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Sailaja Golla

Sailaja Golla

Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine
Pediatric Neurodevelopmental Neurologist, Thompson Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, Children's Hospital of Orange County

Biography

Sailaja Golla, M.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of California, Irvine, and Director of the Research Program at the Thompson Autism and Neurodevelopmental Center at Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC). She has also been awarded as the fellow of Child Neurology Society for her contributions. She received her MBBS from Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences in India and completed residency training in pediatric neurology and fellowship training in neurodevelopmental disabilities at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Golla specializes in autism spectrum disorder and Fragile X syndrome, with a focus on clinical trials and therapeutic interventions for neurodevelopmental conditions.

Dr.Golla serves as principal investigator on eight active clinical trials investigating pharmacological treatments for Fragile X syndrome and autism spectrum disorder, funded by organizations including the National Fragile X Foundation, Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, Kuzani, Mirum , Tetra Discovery Partners, and MapLight. She directs the Fragile X Clinic at CHOC and is a physician member of the Fragile X Consortium/FORWARD through the National Fragile X Society. Her research has been published in journals including Nature Digital Medicine, Molecular Psychiatry, and Frontiers in Pediatrics, with contributions to understanding genetic and metabolic causes of autism and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Prior to joining CHOC in 2021, Dr.Golla spent nine years on the faculty at UT Southwestern Medical Center, where she served as Associate Program Director for the Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Residency Program and directed specialized clinics for Pitt Hopkins syndrome and post-ECMO patients at Children's Health Dallas. She is Double board certified in Neurology with special qualification in Child Neurology and additional board certification in Neurodevelopmental disabilities. She holds medical licenses in California and Texas. Dr. Golla is a Fellow of the Child Neurology Society and maintains memberships in the American Academy of Neurology and International Child Neurology Association.

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Education

  • MBBS,MD, Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences, Bellary, India, 2000
  • Pediatric Neurology , UTSW, 2008
  • Neurodevelopmental Disabilties, UTSW, 2010
  • Physician Leadership Certificate Training Program, CHOC University , 2023-2026
  • Alpha Clinic Clinical Trials Investigator Training Program in Cell and Gene therapies, UCI, 2026
  • Executive MBA, UCI Paul Merage, 2026-2028
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Distinctions

  • Fellow, Child Neurology Society, 2025
  • Leon Weisberg Award, Department of Neurology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 2009
  • Teva Neuroscience Award, Department of Neurology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 2007-2008
  • Hegi Research Scholarship Award, Hegi Research Foundation, 2009
  • Texas Super Doctor Award, 2015
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Areas of Expertise

  • Pediatric Neurology and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Fragile X Syndrome Therapeutics
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder Phenotypes
  • Genetic Epilepsy Mechanisms
  • Cannabidiol Transdermal Delivery Systems
  • Artificial Intelligence Diagnostic Tools
  • Multidisciplinary Clinical Care Models
  • Autism
  • Research
  • Fellowship director
  • Rett sydnrome

Recent Publications

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Contact Information

Website: https://choc.org/medical-staff/neurology/sailaja-golla-md/

Email: sgolla@hs.uci.edu

Phone: (214) 450-8084

Address: 1201 W. La Veta Avenue

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This profile was created with the help of AI.

Last updated on 6/2/2026.