New faculty spotlight: Hesham Ghonim, MD

Hesham Ghonim, MD, is a new faculty member at UNMC.

• Name: Hesham Ghonim, MD
• Hometown: Cairo, Egypt
• New title and department: Assistant professor in the UNMC Department Of Neurological Sciences and a neurology and epilepsy physician with Nebraska Medicine

Previous positions:

• Neurology residency at SUNY Upstate Medical University, 2016-2020
• Clinical neurophysiology fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 2020-2021
• Epilepsy fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 2021-2022

Professional and medical interests:

• Anti-seizure medications
• Medically refractory epilepsy
• Epilepsy surgery
• Magnetoencephalography

How I fell in love with the field of epilepsy: Throughout medical school and residency training in neurology, I was constantly impressed by the intricate and complex nature of the brain. Studying and gaining knowledge about brain connections is ever so humbling, and I realized there is no better opportunity to observe these fascinating systems in action than through the science of epilepsy. Being one of the most common neurological disorders and previously a life-altering stereotyped diagnosis, epilepsy has finally become a curable condition due to remarkable advancements in the field. The combination of medical and surgical options we can offer patients using a team-oriented and multidisciplinary approach, as well as an armamentarium of investigative tools with evolving research potential, inspired me to choose treating epilepsy as my career.

Memberships:

• American Academy of Neurology (AAN)
• American Epilepsy Society (AES)
• American Clinical Neurophysiology Society (ACNS)
• American Clinical MEG Society (ACMEGS)

Three things people may not know about me:

• I was a game master on a World of Warcraft server in college and still am an avid gamer to this day.
• Space travel is on my bucket list.
• I play an ESP electric guitar.

Clinic locations:

• Twin Creek
• UNMC Omaha campus

For appointments and referrals:

• 402-559-8600