Meet Our Specialists

Dr. Sanam Zarei is a board-certified pediatric neurologist at Pediatric Specialists of Virginia (PSV), specializing in pediatric neurology and epilepsy. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and her Medical Doctorate from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Dr. Zarei completed her child neurology residency and epilepsy fellowship at Children’s National Hospital. She also completed a Medical Research Fellowship through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Dr. Zarei’s clinical interests include epilepsy, psychogenic non-epileptic spells and functional neurologic disorder, as well as general pediatric neurology. She is passionate about patient advocacy and healthcare innovation and enjoys working closely with children and their families to develop solutions that address each patient’s unique needs. Dr. Zarei has received several honors, including the American Academy of Neurology’s Enhanced Resident Leadership Program and Futures in Neurologic Research Scholarship, as well as a Special Commendation in Medical Student Education from Children’s National Hospital. She speaks English and conversational Farsi and Spanish and sees patients at PSV’s Fairfax and Ashburn locations.

Publications:

Gumayan, R.L.F., Zarei, S., Ortiz, M., Spagnolo, K., & Christoffel, K. Neonatal Spinal Cord Injury. NeoReviews 2025 Nov; e730-e742.

Kukulka, N., Zarei, S., Glass, J., Bouska, C., Schroeder, J., & Sen, K. COL4A1-Related Disorder as a Mimic of Congenital TORCHES Infection – Expanding the Clinical, Neuroimaging, and Genotype Spectrum. Am J Med Genet A. 2024 Jun; e63804; doi:10.1002/ajmg.a.63804.

Yang, T., Chandel, I., Gonzales, M., Okuma, H., Prouty, S., Zarei, S., Joseph, S., Garringer, K.W., Ocampo Landa, S., Yonekawa, T., Walimbe, A.S., Venzke, D.P., Anderson, M.E., Hord, J.M., & Campbell, K.P. A short, single site matriglycan maintains neuromuscular function. BioRxiv. 2023 Dec; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.12.20.572361.

Jayakody, H.*, Zarei, S.*, Nguyen, H., Dalton, J., Chen., K., Hudgins, L., Day, J., Withrow, K., Pandya, A., Teasley, J., Dobyns, W.B., Mathews, K.D., & Moore, S.A. Cobblestone Malformation in LAMA2 Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (MDC1A). J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2020 Sep; 79(9): 998-1010. *contributed equally

Zarei, S., Zarei, K., Fritzsch, B., & Elliott, K.L. Sonic hedgehog antagonists reduce size and alter patterning of the frog inner ear. Dev Neurobiol. 2017 Dec; 77(12): 1385-1400.

Zarei, K., Elliott, K.L., Zarei, S., Fritzsch, B., & Buchholz, J.H.J. A method for detailed movement pattern analysis of tadpole startle response. J Exp Anal Behav. 2017 Jul; 108(1): 113-124.

Spengler, E.K., Hunsicker, L.G., Zarei, S., Zimmerman, M.B., & Voigt, M.D. Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt does not independently increase risk of death in high model for end stage liver disease patients. Hepatology Communications. 2017 Jun; 1(5): 460-468.

Patents:

• Title: Neurogenic Bladder Monitoring and Associated Systems and Devices
  • Inventors: C. Cooper, R. Steinberg, L. Thomas, S. Zarei, E. Pahl, K. Jones, and C. Curry
  • Patent No: 11751786/Patent Issue: September 12, 2023
• Title: Bladder Health Monitoring System and Related Methods and Devices
  • Inventors: C. Cooper, R. Steinberg, L. Thomas, S. Zarei, E. Pahl, and K. Jones
  • Patent No: 11553865/Patent Issue: January 17, 2023
• Title: Bladder Health Monitoring System and Related Methods and Devices
  • Inventors: C. Cooper, R. Steinberg, L. Thomas, S. Zarei, E. Pahl, and K. Jones
  • Patent Number: 10506965/Patent Issue: December 17, 2019