Bethany Johnson-Kerner

Dr. Bethany Johnson-Kerner is a pediatric neurologist with a special interest in helping children return to normal life after brain injuries.

Johnson-Kerner's research focuses on understanding how the brain heals after injury and on learning which exercises and support systems best assist that process. She leads Brain Recovery Education, UCSF's multidimensional initiative to maximize cognitive recovery after brain injury.

Johnson-Kerner earned her medical degree from the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University. She also earned her doctorate at Columbia, where her research involved creating stem cell models of degenerative neurological disease in order to look for new treatments. At UCSF, she completed a residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in child neurology, as well as postdoctoral research that explored how inherited conditions alter brain development.

Johnson-Kerner belongs to the American Academy of Neurology, Child Neurology Society and American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the Bay Area with her family.