Maija-Riikka Steenari, MD

As a pediatric neurologist and epilepsy specialist, Dr. Steenari’s clinical interests include neurometabolic diseases, infantile spasms, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, refractory epilepsy, intracranial monitoring and epilepsy surgery. Her research interests include understanding epileptic disorders, such as infantile spasms and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, investigating different treatment options in patient with refractory epilepsy and quality of life in patients with epilepsy.

Since joining CHOC Children’s, Dr. Steenari has worked with the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center to advance the standard of care for children with epilepsy, and she collaborates with the CHOC Metabolic specialists in the conjoined Neurometabolic Clinic.

Dr. Steenari is board certified in in child neurology, clinical neurophysiology, and epilepsy. She attended medical school at University of Helsinki Medical Faculty in Helsinki Finland, and completed her pediatric residency at White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles California and child neurology training at CHOC Children’s and UC Irvine. She also completed a subspecialty fellowship in pediatric epilepsy at CHOC Children’s and UC Irvine. She is a member of the American Epilepsy Society, the American Academy of Neurology, and the Orange County Medical Association.