Imran Quraishi, MD, PhD

Imran H. Quraishi, MD, PhD, is a neurologist who cares for patients with all forms of epilepsy, including those with associated developmental or genetic disorders, as well as patients undergoing evaluation for such advanced treatments as surgery and medical devices. He is devoted to seeking out better treatments. “We want to find out why epilepsy develops and how we can interfere with that process,” he says. “We also look for answers as to why patients with epilepsy develop memory loss and other cognitive difficulties.”

As a Yale School of Medicine researcher, Dr. Quraishi’s main focus is to determine how mutations in ion channel genes contribute to seizures and epilepsy. Drawing on his background in computational modeling and electrophysiology, he is assessing the role of specific ion channels in seizures and how they can be targeted with new medications. He is also applying his expertise to studies of medical devices for the treatment of epilepsy.

Seizures from epilepsy are much more common than most people realize, Dr. Quraishi says. “Most of the time we are able to control seizures and limit side effects for our patients with the appropriate medications. Our goal is to have no seizures and no side effects,” he says.