Casey Vickstrom, MD, PhD

Where I am from: I grew up about an hour outside of Chicago in Algonquin, Illinois. I went to Northwestern University for undergrad where I majored in biological sciences with a concentration in neurobiology. After graduation I moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where I did a combined MD/PhD program at the Medical College of Wisconsin. During my PhD, I studied the role of endocannabinoid signaling in specific neural circuits in regulating anxiety and depressive-like behaviors in rodents. 

Where I am going: I did a lot of electrophysiology during my PhD, and I am currently most interested in epilepsy. But I am also drawn to neuroimmunology and neurogenetics, so I will see where residency takes me! I plan to pursue a significant basic science/translational research career and would like to study rare neurological disorders with the goal of developing new, innovative treatments. 

Why I am here: St. Louis Children’s Hospital and WashU are premier clinical and research institutions that will allow me to receive excellent clinical training while pursuing my research interests. Although I have only been in St. Louis for a few months, it has been a great place to live so far! I love that it is a medium-sized city with great food (especially BBQ) and fun things to do but is also close to great outdoor activities like hiking and mountain biking. And Forest Park is pretty amazing.