Allegheny Health Network Appoints Dr. Sushma Kola as Director of Integrative Neurosciences

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Press Releases Neuroscience Institute

PITTSBURGH - Allegheny Health Network (AHN) announced today the appointment of Sushma Kola, MD, as Director of Integrative Neurosciences.

In her role at AHN, Dr. Kola will lead Integrative Neurosciences within AHN's Neuroscience Institute, focusing on innovative treatments and holistic approaches that improve wellness and quality of life for patients with neurological conditions and diseases.

Integrative medicine is an approach to health care that combines conventional medicine with complementary, evidence-based therapies to enhance a patient's physical, emotional, and social well-being. At AHN, Dr. Kola will lead efforts to ensure that a patient is supported not only with all necessary diagnostic, medical, and surgical services, but also social resources, nutritional services, physical and cognitive therapy, support groups, and other essential services that will greatly enhance the long-term management of neurologic diseases.

Dr. Kola's multidisciplinary expertise in Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders will also strengthen AHN's ability to provide comprehensive care for chronic neurologic illnesses.

"Joining Allegheny Health Network is a privilege, and I am honored to lead the organization's new Integrative Neurosciences division," Dr. Kola said. "Together, we will advance medicine and patient care, ensuring that each person receives comprehensive neurologic care tailored to their individual needs."

Dr. Kola is a board-certified integrative neurologist. She earned her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and completed her neurology residency at Mayo Clinic. She then pursued dual fellowships in movement disorders and integrative medicine at Northwestern University.

Dr. Kola is an active member of both the American Academy of Neurology and the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine & Health. She has published several peer-reviewed articles, conducted clinical trials, and spoken at conferences nationally and internationally. She currently serves on the Movement Disorders Society Task Force on Wellness and Holistic Health, where she is an integral member of the Parkinson's guideline writing committee.

Dr. Kola assumed her new AHN role on Sept. 1.

"We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Kola to our team," said Donald Whiting, MD, chair of the AHN Neuroscience Institute. "Her experience and passion for integrative medicine will be invaluable as we continue to expand and advance our neurological services, improve patient outcomes, pursue groundbreaking clinical and translational research, and develop new models of care for our patients."

Dr. Kola's appointment follows the 2023 announcement by AHN and Highmark Health of a new Neuroscience Institute facility being constructed at Allegheny General Hospital (AGH). This facility will serve as a one-stop Living Health destination for the acute treatment and long-term holistic management of neurological diseases.

The center will serve as a hub for AHN's nationally recognized clinical programs addressing the complete spectrum of neurological diseases, including stroke, epilepsy, Alzheimer's, headaches, neuromuscular disease, traumatic brain injuries, brain cancer and movement disorders, such as Parkinson's Disease. It will also house the organization's neurosciences research efforts.

Construction on the new facility began in January 2023, with completion expected by 2026.

Visit ahn.org/services/neuroscience to learn more.

AHN also will welcome several other physicians to the Neuroscience Institute this autumn:

- Navnika Gupta, MD - Specializing in epilepsy

- Megan Piccinin, DO - Specializing in headaches

- Maryam Zulfiqar, MD - Specializing in stroke

- Matthew Woodward, MD - Specializing in movement disorders

- Nicholas Todhunter, DO - Specializing in neurology, based in Erie

-Katherine Berry, MD - Neurosurgery

-Benjamin Whiting, MD - Neurosurgery

-Evan Luther, MD - Neurosurgery

-Alejandro Matos Cruz, MD - Neurosurgery