Sookyong Koh

Sookyong Koh, MD, PhD Chief of Pediatric Neurology, Omaha Children’s Hospital Professor in Pediatrics, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) Pediatric Epileptologist Dr. Koh received a BS in Biochemistry, Summa Cum Laude, from SUNY at Buffalo, and her M.D., and Ph.D. in neurobiology and anatomy from the University of Rochester. She completed residencies in Pediatrics and Pediatric Neurology at the New England Medical Center, Tufts University. She combined her clinical epileptology/EEG training with basic epilepsy research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and at the Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard University. Prior to her move to Children’s Hospital, UNMC, she served for 5 years as an Inaugural Marcus Professor and acting director of epilepsy program at the Children’s Health Care of Atlanta, Emory University, Atlanta, GA. From 2002 to 2015, Dr. Koh was an attending physician at Lurie Children's Hospital and an Associate Professor and a Director of Neurobiology Program at Stanley Children’s Research Institute, Northwestern University. Dr. Koh has studied long term effects of early life seizures and advocated for an early intervention to prevent evolution of intractable epilepsy and irreversible brain injury. She has established Early-life Epilepsy Genetics Clinic, Ketogenic Diet Clinic, and Fast Access Neurology/ New Onset Seizure Clinic. These clinics provide a ready access to children with new onset seizures or with drug-resistant epilepsies. She has offered genetic analysis including targeted sequencing of relevant genes implicated in epilepsy and developmental brain disorders. She has also founded Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizure Clinic. She plans to build Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at Omaha, NE to better serve the community. Dr. Koh has investigated the role of immunity and inflammation in epileptogenesis and long term cellular and molecular consequences of early life seizures on developing brain. In recognition of her independent contribution to pediatric epilepsy research, she received the Dreifuss-Penry Epilepsy Award from American Academy of Neurology. Her research has been supported by NIH/NINDS K08, K02, R21 and R01 grants. As an educator, Dr. Koh has strived to instill love of neuroscience and medicine in students and trainees and to share with them the joy and privilege of being a physician, of life-long learning in academic medicine. She has initiated and organized Resident Epilepsy Clinic Didactic Lecture Series. She has welcomed over 60 physicians, medical students, postdocs and graduate, undergraduate and high school students to her laboratory to offer training in scientific inquiry and research methods. Dr. Koh has new loves of her life, Yumi and Yuna, her one and two year old granddaughters. She dislikes being told what to do. She likes to eat, walk, hike, garden, read and meditate.