Joseph Vithayathil, MD PhD
Instructor A of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Department: Neurology
Contact information
3500 Civic Center Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: 215-590-1719
Fax: 215-590-1771
Lab: 215-906-4152
Fax: 215-590-1771
Lab: 215-906-4152
Publications
Education:
B.A. (Biology and Economics)
Washington University in St. Louis, 2007.
PhD (Neurosciences)
Case Western Reserve University, 2015.
MD (Medical Doctorate)
Case Western Reserve University, 2017.
B.A. (Biology and Economics)
Washington University in St. Louis, 2007.
PhD (Neurosciences)
Case Western Reserve University, 2015.
MD (Medical Doctorate)
Case Western Reserve University, 2017.
Post-Graduate Training
Child Neurology Residency, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2017-2022.
Research Fellow, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2022-2023.
Child Neurology Residency, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2017-2022.
Research Fellow, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2022-2023.
Certifications
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 2022.
Permanent linkAmerican Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 2022.
Description of Research Expertise
Dr. Joseph Vithayathil is a board-certified pediatric neurologist with the Division of Neurology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His clinical interests are related to patients with movement disorders or disabilities due to perinatal hypoxic ischemic brain injury and neurogenetic disorders that affect brain iron metabolism.He is actively pursuing basic science research projects studying the role of brain iron dysregulation and oxidative stress in perinatal hypoxic ischemic brain injury. In addition, he is interested in genetic pediatric neurodegenerative disorders that exhibit iron dysregulation in the brain to further understand how brain iron metabolism alterations contribute to cell death. He hopes to unravel some of the pathways that regulate the relationship between intracellular iron accumulation and oxidative stress as a way to identify novel therapeutic targets that can offer neuroprotection and prevent neurodegeneration.
Selected Publications
Joseph Vithayathil, Anjali Shankar, Sierra Foshe, Baoyi Lin, Ginger L Milne, Frances E Jensen, Delia M Talos, Joshua L Dunaief : Temporal and cell-specific changes to cellular iron sequestration and lipid peroxidation in a murine model of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury Neurobiology of Disease April 2026.Sierra Foshe, Sophia Shi, Brent A Bell, Sarah Lee, Anjali Shankar, Kimberly Dine, Ying Song, Joseph Vithayathil, Ahmara G Ross, Joshua L Dunaief. : A Remarkable Tale: Increased Retinal Fluorescence Following Application of Permanent Marker Ink to Mouse Tails Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 2026 Mar 2;67(3):40. 67(3): 40, March 2026.
Francesco Gavazzi, Samuel R Pierce, Vanessa Smith, Eric Yang, Julie Skorup, Kristy Pucci, Emma Kotes, Allan M Glanzman, Stacy V Cusack, Todd Levy, Holly Dubbs, Emma Wiener, Sarah Woidill, Joseph Vithayathil, Abbas Jawad, Nivedita Thakur, Laura A Adang : Functional ability profiles in beta-propeller protein-associated neurodegeneration (BPAN) Molecular Genetics and Metabolism 146(3), November 2025.
Joseph Vithayathil, Anjali Shankar, Ginger L Milne, Frances E Jensen, Delia M Talos, Joshua L Dunaief: Temporal and cell-specific changes to cellular iron sequestration and lipid peroxidation in a murine model of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. BioRxiv July 2025.
Emma Kotes, Francesco Gavazzi, Sarah Woidill, Anjana Sevagamoorthy, Eric Yang, Vanessa Smith, Holly Dubbs, Samuel R Pierce, Kristy Pucci, Joseph Vithayathil, Nivedita Thakur, Laura A Adang: Determination of Health Concepts in Beta-propeller Protein-associated Neurodegeneration (BPAN). Journal of Child Neurology 40(1): 15-25, January 2025.
Joseph Vithayathil, Akash Virupakshaiah, Geraldine Liu, Sanjeev K Swami, Robert A Avery, Grant T Liu, and Jennifer L McGuire : Lyme Disease and Papilledema: A Retrospective Study on Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes. Journal of Child Neurology 39(9-10): 334-342, August 2024.
Xing B, Barbour AJ, Vithayathil J, Li X, Dutko S, Fawcett-Patel J, Lancaster E, Talos DM, Jensen FE.: Reversible synaptic adaptations in a subpopulation of murine hippocampal neurons following early-life seizures. Journal of Clinical Investigation 134: e175167, Jan 2024.
Vithayathil J, Freeman C, Jacobwitz M, Schwartz ES, Agarwal S.: Prolonged neurologic deficits with brain MRI changes following ECT in an adolescent with a CACNA1a-related disorder; a case report. BMC Neurol 22: 466, Dec 2022.
Gavazzi F, Pierce SR, Vithayathil J, Cunningham K, Anderson K, McCann J, Moll A, Muirhead K, Sherbini O, Prange E, Dubbs H, Tochen L, Fraser J, Helbig I, Lewin N, Thakur N, Adang LA.: Psychometric outcome measures in beta-propeller protein-associated neurodegeneration (BPAN). Mol Genet Metab 137: 26-32, Sep-Oct 2022.
Vithayathil J, Adang L, Alves CAPF.: Widening the MRI Findings of PLA2G6-Associated Neurodegeneration. Neuropediatrics 6: 509-510, Dec 2021.