Highlights

• Division chief of epilepsy and clinical neurophysiology at Weill Cornell Medical Center

Experience

Padmaja Kandula, MD, FAES, FACNS, has nearly 20 years of experience in epilepsy. 

She currently serves as the chief of service for both the clinical neurophysiology and epilepsy divisions at Weill Cornell Medical Center. She is on the academic faculty and has served as the clinical neurophysiology fellowship director within the institution. In addition, she is a member of the center’s clinical study evaluation committee.

She is board certified in neurology, clinical neurophysiology, and epilepsy. Her research interests include novel treatments for autoimmune epilepsies and status epilepticus, anticonvulsant clearance in pregnancy, and intracranial neurostimulatory techniques for medication resistant epilepsy.

Dr. Kandula has served on the American Epilepsy Society’s education development subcommittee and the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society’s subcommittee for resident and fellow education. She is a fellow at both organizations and currently serves on the American Epilepsy Society’s finance committee. She has also served as a member of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s committee for neurology.

Dr. Kandula has been the co-investigator in studies on responsive neurostimulator for epilepsy (both pivotal trial and long-term treatment investigation) as well as the co-investigator in studies on stimulation of the anterior nucleus of the thalamus. Under her leadership, Cornell Medical Center has been designated as a deep brain center for excellence for epilepsy treatment and was recognized as a level 4 accredited epilepsy center by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers. 

Her areas of interest in epilepsy include the special concerns of women with seizure disorders and epilepsy surgery. Dr. Kandula is interested in giving women pre-conceptual neurologic counseling for optimal management of epilepsy during pregnancy and the post-partum period. She also focuses on evaluation and treatment of patients with advanced and minimally invasive approaches for epilepsy surgery and intracranial neurostimulatory device implantation.

Education

Following graduation from an accelerated, combined 6-year BS/MD program at Northeast Ohio Medical University, Dr. Kandula completed a neurology residency at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

She completed three additional subspecialty fellowships in clinical neurophysiology, epilepsy, and intraoperative monitoring at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.