Dr Alexandra (Alex) Johnson is a paediatric neurologist working in both the public and private sectors in Sydney, Australia. She has positions at Sydney Children’s Hospital (Randwick) and Royal North Shore Hospital, and reports paediatric EEGs privately through Northern Neurophysiology at North Shore Private Hospital.
Neurological disorders such as headache and epilepsy are not uncommon in children, teenagers and young adults. At least five out of every ten teenagers experience headaches at least once a month. One in twenty children will have a seizure during childhood, whilst one in two hundred are diagnosed with epilepsy. Both disorders can lead to a high burden of disability and distress for these children and their families. Alex aims to work with families to understand their concerns through listening, communication, and provision of appropriate information and education.
Alex contributes to teaching and research at Sydney Children’s Hospital (Randwick). Current projects include contributing factors to headache in children and young adults, and factors contributing to epilepsy including genetics, epilepsy syndromes, and epilepsy education. Alex is an ongoing investigator in studies regarding the sequelae of childhood brain tumors and their treatment, in addition to canabinoids in severe childhood epilepsy and rare diseases. She is also interested in the translation of emerging research in rare neurological diseases (including gene and enzyme therapies) to prevent neurodegeneration and ongoing cognitive and physical disability.
When not at work, Alex loves spending time with her husband and two children, who are trying to help her become an expert in Minecraft, Star Wars, and Transformers!
