Dr. Sharief Taraman, Child Neurology

Dr. Sharief Taraman is dual board-certified in Neurology with special qualifications in Child Neurology from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and Clinical Informatics from the American Board of Preventive Medicine.

Dr. Taraman was the former Division Chief of Pediatric Neurology at Rady Children’s Health Orange County and University of California-Irvine. He remains an active member of the medical staff and Neuroscience Institute providing inpatient care and the Sharon Disney Lund Medical Intelligence, Information, Investigation, & Innovation Institute.

He is a Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor at UC Irvine School of Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics and UC Riverside in the Department of Psychiatry & Neurosciences. He is also an Affiliate Professor at Chapman University, Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler School of Engineering.

Dr. Taraman is active in the community as the past president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Orange County Chapter, board member of AAP-California, and committee member for the development of the AAP National CHILD health registry. He also serves on the Irvine Unified School District Medical Advisory Board, volunteers for the Capistrano Unified School District and with Girl Scouts of Orange County.

Recognized globally as an innovator and specifically an advocate in the field of pediatrics, Dr. Taraman has been involved with the development of multiple FDA designated breakthrough devices, is an advisor to Board of Directors for the International Society for Pediatric Innovation, and awardee of the prestigious National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation grant and as a Fellow of the Child Neurology Society.

Dr. Taraman graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Michigan having majored in Biochemistry. He completed his medical education at Wayne State University School of Medicine and went on to complete residency and fellowship training in Pediatrics and Pediatric Neurology at the Detroit Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of Michigan. He continued professional development through the University of California, Irvine – The Paul Merage School of Business with certifications in Leadership for Healthcare Transformation & Physician Leadership.

Dr. Taraman’s other clinical interests include more severe traumatic brain injuries, neuroimmunology (Demyelinating disorders, ADEM, multiple sclerosis, CNS vasculitis), epilepsy, encephalitis, and stroke. His research interests include neurotechnology (brain/computer interfaces), nanotechnology, bioinformatics, and traumatic brain injury. Dr. Taraman is active in the community as a board member of the AAP Orange County Chapter, Irvine Unified School District Medical Advisory Board, and volunteering for Girl Scouts of Orange County and the Capistrano Unified School District.

Publications

Peer-reviewed original articles

Sohl, K., Linstead, E., Heinz, K., Lledo, E. E., Curran, A. B., Mahurin, M., Nanclares-Nogués, V., Salomon, C., Seal, M., & Taraman, S. (2025). Integration of an Artificial Intelligence-Based Autism Diagnostic Device into the ECHO Autism Primary Care Workflow: Prospective Observational Study. JMIR Formative Research, 9. https://doi.org/10.2196/80733

Nagarajan, R., Kondo, M., Salas, F., Sezgin, E., Yao, Y., Klotzman, V., Godambe, S. A., Khan, N., Limon, A., Stephenson, G., Taraman, S., Walton, N., Ehwerhemuepha, L., Pandit, J., Pandita, D., Weiss, M., Golden, C., Gold, A., Henderson, J., … Martel, S. (2024). Economics and Equity of Large Language Models: Health Care Perspective. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 26, e64226. https://doi.org/10.2196/64226

Bhargava H, Salomon C, Suresh S, Chang A, Kilian R, Stijn Dv, Oriol A, Low D, Knebel A, Taraman S. Promises, Pitfalls, and Clinical Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Pediatrics J Med Internet Res 2024;26:e49022, doi: 10.2196/49022, PMID: 38421690

Heyming T, Knudsen-Robbins C, Schomberg J, Hayakawa J, Lara B, Bacon K, Valdez B, Wickens M, Shelton SK, Romain J, Wallace E, Taraman S, Loudon W, Pearson R. Evaluation of Quantitative Pupillometry in Acute Postinjury Pediatric Concussion. Pediatr Neurol. 2024 Jan 14;153:103-112. doi: 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2024.01.016. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38367484.

Chi M, Heutlinger O, Heffernan C, Sanger T, Marano R, Feaster W, Taraman S, Ehwerhemuepha L. Chronic Neurological Disorders and Predisposition to Severe COVID-19 in Pediatric Patients in the United States. Pediatr Neurol. 2023 Oct;147:130-138. doi: 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2023.07.012. Epub 2023 Jul 22. PMID: 37611407.

Taraman, S.; Moss, A.; Le, H.; Sayrs, L.; Li, T. Investigative and Usability Findings of the Move-D Orthotic Brace Prototype for Upper Extremity Tremors in Pediatric Patients: An Unblinded, Experimental Study. Inventions 2023, 8, 85. https://doi.org/10.3390/inventions8040085

Dennis P. Wall, Stuart Liu-Mayo, Carmela Salomon, Jennifer Shannon, Sharief Taraman, Optimizing a de novo artificial intelligence-based medical device under a predetermined change control plan: Improved ability to detect or rule out pediatric autism, Intelligence-Based Medicine, Volume 8, 2023, 100102, ISSN 2666-5212, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmed.2023.100102.

Vu M, Duhig AM, Tibrewal A, Campbell CM, Gaur A, Salomon C, Gupta A, Kruse M, Taraman S. Increased delay from initial concern to diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and associated health care resource utilization and cost among children aged younger than 6 years in the United States. J Manag Care Spec Pharm. 2023 Apr;29(4):378-390. doi: 10.18553/jmcp.2023.29.4.378. PMID: 36989447.

Arshad A, Arellano A, Chumakova A, Taraman S. Neuroblastoma Presentation With Multiple Cranial Nerve Involvement. Neurology Dec 2022, 99 (23 Supplement 2) S73; DOI: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000903588.17297.bf

Heyming T; Hayakawa J; Schomberg J; Taraman S; Loudon W; Bacon K; Lara B; Pearson R. Pupillometry Components and Postconcussion Symptom Assessment in Pediatric Patients. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation 37(6):p E502-E608, November/December 2022. | DOI: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000000845.