Dr. Ahrens’ clinical areas of expertise and research interests include epilepsy surgery and intractable epilepsy management. She is well published in epilepsy surgery practice and epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) practice, including authorship on the recent National Accreditation of Epilepsy Center (NAEC) Specialized Epilepsy Center Guidelines.

Outside of medicine, Dr. Ahrens stays busy keeping up with her three kids and aussiedoodle, Pepin. She also enjoys cooking with her husband and exploring the great MN outdoors!

EDUCATION & TRAINING

• Undergraduate- St. Olaf College
• Medical School- Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Pediatric Residency- Nationwide Children’s Hospital/The Ohio State University
• Child Neurology Residency- Nationwide Children’s Hospital/The Ohio State University
• Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship- Nationwide Children’s Hospital/The Ohio State University
• Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Fellowship- Nationwide Children’s Hospital/The Ohio State University

Areas Of Expertise

Areas of Active Interest

• Epilepsy surgery, new onset epilepsy, infantile spasms

Selected Publications

Lado FA, Ahrens SM, Riker E, Muh CR, Richardson RM, Gray J, Small B, Lewis SZ, Schofield TJ, Clarke DF, Hopp JL, Lee RR, Salpekar JA, Arnold ST; National Association of Epilepsy Guidelines for Specialized Epilepsy Centers Panel. Guidelines for Specialized Epilepsy Centers: Executive Summary of the Report of the National Association of Epilepsy Centers Guideline Panel. Neurology. 2024 Feb;102(4):e208087. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000208087. Epub 2024 Feb 2. PMID: 38306606; PMCID: PMC10962912.

Ahrens SM, Ostendorf AP, Lado FA, Arnold ST, Bai S, Bensalem-Owen MK, Chapman KE, Clarke DF, Eisner M, Fountain NB, Gray JM, Gunduz MT, Hopp JL, Riker E, Schuele SU, Small B, Herman ST. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Epilepsy Center Practice in the United States. Neurology. 2022 May 10;98(19):e1893-e1901. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000200285. Epub 2022 Mar 15. PMID: 35292559; PMCID: PMC9141627.

Ostendorf AP, Ahrens SM, Lado FA, Arnold ST, Bai S, Bensalem Owen MK, Chapman KE, Clarke DF, Eisner M, Fountain NB, Gray JM, Hopp JL, Riker E, Schuele SU, Small BV, Herman ST. United States Epilepsy Center Characteristics: A Data Analysis From the National Association of Epilepsy Centers. Neurology. 2022 Feb 1;98(5):e449-e458. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000013130. Epub 2021 Dec 8. PMID: 34880093; PMCID: PMC8826463.

Ahrens SM, Arredondo KH, Bagić AI, Bai S, Chapman KE, Ciliberto MA, Clarke DF, Eisner M, Fountain NB, Gavvala JR, Perry MS, Rossi KC, Wong-Kisiel LC, Herman ST, Ostendorf AP; NAEC Center Director Study Group. Epilepsy center characteristics and geographic region influence presurgical testing in the United States. Epilepsia. 2023 Jan;64(1):127-138. doi: 10.1111/epi.17452. Epub 2022 Nov 14. PMID: 36317952; PMCID: PMC10099541.

Arredondo KH, Ahrens SM, Bagić AI, Bai S, Chapman KE, Ciliberto MA, Clarke DF, Eisner M, Fountain NB, Gavvala JR, Perry MS, Rossi KC, Wong-Kisiel LC, Herman ST, Ostendorf AP; NAEC Center Director Study Group. Association Between Characteristics of National Association of Epilepsy Centers and Reported Utilization of Specific Surgical Techniques. Neurology. 2023 Feb 14;100(7):e719-e727. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000201526. Epub 2022 Nov 2. PMID: 36323517; PMCID: PMC9969912.

Mytinger JR, Parker W, Rust SW, Ahrens SM, Albert DVF, Beatty CW, Chrisman J, Clark DJ, Debs A, Denney D, Karn M, Herbst J, Ostendorf AP, Taylor MC, Twanow JDE, Vidaurre J, Patel AD. Prioritizing Hormone Therapy Over Vigabatrin as the First Treatment for Infantile Spasms: A Quality Improvement Initiative. Neurology. 2022 Nov 8;99(19):e2171-e2180. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000201113. Epub 2022 Aug 29. PMID: 36038276.

Beatty CW, Ahrens SM, Arredondo KH, Bagić AI, Bai S, Chapman KE, Ciliberto MA, Clarke DF, Eisner M, Fountain NB, Gavvala JR, Perry MS, Rossi KC, Wong-Kisiel LC, Herman ST, Ostendorf AP; NAEC Center Director Study Group. Associations between testing and treatment pathways in lesional temporal or extratemporal epilepsy: A census survey of NAEC center directors. Epilepsia. 2023 Apr;64(4):821-830. doi: 10.1111/epi.17512. Epub 2023 Feb 3. PMID: 36654194.

Interests Outside Medicine

My three young kids keep my busy! We love spending time outdoors, especially up north at my parents’ cabin.

Leadership & Membership

Professional Organizations

• American Epilepsy Society, Pediatric Epilepsy Research Consortium (PERC)

Leadership Roles

• Director of Tuberous Sclerosis Clinic (previous employment)

Medical Licenses

• Minnesota

Board Certification

• Neurology with Special Qualification in Child Neurology, Clinical Neurophysiology