Publications:17
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Stephanie K Tankou, MD, PhD
Neurology
About Me
Stephanie K. Tankou, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Mount Sinai Health System, and sees patients at the Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis, with a clinical focus in multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica, and neurosarcoidosis. Dr. Tankou has an established research lab focusing on identifying gut derived bacteria that regulate inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS), setting the goal to identify gut derived bacteria that can serve as biomarkers as well as disease modifying therapies for MS and other CNS autoimmune diseases.
Dr. Tankou received her Bachelor's in Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry, graduating summa cum laude, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She completed her MD/PhD degree at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where her graduate research revealed a mechanism by which cytomegalovirus interferes with the function of a susceptibility gene for mental illness called disrupted in schizophrenia-1. She completed her neurology residency at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and later completed her MS Clinical Research Fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
She was awarded the NMSS-ABF MS Clinician-Scientist Development Award to investigate the gut microbiome in MS patients as well as in the MS mouse model in the laboratory of Dr. Howard Weiner at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Tankou is a co-author on the first research article describing Alterations of the Human Gut Microbiome in Multiple Sclerosis patients, published in the 2016 edition of Nature Communications.
Dr. Tankou led a pilot probiotic trial in MS patients, documenting the first report on the effect of a probiotic on the gut microbiota composition and peripheral immune function in MS patients. She observed that it is possible to change the composition of the gut microbiota of MS patients as well as their peripheral immune response by probiotic supplementation. This work was published in Annals of Neurology, a leading journal in the field of clinical neurology.
Dr. Tankou is fluent in English and French. She offers telemedicine appointments when appropriate. Please call her office to schedule a video visit.
The state of Florida requires out-of-state professionals who are registered to provide telehealth services to display a hyperlink to the Florida Department of Health telehealth web page. This allows Florida patients who are receiving medical care by telehealth to confirm the provider’s licensure and Florida registration.
Language
English, French
Position
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR | Neurology, Multiple Sclerosis, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR | Immunology & Immunotherapy
Hospital Affiliations
- Mount Sinai Beth Israel
- Mount Sinai Morningside
- Mount Sinai Brooklyn
- Mount Sinai Queens
- The Mount Sinai Hospital
- Mount Sinai West
Research Topics
Autoimmunity, Immunology, Inflammation, Metabolomics, Microglia, Mucosal Immunology, Multiple Sclerosis, Proteomics
Clinical Focus
Education
MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Internship, Internal Medicine
MetroHealth Medical Center
Residency, Neurology
UCLA Medical Center School of Medicine
Certifications
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Research
It is known that the gut microbiome has a broad influence on health and diseases including infection, atherosclerosis, cancer, inflammatory, metabolic and autoimmune diseases. Alterations in the gut microbiome of MS patients has been reported by several investigators. However, the mechanisms by which the gut microbiota contributes to the pathophysiology of MS remain poorly understood. My laboratory is interested in identifying gut derived bacteria that modulate neuroinflammation and to elucidate their mechanisms of action. This comprehensive analysis will lead to the identification of microbial derived pathways that suppress CNS inflammation. Identification of these bacteria could lead to the discovery of disease biomarkers as well as novel and more efficacious prevention strategies and therapies for relapsing-remitting as well as progressive MS.
Insurance Information
Accepted insurance may vary by the doctor’s office location. Please contact the office directly to obtain the most up-to-date insurance information.
- 1199 SEIU
- AETNA - Commercial
- AETNA - Medicare
- Amidacare Medicaid
- CIGNA Healthcare
- Centivo
- Elderplan
- EmblemHealth - GHI-PPO
- EmblemHealth - HIP
- EmblemHealth - HIP-Medicaid
- EmblemHealth - HIP-Medicare
- Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield - Commercial/Exchange
- Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield - HealthPlus Medicaid
- Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield - Medicare
- Fidelis Health Care
- HealthFirst Medicaid
- HealthFirst Medicare
- Horizon NJ
- Magnacare-Health Care
- Medicare - NJ
- Medicare - NY
- Metroplus
- Multiplan PHCS
- NJ Medicaid
- NY Medicaid
- Oscar
- Oxford - Freedom and Liberty
- Partners Health Plan
- Senior Whole Health
- United Health Care - Commercial
- United Health Care - Empire Plan
- United Health Care - Oxford Care
- United Health Care - Top Tier
- VNSNY Choice Medicare
- VNSNY Select Health Medicaid
- VillageCareMax
- WellCare Health Plan
Physicians who provide services at hospitals and facilities in the Mount Sinai Health System might not participate in the same health plans as those Mount Sinai hospitals and facilities (even if the physicians are employed or contracted by those hospitals or facilities).
Information regarding insurance participation and billing by this physician may be found on this page, and can also be obtained by contacting this provider directly. Because physicians insurance participation can change, the insurance information on this page may not always be up-to-date. Please contact this physician directly to obtain the most up-to-date insurance information.
Insurance and health plan networks that the various Mount Sinai Health System hospitals and facilities participate in can be found on the Mount Sinai Health System website.
Publications
Selected Publications
- Oral vancomycin treatment alters levels of indole derivatives and secondary bile acids modulating the expression of mTOR pathway genes in astrocytes during EAE. Paola Bianchimano, Paola Leone, Emma M. Smith, Cristina Gutierrez-Vazquez, Erli Wind-andersen, Gerold Bongers, Sebastian Cristancho, Howard L. Weiner, Jose C. Clemente, Stephanie K. Tankou. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
- Oral vancomycin treatment suppresses gut trypsin activity and preserves intestinal barrier function during EAE. Paola Bianchimano, Kacper Iwanowski, Emma M. Smith, Adam Cantor, Paola Leone, Gerold Bongers, Carlos G. Gonzalez, Yoon Hongsup, Joshua Elias, Howard L. Weiner, Jose C. Clemente, Stephanie K. Tankou. iScience
- T cell responses to COVID-19 infection and vaccination in patients with multiple sclerosis receiving disease-modifying therapy. Anthony T. Reder, Olaf Stuve, Stephanie K. Tankou, Thomas P. Leist. Multiple Sclerosis Journal
Patient Experience Star Ratings and Comments
The Patient Experience Star Rating reflects our patients’ perception of how well their Mount Sinai provider communicated with them during an office visit. The Star Rating is based on patient responses to three questions on a patient experience survey, a standardized questionnaire sent to verified patients and distributed by a third party vendor, Press Ganey. Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best score.
Industry Relationships
Physicians and scientists on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai often interact with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology companies, and other outside entities to improve patient care, develop new therapies and achieve scientific breakthroughs. In order to promote an ethical and transparent environment for conducting research, providing clinical care and teaching, Mount Sinai requires that salaried faculty inform the School of their outside financial relationships.
Dr. Tankou has not yet completed reporting of Industry relationships.
Mount Sinai’s faculty policies relating to faculty collaboration with industry are posted on our website. Patients may wish to ask their physician about the activities they perform for companies.