09/10/2026
We’re excited to share Spotlight #5 in our Meet the Professors series as we continue highlighting the outstanding faculty shaping the 2026 CNS Fall Conference. Today we’re featuring Dr. Keith Van Haren and Dr. Sarada Sakamuri, two clinicians whose expertise brings depth and energy to Friday’s program.
Dr. Van Haren will present on Pediatric Neuroimmunology, offering insights into emerging research and the evolving landscape of immune‑mediated neurological disorders in children. Following him, Dr. Sakamuri will lead a session on Autoimmune Neurology, exploring diagnostic approaches, treatment strategies, and the rapidly expanding understanding of immune‑driven neurological disease.
View our speaker bios: https://www.caneurologysociety.org/conferences/monterey-fall-conference-2026/fall-2026-speakers
Dr. Keith Van Haren
Dr. Keith Van Haren is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he serves as Director of the Pediatric Neuroimmunology and Leukodystrophy Clinic at Stanford Children's. His clinical and research interests center on acquired and inherited neuroinflammatory disorders of childhood, including MS, MOGAD, autoimmune encephalitis, and the leukodystrophies.
In partnership with the California Department of Public Health and the CDC, Dr. Van Haren has played a central role in identifying and characterizing emerging pediatric neuroinflammatory syndromes in North America. In 2012, he helped establish the first post-polio era surveillance program for what is now known as acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), with the initial cohort described in JAMA in 2015. More recently, he co-led the nationwide Influenza-Associated Acute Necrotizing Encephalopathy (IA-ANE) Working Group, whose characterization of the 2024–2025 outbreak in U.S. children was published in JAMA in August 2025.
Dr. Sarada Sakamuri
Dr. Sarada Sakamuri is a neurologist who specializes in neuromuscular disorders, nerve injury, diagnostic ultrasound, and EMG testing. She serves as Co-Director of the Center for Peripheral Nerve Surgery, Medical Director of the Neurology Point of Care Ultrasound Program, and Program Director of the Neuromuscular Medicine Fellowship. She also serves as the Neuromuscular Lead for the Pregnancy Neurology Program at Stanford Healthcare.
