David M. Ritter, MD, PhD

Biography

As a neurologist, I specialize in treating children and adolescents with neurogenetic diseases that cause autism and epilepsy. I’m specifically interested in tuberous sclerosis and PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome. These genetic conditions cause tumors and neurodevelopmental problems.

I was drawn to my field while watching my parents deal with my brother, who had neurologic issues. The positive outcomes and seeing children make even small improvements inspire me. Knowing that we still need to learn much more to get the best outcome for every child drives me to further understand how the nervous system works and what can go wrong.

In my practice, I see general neurology patients and am a member of our Tuberous Sclerosis Clinic. I believe that every patient and family deserves an individualized approach. By working together, we can create the best outcome for each child.

I was honored to receive the following awards:

• M. Richard Koenigsberger Award, awarded by the Child Neurology Society to the junior member with the best abstract in neonatal neurology, genetics, HIV or metabolic diseases (2019)
• Research Innovation in Support of Excellence Award, a research award given to senior residents at Cincinnati Children’s (2019-2020)
• Jefferson MD/PhD Thesis Prize for Innovations In Translation Research, given for the top MD/PhD student thesis (2015)

In the laboratory, I’m studying how the electrical signals in the brain function normally and how they change in neurologic diseases. Specifically, proteins called ion channels underlie the electrical signals. I study how those ion channels are modified in neurons.

Clinically, I’m a part of the Tuberous Sclerosis Clinic and participate in clinical trials within this clinic. I also participate in clinical studies involving PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome. In both of these disorders, we want to understand what causes autism and epilepsy with the goal of developing better treatments.

In my free time, I like basketball, hiking and running marathons. My wife and I have biological children and are also foster parents.