Pamela Pojomovsky McDonnell, MD

Pamela Pojomovsky McDonnell, MD, is a pediatric neurologist in the Division of Neurology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). She specializes in helping children with epilepsy.

Dr. McDonnell had a personal reason for choosing her specialty.

“My sister had epilepsy when she was a child, which made me want to help children and families with neurologic conditions,” she says. “I later developed an interest in science and particularly in how the brain works.”

She notes that although epilepsy affects just 1% of the population, it’s morbidity is quite high. Fortunately, many tools are available to help control the disorder.

A native of Argentina, Dr. McDonnell enjoys working with Spanish speakers who may otherwise have trouble accessing appropriate care due to language barriers. She is involved in the implementation of a neurology clinic where care will be provided in Spanish.

Dr. McDonnell is also Medical Co-Director of the Department of Global Medicine at CHOP.

Along with her clinical work, she is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Dr. McDonnell is enthusiastic about new developments in genetics that may one day allow doctors to predict the course of epilepsy and target treatments accordingly.

When caring for children, Dr. McDonnell is reminded of her sister and the comfort of knowing medical professionals were helping to manage her epilepsy.

“I am always inspired by the doctors that helped our family,” she says. “And as your doctor, I care about your child and your family as if they were my own. I hope that is an experience that can be taken from every visit at CHOP.”