Mohamad A. Mikati

I’m a pediatric neurologist and chief of pediatric neurology at Duke. My specialty is pediatric epilepsy. It’s extremely rewarding to treat a child because you are changing the life of not only the patient but also of their family. The most important thing in treating a patient is listening and forming a connection. You have to know where the patient and the family are coming from. By listening and observing, I can better understand their needs and then apply the most advanced knowledge and technologies to help them. There is a lot of patient education that goes on and it’s very important and most delightful to do that in close partnership and alliance with the family particularly in an often complex disorder like childhood epilepsy. Outside of work, I enjoy classical music, reading, biking, jogging and traveling, but what I truly enjoy most of all is taking care of patients.