphasis, then received her MD from Loma Linda University. She has been in the University of California system ever since, completing Neurology residency at UCLA, Epilepsy fellowship at UCSF, then returning to UCLA to join the Pediatric Neurology faculty.
She is the medical director of the UCLA Ketogenic diet therapies program, and is currently the Pediatric epilepsy fellowship director and the director of the Pediatric EEG lab at Ronald Reagan and UCLA Santa Monica hospitals. Her research interests include exploring potential medical benefits of ketosis for conditions outside of epilepsy, as well as continuous EEG monitoring in critically ill patients. Read more >
Dr. Rajsekar “Raj” Rajaraman is an Assistant Professor in Pediatric Neurology at the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. He completed his Pediatric Neurology residency, Clinical Neurophysiology fellowship, and Epilepsy fellowship training here at UCLA.
A native of New Jersey, Dr. Rajaraman completed his pediatrics residency at the Unterberg Children’s Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center in New Jersey. During his pediatric residency, his exposure to seizures and the effects that epilepsy has on the patient and family led to him pursuing a career in pediatric epileptology at UCLA. Currently, his clinical and research interests involve adolescent epilepsy, post-traumatic epilepsy, seizures in the critical care setting, and infantile spasms. Dr. Rajaraman is currently establishing a Center of Excellence for CDKL5 syndrome and Lennox Gastaut Syndrome, both catastrophic epilepsies affecting children. Read more >
Dr. Patel is a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. Dr. Patel earned her Master’s in Public Health and Medical Doctorate degrees from the University of Illinois. After completing her undergraduate and graduate studies, she went on for her adult psychiatry training at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her interest in children brought her to UCLA for her child and adolescent psychiatry training. Read more >
Madison Harris, OTD, MA, OTR/L
Dr. Madison Harris is a board certified occupational therapist and Los Angeles native. She earned her Bachelor's of Science in Occupational Therapy in 2016, her Masters of Arts in Occupational Therapy in 2017, and her Occupational Therapy Doctorate in 2018, all from the University of Southern California. She has always had a passion for working with the pediatric population, and has spent the past two years focused on specifically on neurology. While completing her doctoral residency at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), she developed a program to assist adolescent patients with epilepsy as they transition into adulthood. This program focuses on promoting a patient’s independence in managing their health care and day to day tasks, while promoting engagement in meaningful activities. Madison join the Adolescent Epilepsy Center team in August 2017 and aspires to empower children to be independent while engaging in the tasks they want to and need to do.
Natalie Gavi, MS, RD
Natalie Gavi is a Registered Dietitian who is passionate about the role that nutrition plays in optimizing development and overall health in children and adolescents. Originally from Chicago, she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition Science from The University of Illinois at Chicago. She went on to complete her Master’s degree in Clinical Nutrition from Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland, Oregon. Her primary clinical interests include dietary therapy for the treatment and management of neurological disorders such as: epilepsy, traumatic brain injuries, behavioral disorders, and autism.
