Sona Narula, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology
Department: Neurology
Contact information
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
3500 Civic Center Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
3500 Civic Center Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Education
BA (Neurosicence and Behavior, magna cum laude)
Columbia University, 2004.
MD
Weill Cornell Medical College, 2008.
Cert (Clinical Research, Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics)
University of Pennsylvania, 2015.
BA (Neurosicence and Behavior, magna cum laude)
Columbia University, 2004.
MD
Weill Cornell Medical College, 2008.
Cert (Clinical Research, Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics)
University of Pennsylvania, 2015.
Post-Graduate Training
Intern, Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2008-2009.
Resident, Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2009-2010.
Resident, Child Neurology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2010-2013.
Fellow, Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis and Demyelinating Diseases, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2013-2015.
Intern, Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2008-2009.
Resident, Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2009-2010.
Resident, Child Neurology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2010-2013.
Fellow, Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis and Demyelinating Diseases, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2013-2015.
Certifications
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Certification in Neurology with Special Qualification in Child Neurology, 2013.
Permanent linkAmerican Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Certification in Neurology with Special Qualification in Child Neurology, 2013.
Description of Clinical Expertise
Multiple Sclerosis and other Neuro-inflammatory DisordersTransition of Care
Selected Publications
Mirchi A, Vossough A, Liu GT, Narula S.: Pearls & Oy-sters: Radiologic Lag in Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis. Neurology 107: e218254, Jul 2026.Bach AM, Chang G, Grasso EA, Hopkins S, Narula S, Waldman A, Banwell B.: Association of Cerebrospinal Fluid-Restricted Oligoclonal Bands With Relapsing Pediatric Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody-Associated Disease. Pediatr Neurol 182: 61-66, Jun 2026.
Marefi A, Grasso EA, McLendon LA, Narula S, Waldman AT, Hopkins S, Banwell BL.: Role of Tocilizumab in Severe CNS Inflammatory Presentations in Children. Neurology 106: e214926, Apr 2026.
Marefi A, Grasso EA, Garber L, Narula S, Waldman A, Bar-Or A, Banwell B, Hopkins SE.: Factors Influencing Early and Late B-Cell Repopulation After Rituximab Therapy in Pediatric Central Nervous System Inflammatory Disorders. Pediatr Neurol 2026.
Espinoza DA, Zrzavy T, Breville G, Thebault S, Marefi A, Mexhitaj I, Yamashita LD, Kan M, Bacchus M, Legaspi J, Fernandez S, Melamed A, Stubblebine M, Winters A, Virkler A, Helbig I, Kim Y, Martinez Z, Diorio C, Schulte-Mecklenbeck A, Wiendl H, Rezk A, Li R, Narula S, Waldman AT, Hopkins SE, Banwell B, Bar-Or A.: Paediatric cerebrospinal fluid immune profiling distinguishes paediatric-onset multiple sclerosis from other paediatric-onset acute neurological disorders. EBioMedicine 2026.
Waldman AT, Takanohashi A, Joung JY, Liu GW, Arnold K, Pizzino A, Faig W, Woidill S, Narula S, Vanderver AL.: Characterization of Clinical Phenotype to Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Concentrations in Alexander Disease. Ann Clin Transl Neurol 2026.
Marefi A, Grasso EA, Canna S, Behrens E, Shekdar K, Narula S, Hopkins S, Banwell B: Clinical Reasoning: A 9-Year-Old Girl With CNS Immune Dysregulation. Neurology 105(5): e213999, September 2025.
Joshua Y Joung, Kathryn J Gallison, Geraldine W Liu, Jessica A Berger, Elizabeth T Drum, Scott R Dubow, Heather A McClung, Walter Faig, Robert A Avery, Grant T Liu, Sona Narula, Arastoo Vossough, Amy T Waldman: Prevalence of Elevated Opening Pressure Measurements in Alexander Disease. Pediatr Neurol July 2025.
Diego A Espinoza, Tobias Zrzavy, Gautier Breville, Simon Thebault, Amaar Marefi, Ina Mexhitaj, Luana D Yamashita, Mengyuan Kan, Micky Bacchus, Jessica Legaspi, Samantha Fernandez, Anna Melamed, Mallory Stubblebine, Yeseul Kim, Zachary Martinez, Caroline Diorio, Andreas Schulte-Mecklenbeck, Heinz Wiendl, Ayman Rezk, Rui Li, Sona Narula, Amy T Waldman, Sarah E Hopkins, Brenda Banwell, Amit Bar-Or: Pediatric cerebrospinal fluid immune profiling distinguishes pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis from other pediatric-onset acute neurological disorders. bioRxiv May 2025.
Nora Sekella, Hannah Gilmore, Eileen French, Vanessa Zimmerman, Dina Jacobs, Sona Narula : Developing and Piloting a Dedicated Support Group for Young Adults With Multiple Sclerosis. Int J MS Care April 2025.