Meet our Staff

Introducing the neurology and neurophysiology administrative team. They are the ones you will often encounter first in the clinic. They greet you at the front desks, answer your calls, and schedule appointments. They are always here to help our families as they are our top priority!

“Certified Child Life Specialists are educated and clinically trained in the developmental impact of illness and injury. Their role helps improve patient and family care, satisfaction, and overall experience.” – Association of Child Life Specialists (www.childlife.org)  

In a nutshell, Child Life Specialists help children and families understand and cope with their healthcare experiences.  Within her role, she supports patients coming in for various procedures, such as EEGs, MRIs, CTs, lab work, ECHOs and ECGs, through preparation sessions, parent coaching and support, and the development of coping plans.  She also provides education and resources to families for such areas as medication compliance, pill swallowing techniques, needle anxiety and general anxiety, and recovery from past negative medical experiences, all in order to reduce potential trauma and support overall development of the child.

Rachna and Lindsay are the Registered Dietitians that are part of the NMT (Neuro-Metabolic Therapy) program at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. Their role is to teach and provide support to families whose children are following a ketogenic diet. The ketogenic diet is primarily used to treat children with epilepsy who have refractory seizures and have failed multiple medications. However, the ketogenic diet is also implemented for children who are enrolled in the autism study.

Curtis Claassen is a pharmacist who has been practicing for 30+ years and has been working with our neurology clinic and epilepsy multidisciplinary team for the last 20 years.  The 20 years he has spent in neurology have been his favourite of the 30.  He feels privileged to assist our team of physicians, nurses and allied healthcare providers in all things related to medications which includes assessing for drug interactions and drug adverse effects, procuring anti-seizure medications not readily available in Canada and helping with medication coverage.

Email: Rumi.Dasgupta@albertahealthservices.ca

Phone: 403-955-2296

Rumi is Dr. Jacobs' Administrative Assistant. She is a toxicologist who worked in both basic and clinical research in UK and India before moving to Canada. She has been supporting Dr. Jacobs-LeVan since the time she joined the Alberta Children’s Hospital, and now she has also joined her research team. Her interest lies in the field of neurology and research is her passion.

Current projects: 

Comorbidity in pediatric epilepsy patients.

Email: Ransi.Nayakarathna@albertahealthservices.ca

Ransi earned her medical degree in Sri Lanka and holds a Master of Science in Public Health from the University of Lethbridge. She has held a variety of academic and research positions across both academic and private-sector settings, with experience in clinical and population health research.

As a Clinical Research Coordinator with the Alberta Children’s Epilepsy Program, Ransi supports the coordination and management of multiple ongoing clinical research studies. She also contributes to a range of non-clinical research initiatives, including literature reviews, prospective studies, and retrospective data analyses. She is excited to help advance evidence-based medicine and improve care for children with epilepsy through research and knowledge generation.

Currently coordinating the following studies:

CAN-DRE study

Coming soon:

CANN-SWITCH - Switching to Epidiolex

Harmony EPX-100-003 - for LGS patients

Illuminate Study - for RETT patients

Email: Kar-Huen.Ho@albertahealthservices.ca

Karin is a clinical research coordinator with the Alberta Children's Epilepsy Program, working on clinical trials that explore new treatment options for children with refractory seizures.She obtained her MD from Hong Kong. Prior to joining the team, she was a pediatrician in Hong Kong, primarily taking care of children with cancer or blood disorders.She is excited about working with patients and families with neurological challenges.

Riddhi Chabrotra completed her Bachelor of Science at the University of Guelph, her Master of Neuroscience at the University of Calgary, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Medicine at Queen's University.

During her master's degree at the Alberta Children's Hospital, her research investigated physiological high-frequency oscillations (HFOs) in scalp EEGs and how they change throughout brain maturation in children aged one month to 17 years, examining differences across age and sex.

She is currently involved in several ongoing epilepsy research projects, including investigating comorbidities in patients with epilepsy, evaluating seizure monitoring devices, and developing educational initiatives to improve knowledge of seizure first aid among teachers, students, and patients.

Michela is entering her second year of the Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience program at the University of Calgary. She is currently working under Dr. Julia Jacobs-LeVan as a summer research student. Her primary research project investigates the relationship between sleep spindles and high-frequency oscillations (HFOs), and she also contributes to several ongoing projects in the lab. Michela has a personal connection to pediatric neurology and epilepsy research, which inspired her interest in neuroscience and continues to motivate her work. Outside of research, she enjoys dancing, baking, volunteering in her community, and spending time with friends and family.

Lorenzo Ricci is a Pediatric Epilepsy Clinical Fellow at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and the University of Calgary. He completed his medical and neurology training in Italy, followed by a PhD focused on epilepsy, clinical neurophysiology, and advanced EEG/MEG analysis. His current clinical and research interests include pediatric epilepsy, presurgical evaluation, intracranial EEG, epilepsy surgery, and the use of computational methods to study epileptic networks. Outside of work, Lorenzo enjoys travelling, reading, gaming, and exploring the Canadian outdoors.

Alireza is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute and the University of Calgary. He completed his MD and MPH training at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, where he contributed to multiple clinical and translational neuroscience projects. With a background in neuroscience and computational research, his current clinical and research interests focus on pediatric epilepsy, developmental and epileptic encephalopathies, EEG analysis, and the use of artificial intelligence to improve diagnosis and monitoring. Outside of research, Alireza enjoys swimming, playing tennis, and exploring new places.

Sonia is in her final year at the University of Calgary, studying Visual Arts and Art History with a minor in Biological Sciences. She joined the team as a summer research student in 2023 and has been involved with the K2E platform ever since. She has created animations, illustrations, and other visual content for the program's educational videos, helping make information more engaging and easier to understand. Along the way, she's also contributed to the platform's ongoing development by refining content, creating new visuals, and designing figures for research publications.

Tatsuya is doing his Masters of Neuroscience in Dr. Jacobs' lab. He graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Science degree, from the Neuroscience Honours program. For his masters, he is researching the interaction between sleep spindles and high frequency oscillation throughout development. 

Amanat is entering her first year of a Master of Neuroscience under the co-supervision of Dr. Jane Shearer and Dr. Julia Jacobs-LeVan. Her research focuses on comorbidities and gut microbiome alterations in pediatric populations with epilepsy. She is also working as a Summer Student during this summer. Outside of academics and research, she has a strong appreciation for all forms of art and has had several of her works featured in temporary gallery exhibitions. She is also an avid sports enthusiast and enjoys both participating in and watching a variety of sports.

Savhan is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Calgary pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences. He is currently working under Dr. Julia Jacobs-LeVan as a summer research student, where his work involves sourcing and organizing EEG recordings into a research database and learning to identify neurological markers in the data. After completing his studies, he hopes to pursue a career in medicine. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, going snowboarding, and travelling to new places!