Clinical Pediatrics

Biography

I am a physician by training and developed an interest in clinical research while working as a research assistant/ associate at University of Alberta in Canada. I was involved as a sub investigator on many clinic trials using psychiatric meds. This interest led to a Master’s Degree or MSc in Psychiatry and my project investigated the use of amphetamines as a model for mania in healthy volunteers (Asghar et al, 2003). I went on to obtain a residency position in Pediatric Neurology after my Master’s Degree and worked on mitochondrial disorders during residency. After residency I obtained a faculty position at Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, AR. I became the Director of the Neuro Behavioral Clinic and together with collaboration with the Genomics group we investigated subclinical seizures in autistic children and their relation to oxidative stress markers. I was very fortunate to work with Dr. Jill James a pioneer in the area. I developed a clinical guideline for Restless Legs Syndrome that is updated every two years and published on the ANGELS network at UAMS, AR. I left to pursue a fellowship in sleep medicine. With my mentor Dr. Beth Malow who has published widely in autism I coauthored a chapter entitled “The Use of Melatonin in Autistic Spectrum Disorder” (Asghar and Malow, 2014). Currently I am at Louisiana State University in Shreveport, LA. I am an Assistant Professor in Neurology and serve as co-director of the Sleep Center. I am involved in education, inpatient and outpatient care both Pediatric Neurology as well as Sleep Medicine and off course my research. As a faculty member at Louisiana State University I have been fortunate to have an IRB approved study looking at the neurological effects of COVID in children. I have co-authored a recent paper with my colleagues in Hershey looking at COVID neurological effects in children. This has been widely cited (Kim et al, 2020). I am passionate about teaching. I have mentored medical students, residents and fellows. Lately I developed a curriculum for nurse practitioners in peds neurology which has been adopted as guidelines by our department. I am interested in global health issues particularly suicidality in teens. I was fortunate to have recently presented at an international conference

Research Interest

suicidality in teens