Paola Pergami, MD

Paola Pergami, MD, PhD, is a pediatric stroke neurologist within the Neuro-intensive Care Unit at Children's National. She also serves as an Associate Professor within the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences. Dr. Pergami has a background in neuroscience, specific training in pediatric neurology, and an interest and expertise in pediatric stroke. She obtained the MD from the University of Pavia, Italy, and her PhD from the University of Milan, Italy. She completed her a pediatric neurology fellowship at UPMC in Pittsburgh, Penn. Before joining the team at Children’s, Dr. Pergami developed the Pediatric Stroke Program at West Virginia University, establishing institutional protocols for diagnosis and management of children and neonates with stroke or ischemic injury.

Complementing her clinical work in pediatric stroke, Dr. Pergami has collaborated with the International Pediatric Stroke Study (IPSS). Within that group, she has contributed to the development of many important studies, including studies on seizures in pediatric stroke (SIPS), the role of inflammation in pediatric stroke (VIPS), and addressing safety and efficacy of mechanical clot removal in children with stroke. Her clinical expertise and interests focus on acute stroke intervention, neuroimaging and mechanism of brain plasticity in stroke recovery.  She is the author of multiple original research articles. She is actively involved in the education and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students, residents, neurology fellows and community doctors. Dr. Pergami enjoys traveling to Italy to visit her family.

• Critical Care Neurology
• General and Community Pediatrics
• Neurocritical Care
• Neurology
• Neuroscience and Behavioral Medicine Center
• Stroke Program