Jonathan Santoro

Dr. Santoro serves as the Las Madrinas Endowed Chair and Chief of Neurology, Co-Director of the Neurological Institute and Director of Neuroimmunology and Demyelinating Disorders Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He is also an Associate Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Dr. Santoro completed his undergraduate, masters, and medical degrees at Tulane University. He completed residencies in pediatrics and child neurology at Stanford University, which was followed by sub-specialty training in neuroimmunology at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Santoro is one of only a handful of national physician-scientists who treat neurologic disorders associated with Down syndrome. Dr. Santoro’s research focus is in identifying the mechanisms of neurologic disease in individuals with Down syndrome and unraveling the role of neuroinflammation in these disorders. His research in cerebrovascular disorders such as moyamoya vasculopathy and neuroinflammatory conditions such as Down Syndrome Regression Disorder in this population is internationally recognized, making Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the Keck School of Medicine a hub for research in these areas. In addition to Dr. Santoro’s research in neuroinflammation in Down syndrome, he leads multiple national and international research investigations in other pediatric onset inflammatory disorders such as multiple sclerosis, myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein associated disease (MOGAD), and other neurogenetic conditions and leukodystrophies, such as Aicardi Goutières Syndrome.