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Shelley D. Williams, MD

  • Associate Professor

Administrative Assistant: Sherri Rectenwald

Williams specializes in clinical care of children with epilepsy from birth to age 21 years. She is familiar with various treatment options including anticonvulsants, diet therapies and  neurostimulation. She participates in the surgical evaluation of children with intractable epilepsy for including focal resections or corpus callosotomy. She advocates care for such children  in a compassionate way balancing quality of life concerns with good seizure control.

Williams directs the Ketogenic Diet clinic of Children’s Hospital following children being treated with the ketogenic or Modified Atkins diet  for their epilepsy or metabolic conditions conjunction with highly trained dieticians and nurses  

Williams  also participates in clinical research of various pharmacologic treatments for intractable epilepsy in conjunction with her colleagues in the  Epilepsy program. Williams directs the Tuberous sclerosis Clinic at UPMC Children’s Hospital following the care for children with this genetic disease in conjunction with her colleagues in Cardology, Nephrology, Opthalmology, Developmental Pediatrics and Psychiatry. 

Professional and Scientific Society Memberships:

  • American Academy of Neurology
  • American Epilepsy Society
  • Child Neurology Society; Bylaws Committee, 2006-2014

 

Education & Training

  • BS, Nursing, Duke University, 1977
  • MS, Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1984
  • MD, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, 1990
  • Residency in Pediatrics, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, 1990-1996
  • Fellowship in Pediatric Neurology, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, 1993-1996
  • Fellowship in Pediatric Epilepsy, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, 1996-1997

Selected Publications

Franz DN, Glause TA, Tudor C, Williams S.  Topiramate therapy of epilepsy Associated with Angelman’s syndrome.  Neurology 2000;54:  1185-1188.

Williams SD, Wessel HB.  Pediatric Neurology.  Atlas of Pediatric Physical Diagnosis, 4th ed, BJ Zitelli & HW Davis, eds, Mosby-Wolfe Inc. 2002            

Vaisleib I, Williams S, Neft R, Bengel J: Oxcarbazepine-induced status epilepticus during treatment of intractable complex partial seizures in children with intellectual disability. Annals of Neurology, 2003; 54 Supp  7): 133.

Vaisleib I, Williams S, Hurst D, Neft R, Bengel J: Oxcarbazepine-induced status epilepticus during treatment of intractable complex partial seizures in children with intellectual disability, Retrospective review and a case. Epilepsia, 2003, 44(Suppl 9): 60 

Williams SD.  Pediatric Neurology, Pediatric Physical Diagnosis DVD, BJ Zitelli & HW Davis, eds, Mosby, Inc 2004     

Holder D, Crumrine P, Vaisleib I, Williams S, Gedela S, Adelson D,  Post – operative seizures do not differ from a patient’s habitual seizures, Epilepsia 2008. 

Gedela S, Crumrine P, Vaisleib I, Williams S, Adelsdon D  Depth electrodes improve  localization of the epileptic focus when compared to standard subdural grids and strips, Epilepsia 2008        

 Varma R, Williams SD,.  Pediatric Neurology.  Atlas of  Pediatric Physical   Diagnosis, 7th ed, BJ Zitelli, SC McIntire & AJ Nowalk eds, Mosby-Wolfe Inc. 2018

   

Academic and Research Interests

  • Epilepsy
  • EEG
  • Ketogenic Diet
  • Tuberous Sclerosis