Continuing Medical Education

Past and upcoming CME hosted by Neuroimmune Foundation

Please note: CME credit is not currently available for all past events.

Join Us for On-Demand CME

The Inflammatory Brain Disorders Series features nationally and internationally renowned experts skilled in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches who will present a diverse range of emerging clinical and research challenges, insights, and advances in the field of inflammatory brain disorders.

The intended audience is pediatric and adult physicians. Both generalists as well as specialists will find the conference valuable to their practices. The conference is designed for pediatricians, family physicians, psychiatrists, rheumatologists, immunologists, neurologists, and infectious disease physicians. This series is currently available only to North Carolina physicians. If you are a North Carolina physician wishing to access this CME series free of charge, please apply for access. Once your credentials have been verified, you’ll be provided access to the materials. © Copyright to this series is held by Neuroimmune Foundation.

Doctor listening to a child's heart beat with a stethoscope
Our Expert Case Consultation Panel meets monthly and is an opportunity for physicians to consult face- to-face virtually with experts in the field.

Inflamma­tory Brain Disorders
Conference 2023

A live CME event via webinar – hosted by Neuroimmune Foundation and accredited in collaboration with The Wisconsin Medical Society

May 18 – 19, 2023

Conference Page

Past CME Events

Jennifer Frankovich, MD

Rheumatology & Psychiatry – What We Can Learn From Overlapping Conditions
Dr. Frankovich is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy, Immunology Rheumatology (AIR) at Stanford University/Lucile… Read More

Hrissanthi (Chris) Ikonomidou, MD, PhD

A Neurologist’s Perspective on PANS: Case Studies
Dr. Hrissanthi (Chris) Ikonomidou is a Child Neurologist and physician researcher with expertise in neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders… Read More

Chris Pittenger, MD, PhD

Antibodies in Children with PANDAS Bind to and Inhibit Specific Inter­neurons in the Basal Ganglia
Chris Pittenger earned his MD and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University, where his graduate work was done with Nobel Prize recipient Eric Kandel… Read More

Cynthia Kapphahn, MD, MPH

Disordered Eating in PANS
Dr. Cynthia Kapphahn is a Clinical Professor in the Division of Adolescent Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is Medical Director, Eating Disorders Program of Lucile… Read More

Elizabeth Mellins, MD

Monocyte Research in PANS
Dr. Elizabeth Mellins is a Pediatric Rheumatologist and a Molecular Immunologist at Stanford University School of Medicine. She has focused her career on laboratory-based research on… Read More

Theresa Willett, MD, PhD

Clues from the Clinical Exam and PANS/PANDAS for the Busy Primary Care Provider
Dr. Theresa Willett is a general pediatrician and current medical director of the Stanford PANS/Immune Behavioral Health Clinic. She pursued her MD-PhD at Tufts University in Boston, where… Read More

Lawrence Steinman, MD

Does Molecular Mimicry Explain Epidemiology Linking EBV & MS? …
Dr. Lawrence Steinman is Professor of Neurology, Neurological Sciences and Pediatrics at Stanford University. He was Chair of the Stanford Program in Immunology from 2001… Read More

Jonas Bergquist, MD, PhD

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
Dr. Jonas Bergquist is Full Chair Professor in Analytical Chemistry and Neurochemistry at the Biomedical Centre, Department of Chemistry at Uppsala University, Sweden, Adjunct Professor in… Read More

Sean Pittock, MD

GAD65 Neurological Autoimmunity
Dr. Sean Pittock is Professor of Neurology, Director of the Neuroimmunology Laboratory and the Center for MS and Autoimmune Neurology at the Mayo Clinic. His expertise is in the… Read More

Sameer Sheth, MD, PhD

Neuromodulation for Psychiatric Disorders
Dr. Sameer Sheth is currently Associate Professor, Cullen Foundation Endowed Chair, Vice-Chair of Research, and McNair Scholar in the Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine… Read More

Charles Raison, MD

Inflammation in the Development and Treatment of Depression
Dr. Charles Raison is the Mary Sue and Mike Shannon Distinguished Chair for Healthy Minds, Children & Families; Professor, Human Development and Family Studies, School of Human… Read More

Michael Wilson, MD

Autoimmune and Infectious Encephalitis
Dr. Michael Wilson is a Debbie and Andy Rachleff Distinguished Professor of Neurology and an Associate Professor in the UCSF Department of Neurology and Weill Institute of… Read More

Sarkis Mazmanian, PhD

Development of Microbiome-Based Therapeutics for Autism
Dr. Sarkis Mazmanian is the Luis B. and Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology in the Division of Biology & Biological Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He is a … Read More

Mark Pasternack, MD

Use of Antibiotics in Infection Associated Neuropsychiatric Syndromes Including PANS
Dr. Mark Pasternack is Chief, Pediatric Infectious Disease Unit, at Massachusetts General Hospital. Educated at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Pasternack completed his residency and clinical… Read More

Janet Cunningham, MD

Clinical and Biological Hetero­geneity in an Adult Patient Cohort with Psychiatric Symptoms Enriched for Suspected Immuno­logical Involvement
Dr. Janet Cunningham is an Associate Professor in Experimental Psychiatry at Uppsala University, is also affiliated with the Department of Neurosciences… Read More

Chandra Menendez, PhD

A New Look: Autoantibodies Against the Dopamine Receptors Define PANDAS and Sydenham Chorea
Dr. Chandra Menendez is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Dr. Madeleine Cunningham’s… Read More

Brent T. Harris, MD, PhD, FCAP

The Neuro­pathology of Auto­immune Encephalitis and PANS and Develop­ment of Specialized Brain Banks for these Disorders
Dr. Brent Harris is a tenured faculty member of Georgetown University with dual appoint­ments in Neurology and Pathology. As a neuro­pathologist… Read More

Agnieszka Kalinowski, MD

C4B Gene Copy in Children with PANS
Dr. Agnes Kalinowski is a physician-scientist conducting translational research in schizophrenia as an Advanced Fellow in Mental Health Research at the Palo Alto VA and Department of… Read More

Shannon Delaney, MD

Neuropsychiatric Illness Associated with Lyme and Tick-borne Illness
Dr. Shannon Delaney is a neuropsychiatrist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center who is co-director with Dr. Fallon of the Cohen Center for Health and Recovery from Lyme and Tick borne… Read More

Emily Severance, PhD

Autoimmune Phenotypes in Psychiatric Disorders
Dr. Emily Severance is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She is a member of the Stanley Division of Developmental Neurovirology… Read More

Sarosh Irani, FRCP, DPhil, FEAN

The Immunology Underlying Autoantibody Associated CNS Diseases
Dr. Sarosh Irani is a consultant neurologist and clinician-scientist with clinical and laboratory experiences in the field of autoantibody mediated diseases of the nervous system, in… Read More

Wei Zhao, MD, PhD

Plasmapheresis in Treatment of PANS
Dr. Wei Zhao received his medical degree from Wenzhou Medical University in China. He received his PhD in Immunology from West Virginia University. He then completed his pediatric residency at… Read More

Jill Hollenbach, PhD, MPH

Immunogenetic Variation in PANS and Neuroinflammatory Disease
Jill Hollenbach is Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. She was… Read More

Kiki Chang, MD

Review of Expert Consensus Treatment Guidelines for Youth with PANS
Dr. Kiki Chang is a child psychiatrist with over 22 years of experience in working with younger children, adolescents, adults and families. Formerly, Dr. Chang was Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral… Read More

Dritan Agalliu, PhD

The Role of the Adaptive Immunity and Genetic Risk Factors in Vas­cular and Neuronal Dys­function in Post Infectious Autoimmune Encephalitis
Research in Dr. Dritan Agalliu’s laboratory is focused on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate formation of the blood-brain barrier in the central nervous system… Read More

Cheri Standing, MD

PANS Cases: Through the Eyes of a Pediatrician
Dr. Cheri Standing is a pediatrician at Greater Regional Health in Creston, Iowa. She completed a pediatric residency at Strong Memorial Hospital and fellowships in pediatric emergency… Read More

Sam Pleasure, MD, PhD & Claire Johns, MD

Neuropsychiatric Presentation in Pediatric COVID-19 Patients Associated with Anti-neural Autoantibodies
Dr. Sam Pleasure is the Glenn W. Johnson, Jr. Memorial Endowed Chair in Neurology at UCSF. Dr. Pleasure is a neurologist who specializes in caring for patients with multiple sclerosis… Read More

Jennifer Frankovich, MD & Elizabeth Mellins, MD

Evidence for PANS as an Inflammatory Brain Disorder
Dr. Frankovich is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy, Immunology Rheumatology (AIR) at Stanford University/Lucile Packard … Read More

Shreyas Vasanawala, MD, PhD & Meiqian Ma, MD

Arthritis, Enthesitis, and Develop­ment of Autoimmune / Inflam­ma­tory Disease in Patients with PANS
Dr. Shreyas Vasanawala is the William R. Brody Professor of Pediatric Radiology and Child Health and serves as Radiologist-in-Chief for Stanford Children’s Health and Chief of Pediatric Radiology… Read More

Robert Yolken, MD

Neuropsychiatric Consequences of Viral Infections – Focus on SARS-CoV-2 and Other Coronaviruses
Dr. Robert H. Yolken is the Theodore and Vada Stanley Distinguished Professor of Neurovirology in the Department of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine… Read More

Naresha Saligrama, MD

T Cells and Neurodegeneration
Dr. Saligrama is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Pathology and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis… Read More

Margo Thienemann, MD

PTSD in Parents of Children with PANS
Margo Thienemann, MD is a clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford. Thienemann is the lead psychiatrist of the Packard Children’s PANS clinic, the first in the country exclusively devoted to PANS… Read More

Hayley Gans, MD

The Link Between Infectious Diseases and Neuroimmune Disorders
Hayley Gans is a Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University Medical Center. She spends her clinical time on the Pediatric Infectious Diseases service… Read More

Cynthia Wang, MD

Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis
Dr. Cynthia Wang received her medical degree from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas and completed a pediatric neurology residency at Mott Children’s Hospital… Read More

Richard Frye, MD, PhD

Metabolic and Mitochondrial Considerations in Neuropsychiatric Deteriorations
Dr. Richard Frye is a Child Neurologist with expertise in neurodevelopmental and neurometabolic disorders. He is the Chief of the Division of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at. Phoenix Children’s Hospital… Read More

Chris Bartley, MD, PhD

Autoantibody Discovery in Psychotic Spectrum Disorders
Dr. Christopher Bartley is an immunopsychiatrist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)… Read More

Erin Masterson, PhD, MPH

Preliminary Findings from the International PANS Registry Epidemiology Study
Erin E. Masterson, PhD, MPH is an Epidemiologist at the University of Washington in Seattle. She has partnered with the Pediatric Research & Advocacy Initiative.. Read More

Ruy Carrasco, MD

Clinical Workup and Treatment of Rheumatological Diseases That Have Psychiatric Co-Morbidities
Healthcare Executive with over 15 years’ experience in nationally recognized rheumatology programs for superior patient care, research and patient satisfaction… Read More

Harumi Jyonouchi, MD

A Possible Role of Immune Mediated Inflammation in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Harumi Jyonouchi, MD received her medical training at the Yokohama City University School of Medicine, Yokohama, Japan… Read More

Margo Thienemann, MD

PANS and PANDAS: A Review of the Research and Current Treatments
Margo Thienemann, MD is a clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford. Thienemann is the lead psychiatrist of the Packard Children’s PANS clinic… Read More

Richard Frye, MD, PhD

PANS and PANDAS: A Review of the Research and Current Treatments
Dr. Richard Frye is a Child Neurologist with expertise in neurodevelopmental and neurometabolic disorders. He is the Chief of the Division of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at. Phoenix Children’s Hospital… Read More

Samuel Pleasure, MD, PhD & Michael Wilson, MD

Infectious and Autoimmune Causes of Encephalitis
Dr. Sam Pleasure is the Glenn W. Johnson, Jr. Memorial Endowed Chair in Neurology at UCSF. Michael Wilson, MD is a Debbie and Andy Rachleff Distinguished Professor of Neurology and an Associate Professor in the UCSF Department of Neurology… Read More

Richard Frye, MD, PhD

Understanding The Overlap of PANS and Autism – An Overview of Research on Antineuronal Antibodies in Patients With Autism
Dr. Richard Frye is a Child Neurologist with expertise in neurodevelopmental and neurometabolic disorders… Read More