Tristan T. Sands, MD, PHD

Pediatric Neurology
Specialties
Pediatric Neurology, more

Locations and Appointments


New Patients
child iconTreats Children

CUIMC/Harkness Pavilion

180 Fort Washington Avenue
New York, NY 10032
US
Existing Patients
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Insurances Accepted


Before your appointment, please contact the doctor's office or your insurance provider to verify that your insurance is accepted. This list of insurances can change, and the insurance plans listed may not be accepted at all office locations for this provider.

    Student Health
    Aetna Signature Administrators
    NYP Employee Plan
    NY Signature
    Medicaid Managed Care
    New Jersey Services (Medicaid Managed Care)
    Special Needs
    POS
    EPO
    Medicare Managed Care
    PPO
    HMO
    Great West (National)
    Medicare Managed Care
    PPO
    Medicare Managed Care
    ConnectiCare
    Essential Plan
    Select Care (Exchange)
    PPO
    EPO
    POS
    HMO
    Vytra
    Medicaid Managed Care
    Essential Plan
    Child/Family Health Plus
    Medicaid Managed Care
    HMO
    Local 32BJ
    Essential Plan
    Medicaid Managed Care
    Medicare Managed Care
    Medicare Managed Care
    Child/Family Health Plus
    Leaf (Exchange)
    Local 1199
    MagnaCare
    Railroad
    Traditional Medicare
    Multiplan
    Child/Family Health Plus
    HMO
    Medicaid Managed Care
    Essential Plan
    Quality Health Management
    POS
    HMO
    Compass (Exchange)
    PPO
    Medicaid (Community Plan)
    Empire Plan
    Oxford Freedom
    Oxford HMO
    Oxford Liberty
    SelectHealth
    Medicare Managed Care
    World Trade Center Health Plan
    Student Health
    Aetna Signature Administrators
    NYP Employee Plan
    NY Signature
    Medicaid Managed Care
    New Jersey Services (Medicaid Managed Care)
    Special Needs
    POS
    EPO
    Medicare Managed Care
    PPO
    HMO
    Great West (National)
    Medicare Managed Care
    PPO
    Medicare Managed Care
    ConnectiCare
    Essential Plan
    Select Care (Exchange)
    PPO
    EPO
    POS
    HMO
    Vytra
    Medicaid Managed Care
    Essential Plan
    Child/Family Health Plus
    Medicaid Managed Care
    HMO
    Local 32BJ
    Essential Plan
    Medicaid Managed Care
    Medicare Managed Care
    Medicare Managed Care
    Child/Family Health Plus
    Leaf (Exchange)
    Local 1199
    MagnaCare
    Railroad
    Traditional Medicare
    Multiplan
    Child/Family Health Plus
    HMO
    Medicaid Managed Care
    Essential Plan
    Quality Health Management
    POS
    HMO
    Compass (Exchange)
    PPO
    Medicaid (Community Plan)
    Empire Plan
    Oxford Freedom
    Oxford HMO
    Oxford Liberty
    SelectHealth
    Medicare Managed Care
    World Trade Center Health Plan

About Tristan T. Sands, MD, PHD


Tristan T. Sands, MD, PhD is Assistant Professor in the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons (Columbia VP&S) Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics. He is a pediatric neurologist who treats children and babies suffering from epilepsy and a physician scientist with expertise in genetic causes of epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disease. Dr. Sands completed his MD-PhD at Columbia VP&S through a Medical Scientist Training Program with thesis work in lab of Dr. Arnold Kriegstein. During child neurology residency at UCSF, Dr. Sands trained in electroclinical phenotyping of the epilepsies under Dr. M. Roberta Cilio. After finishing his clinical training at Columbia VP&S in epilepsy and clinical neurophysiology with Dr. Jim Riviello, Dr. Sands joined Columbia VP&S as faculty in 2017, first training in neurogenetics at the Institute for Genomic Medicine, and then returning to the bench to study genetic epilepsy using mouse models under the mentorship of Dr. Wayne Frankel. Dr. Sands has worked closely with families to treat hundreds of children with epilepsy. He is the author of chapters on pediatric epilepsy and genetic epilepsy in major textbooks in the field of neurology, including Merritt's Neurology and Swaiman's Pediatric Neurology. Dr. Sands has served as an expert on ClinGen's epilepsy gene curation panel since 2017. In 2023, Dr. Sands was named Fellow of the American Epilepsy Society in recognition of professional accomplishment and dedication in the field of epilepsy. Dr. Sands is a 2024 Louis V. Gerstner Scholar. His research contributions include demonstration of the exquisite efficacy of carbamazepine for neonatal epilepsy caused by inherited loss-of-function variants in KCNQ2 and KCNQ3, work that led to changes to the International League against Epilepsy guidelines and recommendations on the treatment of seizures in newborn babies. Dr. Sands reported the electroclinical characterization of a new gain-of-function phenotype caused by de novo variants in KCNQ3. Dr. Sands reported variants in NBEA as a cause epilepsy and neurodevelopment, and he characterized the largest cohort of patients with epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disability caused by pathogenic variants in CSNK2B. The Sands "END (Epilepsy & Neurodevelopmental Disease) Laboratory," established in 2022 in the Center for Translational Research in Neurodevelopmental Disease (CTRND), uses mouse and human cellular models to identify convergent disease mechanisms and novel therapeutic strategies for epilepsy and encephalopathy caused by rare genetic mutations. These research efforts are supported by federal grants from both NIH and private agencies.


Board Certifications

  • Clinical Neurophysiology
  • Epilepsy
  • Neurology with Special Qualification in Child Neurology

Specialties & Expertise

  • Developmental & Epileptic Encephalopathy
  • Drug resistant epilepsy
  • Genetic Epilepsies
  • Neonatal and Infantile Epileptic Encephalopathies

Education

  • Residency: University of California San Francisco Medical Center
  • Fellowship: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center
  • Residency: University Of California At San Francisco

Leadership, Titles & Positions

  • Assistant Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics

Hospital Affiliations

  • NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center
  • NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital

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