Dr. Yasmin Khakoo

Dr. Yasmin Khakoo, MD, is a board-certified pediatric neurologist and neuro-oncologist on the MSK Kids team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she serves as Director of the MSK Kids Child Neurology Program. Her clinical focus centers on children and young adults with primary brain tumors, with a particular dedication to preventing and treating nervous system complications in young patients undergoing cancer therapy. Her overarching goal is to preserve neurologic and cognitive function so that children completing treatment can return to school, their families, and a normal life. She considers herself a guardian of her patients' nervous systems, committed to helping them not only survive but thrive.

Dr. Khakoo is active in multiple clinical trials through MSK's Brain Tumor Center, evaluating novel treatments for newly diagnosed and recurrent brain tumors. She served as principal investigator on a Cycle for Survival Foundation-funded study of low-grade gliomas in children, collaborating with colleagues Neal Rosen, Ingo Mellinghoff, and Jeffrey Greenfield to study the effects of novel medications on tumor tissue samples, contributing to the identification of a new drug for these tumors. Her research also encompasses cerebellar mutism, also known as posterior fossa syndrome, a complication arising after surgery for medulloblastoma that can impair speech, walking, and swallowing. She investigates paraneoplastic syndromes in children with neuroblastoma, including opsoclonus myoclonus ataxia syndrome, and specializes in neurocutaneous melanocytosis, a rare neurologic condition linked to large congenital birthmarks. Funded by the Nevus Outreach advocacy group, she maintains a patient registry aimed at identifying those at high risk of developing central nervous system melanoma. She also collaborates with J. J. Boelens and colleagues in Pediatric Stem Cell Transplantation to develop treatments for genetic and metabolic diseases affecting the central nervous system, including adrenoleukodystrophy and metachromatic leukodystrophy.

A dedicated educator, Dr. Khakoo founded MSK's Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Fellowship in 2005 and directed it through 2014, remaining heavily involved in its ongoing leadership. Fellows trained at MSK benefit from exposure to a high volume of patients cared for by an experienced multidisciplinary team. She teaches and supervises residents and fellows as part of her broader academic responsibilities. She was recently selected for a year-long mentorship program through the American Academy of Neurology, an opportunity she sees as a means of strengthening her leadership and advancing the MSK Kids Child Neurology Program.