David Ross Bearden, M.D.

I am a pediatric neurologist with a focus on neurogenetic disorders and infectious or inflammatory conditions affecting the central nervous system. As a neurogeneticist, I am interested in identifying genetic causes for children with epilepsy, developmental delays, movement disorders, and other neurologic conditions. My interest in neurogenetics stems from the belief that we can identify targeted therapies for children with rare disorders based on a better understanding of the mechanisms of these disorders. I care for children with a variety of conditions, with a good portion of my practice being dedicated to epilepsy. In addition, I take care of children with neurologic problems associated with immunodeficiencies and central nervous system infections.

My research has two main areas. First, I study neurologic complications of common infectious disorders such as HIV, and look at the epidemiology of neurologic disorders in low-resource settings. Second, I investigate the epidemiology and optimal treatments of genetic epilepsies, with a particular interest in channelopathies. I am the director of the KCNT/Migrating Partial Seizures of Infancy registry, a longitudinal study of one form of genetic epilepsy that is attempting to better understand natural history and optimal treatments for this disorder.

In addition to my clinical practice and research at the University of Rochester, I also work in Sub-Saharan Africa with children with HIV, and teach at the medical schools of the University of Zambia and the University of Botswana.