Jeffrey P. Blount, MD

Dr. Blount is Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Professor of Neurosurgery at UAB and is board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery. He is President of the Medical Staff of Children’s of Alabama and a member of the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgery, the American Epilepsy Society and the Pediatric Section of the AANS/CNS. Dr. Blount is the past chair of the Professional Advisory Council of the Spina Bifida Association of America and has recently completed service on the Accreditation Council of Pediatric Neurosurgery Fellowships.

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James M. Johnston, MD

Dr Johnston is an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at UAB and is board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the American Board of Pediatric Neurological surgery. He is Director of the Children’s of Alabama Global Surgery Program and the UAB/COA Pediatric Neurosurgery Fellowship.

Dr Johnston grew up in Colorado and attended Washington and Lee University in Virginia for undergraduate studies. He then received his M.D. degree from Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis in 2002 and completed Neurosurgery residency in the Washington University Department of Neurosurgery from 2003-2006. He pursued post-doctoral training in functional and diffusion tensor MR imaging at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology Neuro-Imaging Laboratories from 2006-2008. During this time, he also served as neurosurgical registrar at the National Referral Centre for Neurosurgery, Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, Ireland from July to December 2007. Dr. Johnston was then named Chief Resident in Neurosurgery at Barnes Hospital from 2008-2009 and went on to complete fellowship training in pediatric neurosurgery at Saint Louis Children's Hospital in 2010.

He is a member of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, International Society of Pediatric Neurosurgeons and the Children’s Oncology Group.

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W. Jerry Oakes, MD

W. Jerry Oakes was born and raised in DeSoto, Missouri and pursued his undergraduate university education  at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He completed his medical school training and neurosurgery residency at Duke University. During his residency, he spent a year in Toronto, first in neurology and then in pediatric neurosurgery at the Hospital for Sick Children. Following the completion of his residency, he spent the next year in Europe; first at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children in London and then in Zurich with Professor Gazi Yasargil.

Returning to Duke, he spent the next fourteen years, developing the pediatric neurosurgical service. In 1992, he and his family relocated to Birmingham, Alabama and the Children's Hospital where he assumed the directorship of the Section of Pediatric Neurosurgery. Dr. Oakes is currently the Dan Hendley Professor of Pediatrics and Neurosurgery. In the past twenty-four years, he has served as the Section Head of Pediatric Neurosurgery, chief of staff of Children’s Hospital of Alabama and Chief of Surgery at Children’s of Alabama. Nationally he has served as the editor in chief of Journal of Neurosurgery; Pediatrics and president of the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgeons. He served many years on the American Board of Pediatric Neurosurgery first as a director and then as vice-chair.

W. Jerry Oakes has retired and is no longer seeing patients in clinic or performing surgeries.

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Curtis J. Rozzelle, MD

Curtis J. Rozzelle grew up in Western North Carolina and attended Duke University as an undergraduate.  He then served as an artillery officer in the United States Army in Germany. He received his MD degree from the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University and then completed residency in Neurosurgery at UAB School of Medicine.  Dr. Rozzelle went on to complete fellowships in Pediatric Neurosurgery at the University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Branch, in Dallas and epilepsy surgery at the University Of South Florida College Of Medicine in Tampa. Dr. Rozzelle is a member of the American Epilepsy Society, the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgeons, and the Pediatric Section of the AANS/CNS and is active in the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies. He is board-certified by both the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery.

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Brandon Rocque, MD

Brandon G. Rocque is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery. His primary focus is pediatric neurosurgery, including care for hydrocephalus, spina bifida, pediatric brain tumors, spasticity, peripheral nerve injuries, and Chiari malformation. In addition, Dr. Rocque practices general adult neurosurgery at the Birmingham VA Medical Center, with a focus on care for spinal disorders. He is certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, and is an active member of the AANS, CNS, the Joint Section on Pediatric Neurosurgery, and the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgeons.

Dr. Rocque’s research focuses on improving the experience of care for children with neurosurgical conditions and their families. He received a grant from the Kaul Pediatric Research Institute for his work to improve the transition process from pediatric to adult care for individuals with spina bifida. He received a UAB CCTS KL2 award to support his research on distress and psychosocial risk among families of children with newly diagnosed brain tumors. In addition to those ongoing projects, Dr. Rocque is exploring the psychological effects of a lifetime of neurosurgical encounters for children with hydrocephalus.

Dr. Rocque was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. He attended the University of Georgia, where he was a member of the NCAA top-ten men’s swim team and graduated summa cum laude with majors in chemistry and biology. He received his medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis and went on to neurosurgery residency at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. During residency, he completed a Master’s Degree in Clinical Investigation. Dr. Rocque spent an additional year in Madison for a fellowship in Complex and Reconstructive Spinal Surgery prior to completing his training with the renowned pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at Children’s of Alabama.

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Nadine Bradley RN, BSN

Nadine Bradley grew up in Beirut, Lebanon and immigrated to Alabama. She is a graduate of  Samford University School of Nursing in 1997.  She initially worked as the coordinator in the Neurosurgery Clinic. Her talent was immediately recognized by the Neurosurgery team and we were privileged to have her join the Pediatric Neurosurgery team in 2004. She functions primarily as the Nurse Clinician for Dr. James Johnston.

Jessica Gore, RN, BSN

Jessica grew up in Hueytown, Alabama and currently resides in Alabaster, AL. She is a graduate of University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing in 2012, receiving her BSN degree. She has been a nurse at Children's since June 2012, spending the last 6 years in the operating room with experience in neurosurgery, orthopedics, and ENT surgery. She transferred to the neurosurgery team in December 2019, where she functions primarily as the nurse clinician for Dr. Curtis Rozzelle.

Tammie Kerr RN, BSN

Tammie Kerr is from Corner, Alabama and is a graduate of the BSN  School of Nursing at Jacksonville University in Fla. She has been a valued member of the Children's of Alabama staff for more than 20 years and came to the Pediatric Neurosurgery team in 2010 having most recently served as Director of the Operating Room at Children's Hospital and the Neuro-team preceptor and Educator in the Children's Hospital Operating Room. She functions primarily as Nurse-Clinician for Dr. Brandon Rocque.

Heather Rush RN, BSN

Heather grew up in Tuscaloosa, AL. She attended UAB and graduated in 2014 with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She has worked at Children's since 2013. After she received her nursing degree, she worked on the medical surgical floor at Children's until 2015 where she joined the operating room, specializing in neurosurgery. In January 2021, she joined the Pediatric Neurosurgery team where she functions primarily as the nurse clinician for Dr. Jeffrey Blount.

Anastasia Arynchyna, MPH, CCRP

Anastasia Arynchyna is the Research Manager of Pediatric Neurosurgery. Anastasia grew up in Minsk, Belarus. She has graduated with Bachelors of Science in Chemistry and Masters in Public Health in Maternal and Child Health Policy from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2012. She joined our team in 2011. She plays an essential part in improving and expanding the research efforts in the division. Her duties range from study design, regulatory compliance to manuscript preparation. She is also our site coordinator for the HCRN and the Park-Reeves Syringomyelia Research Consortium. Her research interests include prematurity, non-accidental trauma and spina bifida. Anastasia enjoys working and mentoring medical and graduate students interested in clinical research.

HCRN Research Coordinator
Email: anastasia.arynchyna@childrensal.org

Betsy Hopson, MSHA

Betsy Hopson is the Program Coordinator of the Spina Bifida Program at Children’s of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She has been instrumental in managing multi-disciplinary programs for patients with chronic multifaceted conditions. She has also been an integral part of developing and maintaining national registries designed to improve patient outcomes and standardize care through the creation of national networks. She most recently has become a leader in the Spina Bifida community for her efforts toward creating a model for positive, optimal transition.

Betsy has a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management from Huntingdon College and is a graduate candidate for a Master’s of Science in Healthcare Management in May 2014. She has spent the last 7 years conducting research on various topics relating to Spina Bifida care and etiology. She also serves as the President of the Spina Bifida Association of Alabama and serves on several national committees with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Spina Bifida Association. She received the Outstanding Spina Bifida Champion Award from the Spina Bifida Association as well as the SBA Partnership Collaboration Award in June 2011.

Isaac Shamblin

Isaac Shamblin is a Clinical Researcher mainly focusing on the Spina Bifida Program at Children’s of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is a native of West Virginia. He graduated from West Virginia University with a BS in Chemical Engineering and a certificate in Biomedical Engineering in May 2016. He then went on to receive a MS in Biomedical Engineering from UAB in August of 2018.

Like many teenage boys in the smaller towns of Alabama, Jacob Browder’s life was filled with friends, school, football -- and the rodeo. “He has always been a cowboy,” his mother, Susan, said. “He has always had a heart for rodeo.”

He started bull riding at age 13 and participated in 12 competitions, including the Youth World Finals in Texas the summer of 2013. That prestigious event draws competitors from all over the globe and only the best are invited to participate.

Jacob's Story

Imagine having a 7-year-old son with epilepsy – a son who for two years has been experiencing up to 40 seizures each day.

School is virtually impossible. The wood and metal desks are dangerous; the block walls in the cafeteria are dangerous. Everything around him becomes a danger when he has a seizure.

Kace's Story

The Lytle family’s experience with neurological disease began when Kelly and Rich’s youngest son, Oliver, was just four-and-a-half years old in 2011. After a sudden and unexpected seizure, an electroencephalogram (EEG) found abnormal spiking on the left side of his brain, confirming he had epilepsy. For almost two years, medication controlled it. But eventually, no medication was working; Oliver was experiencing intractable epilepsy. “It was a rough time,” Kelly said. “Oliver was having numerous breakthrough seizures, even though we had tried a lot of different kinds of medications.”

Oliver's Story

When Kaileb McIntyre was born nearly 14 weeks before his due date in April, 2012, his doctors expected that he would face many of the problems typical for premature babies. “He weighed only 2 lbs. 2 oz. and he had a lot of complications that came along with him being so small, so he had a tough time starting from when he was born,” said his mother, Khalena McIntyre.

Kaileb's Story

For Laura Ruth Padgett and her son, Noah Vick, life changed in an instant. One day while playing out on his condo balcony without his mother’s knowledge, Noah slipped and fell five stories.

Noah's Story

It was a shift gone unnoticed by everyone but Robert Struble. His then-12-year-old daughter, Robin, would stare into space and cease to speak. The episodes would end as soon as they began, each one fleeting – over in a flash.

Robin's Story