Bio

Dr. Samudra is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is one of a small number of neurologists nationwide who is board-certified and fellowship-trained in epilepsy as well as in behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry.

Dr. Samudra leads a clinic at Stanford for the treatment of older adults with epilepsy. In addition, she has clinical interests in the treatment of atypical Parkinsonism and in women’s brain health across the lifespan. She co-leads the CurePSP Center of Care and is a member of the Menopause Collaborative of Practice at Stanford. Her varied research interests include clinical trials in neurodegenerative disease and in epilepsy; improving treatment for older adults with epilepsy; understanding the cognitive and neuropsychiatric consequences of epilepsy; and treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms in neurodegenerative disorders.

Prior to coming to Stanford, Dr. Samudra was a fellow in behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, as well as in epilepsy and clinical neurophysiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She completed her undergraduate degree at MIT and obtained her medical degree and neurology residency training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Dr. Samudra has published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease; Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports; Journal of the Neurological Sciences; Seizure; and Epilepsy and Behavior, among others. She is a member of the American Epilepsy Society and the American Academy of Neurology.

Clinical Focus

  • Neurology

Academic Appointments

Professional Education

  • Board Certification: United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties, Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry (2024)
  • Fellowship: UCSF Dept of Neurology (2023) CA
  • Fellowship: Vanderbilt University Medical Center (2020) TN
  • Medical Education: University of Texas Southwestern Medical School (2015) TX
  • Board Certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Neurology (2019)
  • Board Certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Epilepsy (2022)
  • Fellowship: Vanderbilt University Medical Center (2021) TN
  • Residency: UT Southwestern Medical Center (2019) TX

Contact

  • Clinical (Primary)  Stanford Neuroscience Health Center 213 Quarry Rd MC 5957 Fl 2 Palo Alto, CA 94304 (650) 725-0390 (fax)

Additional Clinical Info

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 5327
  • Other ID(s):
    S0342203
    NSamudra

All Publications

  • Clinical Manifestations. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association Tran, S., Samudra, N. 2025; 21 Suppl 3: e103311

    Abstract

    The prevalence of subtle or subclinical seizures and interictal epileptiform discharges is being increasingly recognized in patients with neurodegenerative disease. These patients can also frequently experience episodic altered awareness or cognitive fluctuations of unclear etiology, even in the absence of known history of epilepsy. Accordingly, electroencephalographic findings in this population are of interest. Ambulatory EEGs are often ordered in patients with these symptoms. They have prolonged duration compared to routine EEGs, and these studies can be expected to increase the yield for epileptiform findings. They have the potential to change clinical management in patients with neurodegenerative disease. In addition, indications to obtain ambulatory EEGs in patients with neurodegenerative disorders are not well established.A single-center retrospective analysis of ambulatory EEGs between January 2023 and December 2024, ordered in patients over 45 (approximately 450 studies), who are found to have a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia on chart review, will be conducted. Demographic and medical information, as well as pertinent neurologic or imaging diagnoses, will be abstracted from charts for patients with a diagnosis of MCI or dementia. Suspected neurodegenerative pathology will be established. In addition, indications for ambulatory EEG, ambulatory EEG duration, EEG abnormalities, and whether the study appeared to change management will be ascertained. Predictors of epileptiform abnormalities as well as whether the study changed management will be evaluated.The results from this retrospective study are expected to provide valuable information regarding the yield of ambulatory EEG in patients with neurodegenerative disease.Ultimately, this and similar studies may provide guidance regarding guidelines for the use of prolonged EEG in this population, particularly in those patients who experience fluctuations without clear history of seizure, as indications are currently unclear.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/alz70857_103311

    View details for PubMedID 41447252

  • Drug Development. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association Kmiecik, M., Chu, M., Zhou, A., Skylar-Scott, I. A., Samudra, N., Tripathi, P., Coburn, M., Wilson, T. N., He, Z., Haddad, F., Wyss-Coray, T., Sha, S. J., Greicius, M. D., Younes, K. 2025; 21 Suppl 5: e106859

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND: Bumetanide is a potent diuretic administered orally and is FDA approved for the treatment of edema and hypertension. Recently, repurposing Bumetanide as an Alzheimer`s disease (AD) medication was proposed based on data that showed Bumetanide "flipped" the APOE genotype-dependent transcriptomic signatures in AD mouse and cell culture models.1 Critically, this finding was then investigated in Electronic Health Record (EHR) cohorts and showed that in individuals over 65 years of age, bumetanide exposure was associated with a significantly lower AD prevalence in three independent dataset. However randomized double blinded trials are needed to investigate the safety, tolerability and benefit of bumetanide in AD.METHOD: This is a phase II, randomized, double-blind, multi-arm placebo-controlled, parallel group study to evaluate the safety and tolerability of bumetanide in patients with Alzheimer's disease. This study aims to investigate bumetanide in patients with biologically confirmed AD. The primary objective is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of bumetanide when administered to participants with biomarker-confirmed AD. The secondary objective is to evaluate the clinical and biomarker effects of bumetanide in participants with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease.RESULT: This ongoing study is funded by the Stanford Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience and IRB approved. The inclusion criteria include mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to AD, AD medications are planned to remain stable throughout, willingness and ability to complete all aspects of the study including assessments, neuropsychological testing, and MRI. Exclusion criteria includes clinically significant abnormalities in screening laboratory tests, chronic liver disease, renal insufficiency, poorly managed hypertension and participants taking the following concomitant medications, based on the current Prescribing Information for bumetanide: lithium, drugs with ototoxic potential, drugs with nephrotoxic potential, probenecid, and indomethacin CONCLUSION: We present the clinical trial protocol and design for a phase II trial evaluating the effect of bumetanide in AD.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/alz70859_106859

    View details for PubMedID 41449734