Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the Director of the Neurodevelopmental Program in Rare Disease, University of Minnesota Medical School, USA

Dr. Julie Eisengart is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the Director of the Neurodevelopmental Program in Rare Disease. As a pediatric neuropsychologist, she specializes in rare neurodegenerative disorders of childhood as well as a range of complex medical conditions, and she works with patients from infancy to young adulthood. Her clinical interests include assessing the strengths and needs of children affected by complex medical diagnoses throughout their medical journeys to optimize whole-child, whole-family care and support. As a clinical supervisor and mentor, she values her role in training future psychologists and supporting their development into independent, balanced professionals. Dr. Eisengart's research focuses on the changing relationships between brain structure, biochemical abnormalities, and brain function in rare diseases, with the goal of predicting outcomes and improving supportive planning. She has been heavily involved in examining outcomes of early diagnosis, newborn screening, and/or novel therapies for rare diseases. Her research extends to defining and measuring aspects of disease that are under-represented in the clinical and research communities but are important and meaningful to patients and their families, such as neurobehavioral symptoms and the caregiver's lived experience.