Vinita Acharya, MD

Dr. Vinita Acharya’s research is focused mainly on epilepsy, clinical neurophysiology and medical education. Her work is related to seizure semiology and epilepsy surgery. Her published work on olfactory epileptic auras and  epilepsy surgery in the eloquent cerebral cortex has been heavily cited and has received multiple awards. 

She has performed research funded by a technology development grant, which resulted in published work that was highly regarded. 

She expanded her dissertation on the study of large artery disease from a stroke registry to the concept of an International Stroke Registry, working with Professor James Toole, President of the World Federation of Neurology, in 2000, including presenting to the World Stroke Summit held in Melbourne, Australia.

She has performed genetics research specifically related to various epilepsies and genetic factors related to medication induced increase in serum ammonium levels. She has also published in the area of epilepsy surgery including the laser ablation surgery for subcortical lesions like hypothalamic hamartoma.

Her recent research involves multidisciplinary research on normalized transfer entropy to identify epileptogenic zones in patients undergoing stereo-EEG and brain-computer interface and network dynamics in patients evaluated in the epilepsy monitoring unit. She is a principal investigator on the novel project “Characterizing the Visual Pathway in Epilepsy,” which is unique in that it seeks to investigate retinal integrity, measured by optical coherence tomography, as well as visual function in epilepsy.

Dr. Acharya has also served as principal investigator and co-investigator for several clinical trials related to new anti-seizure medicines and neurostimulation devices for epilepsy.

Dr. Vinita Acharya works mainly as an epileptologist with primary clinical interests in epilepsy, its comorbidities, including autism spectrum disorders, and clinical neurophysiology. She has the professional expertise to provide the highest level of care and treatment, including medications, various surgical procedures and neurostimulation. She has been a pioneer in performing procedures like stereo EEG, subdural grids and more recently placement of a deep brain stimulator for epilepsy in a patient with tuberous sclerosis. She has a special interest in helping patients with rare disorders associated with epilepsy and has helped many patients with epilepsy who have tuberous sclerosis and other rare disorders like Cornelia de Lange syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome. She's proud to offer both pharmacological and nonpharmacological options such as epilepsy surgery and neurostimulation to her patients. She is interested in managing the psychiatric comorbidities in patients with epilepsy and has started the epilepsy psychiatry initiative. She provides interdisciplinary care with epilepsy patients who have psychiatric issues. She has expertise in managing epilepsy in patients with autism spectrum disorders.

In addition to seeing patients and providing services in routine EEG, ambulatory EEG and intensive video EEG, she also provides services including cortical stimulation, intraoperative electrocorticography and the Wada test. She focuses on social determinants of health in her practice including understanding the cultural practices and aims to overcome any barriers related to health care. She has been included in directories like Best Doctors in America and Top Physicians in America. She is well-respected by her patients and the community health care providers.

Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, Member, 2022

Fellow, American Neurological Association, 2017

Fellow, American Epilepsy Society, 2017

Board-certified in epilepsy, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 2013

Board-certified in neurology, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 2012