Title(s): Medical Co-Director, Epilepsy Surgery Program
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Camilo Ivan Garcia is a board-certified neurologist with subspecialty certification in epilepsy and clinical neurophysiology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Universidad Nacional de Colombia in 2005 and began his neurology training at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá. He completed his internal medicine internship and adult neurology residency at Cleveland Clinic Florida, where he served as chief resident, followed by a fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology, EEG, and Epilepsy at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio with emphasis on surgical epilepsy and advanced neurophysiological techniques, including stereo-EEG.
Previously to joining the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Garcia, who is board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Neurology and in Epilepsy/Clinical Neurophysiology, created and developed the Epilepsy Surgical Program at Cleveland Clinic Florida, leading it to Level IV Epilepsy Center designation, and established the first stereo-EEG program in the state of Florida. He played a central role in transforming and expanding the epilepsy program, introducing advanced diagnostic techniques, enhancing EEG monitoring capabilities, and developing structured EEG programs at regional hospitals. His leadership fostered the growth of a comprehensive epilepsy surgery program and strengthened the center’s ability to provide advanced, patient-centered care. In addition, he pioneered bilingual (English and Spanish) epilepsy patient support groups in South Florida, offering bi-monthly meetings—now held virtually—to provide education, resources, and emotional support to individuals living with epilepsy, ensuring accessibility and continuity of care. His clinical and academic work focuses on seizure outcome prediction, functional brain mapping, and AI-based seizure detection.
Education & Training
MD, Universidad Nacional de Colombia (2000–2005)
Neurology Residency, Universidad Javeriana, Colombia (2007–2008)
Internal Medicine Residency (Prelim), Cleveland Clinic Florida (2009–2010)
Neurology Residency, Cleveland Clinic Florida (2010–2013)
Epilepsy & Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship, Cleveland Clinic Ohio (2013–2015)
Specialized Areas of Clinical, Research and/or Education Interests
• Clinical Epilepsy
• Presurgical evaluation
• Seizure detection and prediction algorithms
• Functional connectivity and seizure networks
• AI applications in epilepsy
• Education in neurophysiology and epilepsy care
Board Certifications
• American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology – Neurology
• American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology – Clinical Neurophysiology
• American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology – Epilepsy
Professional Organization Membership
• American Epilepsy Society
• American Academy of Neurology
• International League Against Epilepsy
Honors & Awards
• Teaching Award, Cleveland Clinic
• Thomas Epilepsy Research Award, Cleveland Clinic
• RITE Exam Percentiles 98 & 99 (2012–2013)
• Florida Society of Neurology Travel Scholarships
Selected Recent Publications
- Garcia-Gracia C, Riaz S, Vallin C, Alexopoulos AV, Adada B, Bingaman W, Najm I, Bulacio JC. Temporal lobe encephaloceles: electro-clinical characteristics and seizure outcome after tailored lesionectomy. Epilepsy Behav. 2024;160:110066. doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2024.110066. ORCID: 0000-0002-1825-0097.
- Garcia Gracia C, Chagin K, Kattan MW, Ji X, Kattan MG, Crotty L, Najm I, Gonzalez-Martinez J, Bingaman W, Jehi L. Predicting seizure freedom after epilepsy surgery, a challenge in clinical practice. Epilepsy Behav. 2019;95:124–130. doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2019.03.047. ORCID: 0000-0002-1825-0097.
- Punia V, Garcia Gracia C, Hantus S. Incidence of recurrent seizures following hospital discharge in patients with LPDs (PLEDs) and nonconvulsive seizures recorded on continuous EEG in the critical care setting. Epilepsy Behav. 2015;49:250–254. doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2015.07.007. ORCID: 0000-0002-1825-0097.
- Garcia-Gracia C, Yardi R, Kattan MW, Nair D, Gupta A, Najm I, Bingaman W, Gonzalez-Martinez J, Jehi L. Seizure freedom score: a new simple method to predict success of epilepsy surgery. Epilepsia. 2015;56(3):359–365. doi:10.1111/epi.12892. ORCID: 0000-0002-1825-0097.
