Elson So MD

Elson So, MD, is a Professor of Neurology and internationally recognized epilepsy specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. With more than four decades of experience in clinical neurology, Dr. So has dedicated his career to advancing the diagnosis, treatment, and understanding of epilepsy and seizure disorders. His clinical expertise includes drug-resistant epilepsy, epilepsy surgery evaluation, electroencephalography (EEG), seizure localization, first-seizure assessment, and the management of epilepsy-related complications.

Dr. So earned his medical degree from the University of Santo Tomas College of Medicine and Surgery in the Philippines and completed his neurology residency and chief residency at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He subsequently pursued fellowship training in EEG and Epilepsy under the mentorship of Dr. J. Kiffin Penry, one of the pioneers of modern epilepsy care. He is board-certified in Neurology, Epilepsy, and Sleep Medicine.

A leader in epilepsy research, Dr. So has made significant contributions to the development and application of advanced neuroimaging techniques for seizure localization, particularly the Subtraction Ictal SPECT Co-Registered to MRI (SISCOM) methodology. His research has also focused on electroencephalography, surgical treatment planning for epilepsy, sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), and the outcomes of patients with drug-resistant seizure disorders. His work has helped improve the identification of seizure foci and expand treatment options for patients who are candidates for epilepsy surgery.