About

Biography

My parents inspired me to find a vocation that involved helping others. My fascination with the function of the human brain emerged in college, where I majored in philosophy. As a pediatric neurologist, I treat children and adolescents with movement disorders, including Tourette syndrome.

In my practice, I try to understand how neurological conditions and symptoms affect the child's life and function. With my work, I continually add to the field of neuroscience and find ways to apply new discoveries to improve children's quality of life.

Our team is pursuing multiple lines of research. We use transcranial magnetic stimulation to develop biomarkers of behavioral disorders and understand how the brain controls movement in healthy children and children affected by Tourette Syndrome, ADHD, and Neurofibromatosis. We hope to modulate the brain to improve symptoms. We participate in larger networks of researchers to identify new genes and do clinical trials of new medications.

In my free time, I’m an avid reader, and I also like to exercise and travel.

BA: Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 1987.

MD: University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, 1993.

MS: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2003.

Pediatrics, Child Neurology Residency: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 1998.

Certification: Board Certified in Neurology with Special Competence in Child Neurology, 2010; Board eligible in Pediatrics.

Appointment: Professor of Pediatric Neurology.

Interests

Movement disorders; Tourette syndrome; ataxia; dystonia; functional movement disorders; chorea; neurogenetics; ADHD

Services and Specialties

Neurology, Tourette Syndrome, Dystonia and Surgical Movement Disorders, Rasopathy

Interests

Clinical trials in Tourette syndrome and ataxia; genetics of Tourette syndrome; transcranial magnetic stimulation for neuromodulation and development of biomarkers of neurobehavioral symptoms for Tourette syndrome; ADHD; neurofibromatosis

Research Areas

Neurology

Additional Languages

French, Spanish

Insurance Information

Cincinnati Children's strives to accept a wide variety of health plans. Please contact your health insurance carrier to verify coverage for your specific benefit plan.

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Publications

Modified Delphi Study to Establish Consensus About Child Neurology Residency Education: Next-Gen Training. Gottlieb-Smith, R; Rogers, D; Gilbert, DL. Neurology. 2024; 103:e210002.

Post Deep Brain Stimulation Time Course of Aperiodic Activity in Childhood and Young Adult Dystonia. Larsh, TR; Gilbert, DL; Vadivelu, S; Binder, DK; Pedapati, EV; Wu, SW. Movement Disorders Clinical Practice. 2024; 11:1305-1307.

Diagnostic Criteria for Primary Tic Disorders: Time for Reappraisal. Sarchioto, M; Frey, J; Ganos, C; Gilbert, DL; Hartmann, A; Hedderly, T; Isaacs, D; Malaty, I; Martindale, JM; Medina Escobar, A; Tomczak, K; Worbe, Y; Pringsheim, T; Martino, D. Movement Disorders. 2024; 39:1276-1281.

Genome-Wide Association Study Points to Novel Locus for Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome. Tsetsos, F; Topaloudi, A; Jain, P; Yang, Z; Yu, D; Kolovos, P; Tumer, Z; Rizzo, R; Hartmann, A; Depienne, C; Pellico, A; Ruhrman, D; Schnell, J; Silvestri, PR. Biological Psychiatry. 2024; 96:114-124.

Differences in Tic Severity Among Adolescent Girls and Boys with Tourette Syndrome During the Pandemic. Larsh, TR; Wu, SW; Huddleston, DA; Lipps, TD; Gilbert, DL. Neuropediatrics: journal of pediatric neurobiology, neurology and neurosurgery. 2024; 55:67-70.

Rare X-linked variants carry predominantly male risk in autism, Tourette syndrome, and ADHD. Wang, S; Wang, B; Drury, V; Drake, S; Sun, N; Alkhairo, H; Arbelaez, J; Duhn, C; Bromberg, Y; Brown, LW; O’Donovan, MC; Thapar, A; State, MW; Willsey, AJ. Nature Communications. 2023; 14:8077.

Polygenic risk score-based phenome-wide association study identifies novel associations for Tourette syndrome. Jain, P; Miller-Fleming, T; Topaloudi, A; Yu, D; Drineas, P; Georgitsi, M; Yang, Z; Rizzo, R; Müller-Vahl, KR; Tumer, Z; Hong, HJ; Hougaard, DM; Huang, AY; Ibanez-Gomez, L. Translational Psychiatry. 2023; 13:69.

Access to Pediatric Neurology Training and Services Worldwide: A Survey by the International Child Neurology Association. Wilmshurst, JM; Catsman-Berrevoets, C; Gilbert, DL; Nagarajan, L; Samia, P; Serdaroglu, E; Triki, C; Vidaurre, J; Hameed, B. Neurology. 2023; 101:798-808.

Biomarkers of tic severity in children with Tourette syndrome: Motor cortex inhibition measured with transcranial magnetic stimulation. Batschelett, MA; Huddleston, DA; Crocetti, D; Horn, PS; Mostofsky, SH; Gilbert, DL. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. 2023; 65:1321-1331.

Study protocol: A cross-sectional survey of clinicians to identify barriers to clinical practice guideline implementation in the assessment and treatment of persistent tic disorders. Martindale, JM; Sarva, H; Martino, D; Gilbert, DL; Ganos, C; Pringsheim, T; Black, K; Malaty, IA; Hallett, M; Hartmann, A; Smilowska, K; Szejko, N; van Wamelen, D; Worbe, Y. PloS one. 2023; 18:e0288408.

From the Blog

The Joy of Witnessing Science Transform a Life
Rare Diseases

The Joy of Witnessing Science Transform a Life

Donald L. Gilbert, MD, MS, Sudhakar Vadivelu, DO11/15/2024

Ecopipam Reduces Tics in Tourette Syndrome in Early Tests
Mind Brain Behavior

Ecopipam Reduces Tics in Tourette Syndrome in Early Tests

Donald L. Gilbert, MD, MS3/30/2022

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