Dr Shanika Samarasekera is a consultant neurologist specialising in epilepsy at The Harborne Hospital, part of HCA Healthcare UK, and holds a substantive NHS post at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. She qualified in medicine in 2000 at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and completed advanced training in psychiatry and neurology across Newcastle and the West Midlands, gaining membership of both specialist colleges.


Her professional roles include diagnosing and managing epilepsy and seizures, leading multidisciplinary teams, and contributing extensively to academic research. Her publications cover topics such as epilepsy management in patients with intellectual disability, brain tumour related epilepsy, and the use of cannabidiol and cenobamate in refractory epilepsies—highlighting her interests in advancing anti seizure therapeutics.

Areas of expertise include drug resistant epilepsy, tumour related seizure disorders, intellectual disability, functional seizures, and epilepsy surgery evaluation. She regularly performs diagnostic assessments and oversees treatment plans involving anti seizure medications, novel therapies like cannabidiol and cenobamate, VNS, and pre surgical fMRI. She treats complex neurological conditions such as status epilepticus, autoimmune encephalitis, and nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy.

Her professional interests include improving patient outcomes in epilepsy, integrating new seizure reduction therapies, and enhancing care pathways for vulnerable populations.