Dr. Sankar obtained his PhD from the University of Washington in Medicinal Chemistry and his MD from Tulane Medical School.  He trained in pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles followed by a residency in the Department of Neurology and a fellowship in the Division of Pediatric Neurology at UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Sankar is Board certified in Psychiatry and Neurology, with a special qualification in pediatric neurology.

Dr. Sankar’s laboratory research has involved important studies on the susceptibility of the developing brain to seizure induced injury and reorganization, mechanisms underlying epilepsy associated comorbidities such as depression as well as attention deficit disorders and autism. Recent efforts address post-traumatic epilepsy in terms of the possible role played by the gut-brain axis as well as a multi-center exploration of biomarkers in post-traumatic epileptogenesis.  His clinical research involves collaborative studies on anti-seizure medications, and multimodal presurgical evaluation of children for epilepsy surgery.

Dr Sankar is a member of many professional organizations, including the American Epilepsy Society, Child Neurology Society, Society for Neuroscience, American Academy of Neurology, American Pediatric Society, and the International Child Neurology Association. His bibliography lists more than 350 entries including 160 articles in peer-reviewed journals as well as reviews and book chapters. Dr. Sankar has served on numerous NIH review committees as well as several foreign organizations and foundations.  He has lectured on the topic of epilepsy worldwide. He received the Founders Award of the American Epilepsy Society, in recognition of outstanding lifetime achievement in the field of epilepsy, in December of 2018.