Carolina Cuello-Oderiz, MD is a board-certified neurologist and epileptologist specializing in epilepsy. She is an epileptologist with the UPMC Functional Neurological Disorders Program, where she provides comprehensive care for patients with medication-resistant epilepsy, functional (nonepileptic) seizures, and other complex seizure disorders.
Dr. Cuello-Oderiz completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Her research focused on epilepsy surgery planning using stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG). Her landmark work demonstrating the clinical value of cortical stimulation-induced seizures in epilepsy surgery was published in JAMA Neurology and received widespread international recognition, with coverage in multiple medical and international news outlets.
Prior to her fellowship at McGill University, she collaborated with the epilepsy research group at the University of South Florida, further developing her expertise in clinical epilepsy and neurophysiology.
Her scholarly interests extend beyond epilepsy to a broad range of neurological disorders. She has published on transient global amnesia, multiple sclerosis, neuro-ophthalmology, infectious diseases affecting the nervous system, status epilepticus, etc. Her recent work has focused on Functional Neurological Disorder with seizures (FND-seizures), including the diagnosis and characterization of co-occurring epilepsy in patients with functional seizures.
To date, Dr. Cuello-Oderiz has authored or co-authored 13 peer-reviewed publications indexed in PubMed, with publications appearing in leading neurology journals including JAMA Neurology, Annals of Neurology, Epilepsia, Neurology, and Clinical Neurophysiology. Her research has also been highlighted through invited editorials in Epilepsy Currents and Clinical Neurophysiology, reflecting the impact of her contributions to the field.
As a medical student, Dr. Cuello-Oderiz received a research scholarship from the Raúl Correa Institute for Neurological Research (FLENI) to investigate the biomechanical basis of gait abnormalities in common neurological disorders, with particular emphasis on the festinating gait observed in Parkinson's disease.
Clinically, Dr. Cuello-Oderiz cares for patients across the spectrum of neurological disease, with a particular interest in individuals whose seizures remain uncontrolled despite antiseizure medications. Her clinical expertise includes medication-resistant epilepsy, presurgical epilepsy evaluation, functional (nonepileptic) seizures and complex diagnostic evaluation of seizure disorders. She is committed to integrating evidence-based medicine with compassionate, patient-centered care while advancing research in epilepsy and Functional Neurological Disorders.
Education & Training
- Fellowship, UPMC, Epilepsy
- MD, Universidad de Buenos Aires
Board Certifications
- Epilepsy Board Certification
- American Neurology Board Certification
Professional Organization Memberships
- Functional Neurological Disease Society
Honors & Awards
- 2023. Pragmatism award. Epilepsy fellowship, UPMC.
- 2021. Scholarship Award, Neurology Residency, Upstate Medical Center
- 2021. Scholarship Award, Neurology Residency, Upstate Medicine Center
- 2020. Stroke Hero Award, Comprehensive Stroke Program, Upstate Medical Center
- 2020. AAN 2020 Science Highlights. NORSE (New Onset Refractory Status Epilepticus) due to ANNA-2 associated paranoplastic encephalitis
- 2019. Editorial about one of my articles written by Dr. Velez-Ruiz in Epilepsy Currents. Is Spontaneity Overrated? The Value of Cortical Stimulation–Induced Seizures.
- 2018. Editorial about one of my articles written by Dr. Chu, Massachusetts General Hospital, in Clinical Neurophysiology. Targeting high frequency oscillations in epilepsy.
- 2017. Dr. Richard Murphy Travel Award, Montral Neurological Hospital/McGill University
- 2016. Selected for American Epilepsy Society Fellows Program
- 2014. Poster Award, 51st Argentine Congress of Neurology
- 2010. MD with Honors, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Selected Recent Publications
Iyer SN, Duarte Z, Pucci GF, Pirnia T, McFarlane KN, Carns DR, Israel A, Goyette K, Concilus B, Beimer NJ, Pennell PB, O'Neal MA, Strom LA, Kirkpatrick LA, Ta J, Cuello-Oderiz C, Kerr WT. Proposed criteria of levels of evidence for co-occurring epilepsy in people with functional/dissociative seizures. Epilepsia. 2025 Nov 28:10.1111/epi.70040. doi: 10.1111/epi.70040
Cuello Oderiz C, von Ellenrieder N, Dubeau F, Eisenberg A, Gotman J, Hall J, Hincapié AS, Hoffmann D, Job AS, Khoo HM, Minotti L, Olivier A, Kahane P, Frauscher B. Association of Cortical Stimulation-Induced Seizure With Surgical Outcome in Patients With Focal Drug-Resistant Epilepsy. JAMA Neurol. 2019 Sep 1;76(9):1070-1078. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2019.1464. PMID: 31180505; PMCID: PMC6563597.
González Otárula KA, von Ellenrieder N, Cuello-Oderiz C, Dubeau F, Gotman J. High-Frequency Oscillation Networks and Surgical Outcome in Adult Focal Epilepsy. Ann Neurol. 2019 Apr;85(4):485-494. doi: 10.1002/ana.25442. Epub 2019 Mar 18. PMID: 30786048.
Press Mentions
