Louis Dang, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Dr. Louis Dang is a pediatric neurologist and epileptologist who is interested in molecular mechanisms of cortical development and who aims to determine how certain genetic mutations cause severe childhood epilepsies and neurodevelopmental defects. His career in science began during his undergraduate years in a chemistry lab where he developed synthetic, biomimetic compounds for use in specific catalytic reactions. He then entered a combined M.D./Ph.D. program and completed his graduate work in the laboratory of Dr. Nicholas Gaiano, studying how the Notch pathway regulates cell fate choices in the developing forebrain, and also how it is involved in oncogenesis. With a strong scientific interest in determining how the brain forms combined with a clinical interest in the care of children with neurological disorders, he then completed a residency in child neurology as well as a clinical fellowship in neurophysiology. 

Recently, there has been a large amount of discovery regarding which gene mutations can cause epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disorders. While this information has resulted in a handful of specific therapies, there remains a large number of gene mutations that lack a clear mechanistic explanation of a neurodevelopmental defect. Through the use of human stem cell models, two- and three-dimensional neuronal cultures, multiple-electrode array recordings, as well as patch-clamp electrophysiologic recordings, Dr. Dang and his colleagues aim to determine how these gene mutations cause severe childhood epilepsy and neurodevelopmental defects, hopefully leading to novel, precision therapies.​

Interests
Research Interests:
Genetic mechanisms of epileptogenesis, Molecular mechanisms of brain development, Novel therapies for severe genetic epilepsies

Clinical interests:
Severe childhood genetic epilepsies, Dravet Syndrome, Epilepsy surgery

Credentials
Undergraduate
  • Stanford University, B.S. in Chemistry, 2001
Medical School
  • Johns Hopkins University, MD, and PhD in Neuroscience, 2009
Residency
  • Pediatrics, University of Michigan, 2011
  • Child Neurology, University of Michigan, 2014
Fellowship
  • Clinical Neurophysiology, University of Michigan, 2015
Board Certifications
  • Neurology, with special qualification in child neurology
  • Epilepsy