Dr. Vandana Shashi

Ermal Aliu is a Pediatrics specialist and a Medical Genetics provider in Durham, North Carolina. Dr. Aliu is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Microcephaly. His top areas of expertise are Phenylketonuria (PKU), Learman Syndrome, Microcephaly, and Symphalangism Distal.

I see patients with mitochondrial and lysosomal storage diseases, developmental delay, intellectual disability, chromosomal disorders, congenital defects, short stature, failure to thrive, and adult genetic disorders. I love the application of rapidly growing genetic knowledge to treat patients with a variety of medical problems that involve a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors, particularly since the Human Genome Project. I find it fascinating to use the massive power of sequencing technology and artificial intelligence/machine learning to predict phenotypes from genotypes with increasing clinical relevance to human health. In my spare time, I like to hike and play sports with my wife and teenage sons, play piano, and learn famous Russian poetry of the 19th century. I see patients in person and through telehealth. Dr. Niyazov is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Microcephaly. His top areas of expertise are Early Infantile Epileptic Encephalopathy, Macroglossia, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), and Microcephaly.

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. Dr. Mikati is rated as a Distinguished provider by MediFind in the treatment of Microcephaly. His top areas of expertise are Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood, Epilepsy in Children, Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, and Increased Head Circumference.