Cigdem Isitan Alkawadri, MD

  • Assistant Professor
  • Director of Multiple Sclerosis/Neuroimmunology Fellowship

Dr. Isitan treats patients with a variety of conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica, transverse myelitis, optic neuritis, neurosarcoidosis, autoimmune encephalitis, and other immune-mediated inflammatory conditions affecting the brain and spinal cord. Dr. Isitan also offers botulinum toxin injections for symptomatic management of spasticity and migraine headaches.

Education & Training

  • MD, Yeditepe University School of Medicine, Instanbul, Turkey, Medicine
  • Resident, Boston University Medical Center, Internal Medicine/Neurology
  • Fellow, Yale University. MS/Neuroimmunology

Specialized Areas of Clinical, Research and/or Educational Interests 

  • Research/Clinical: MS and other immune-mediated diseases of the central nervous system; autoimmune encephalitis; neuro-imaging biomarkers of MS 
  • Education: Enhancing academic approach to medical education.

Board Certifications 

  • American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology: Neurology

Professional Organization Membership

  • American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 
  • Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS)

Honors & Awards

  • University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Clerkship Preceptor of the Year Award
  • American Academy of Neurology Fellow Scholarship Award
  • Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award American Academy of Neurology Safety and Quality Award
  • Multiple Sclerosis Masters Scholarship Award (Foundation of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis)

Selected Recent Publications

Isitan C, Yan Q, Benjamin CF , Spencer DD , Alkawadri R. A Brief History of Electrical Cortical Stimulation: A journey in time from Volta to Penfield. Epilepsy Research, in press.

Ponath G, Lincoln MR, Dahlawi S, Mubarak M, Sumida T, Airas L, Zhang S, Isitan C, Nguyen TD, Raine C, Hafler D, Pitt D. Enhanced Astrocyte Responses are Driven by a Genetic Risk Allele Associated with Multiple Sclerosis. Nature Communications. December 2018.

Isitan C, Ferree A, Hohler AD. Cefepime Induced Neurotoxicity: Case Series and literature review. eNeurologicalSci. August 2017.

Alkawadri R, Burgess R, Isitan C, Wang IZ, Kakisaka Y, Alexopoulos AV. Yield of repeat routine MEG recordings in clinical practice. Epilepsy Behav. May 2013.