Bringing years of experience and expertise to her most recent appointment, the South Jersey MS Center, Dr. Indrani S. Hightower is a celebrated professional committed to the field of neurology. Dr. Hightower’s journey into the medical field was profoundly inspired by her father, a man whose own dreams resonated deeply with her.
At a young age, Dr. Hightower’s father recognized her potential. He ignited her passion for medicine when he gifted her a stethoscope, symbolizing his aspirations for their family.
The Pursuit of Knowledge
Dr. Hightower’s father’s unwavering desire for a doctor in the family became a guiding force in her professional endeavors, leading her to pursue the medical field in college. While earning a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Rutgers University’s Douglass College, she joined the BA/MD program at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey’s Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, taking numerous medical classes.
Furthering her education, Dr. Hightower completed an MD at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and an internal medicine internship through the Albert Einstein Healthcare Network.
Following her academic achievements, Dr. Hightower expanded her professional knowledge, focusing on specializing in neurology and neurophysiology. She completed her residency and fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Following this accomplishment, she leveraged her expertise as a neurology consultant for the Deborah Heart and Lung Center, the Virtua Memorial Hospital of Burlington County, and an office practice with privileges at Inspira Hospital.
During her academic and clinical careers, Dr. Hightower has also been actively involved in research and clinical trials, underscoring her dedication to advancing the field of neurology. Her research on the recurrence of seizures after epilepsy remission, volumetric measurements of subcortical nuclei in epilepsy patients, and multiple sclerosis composite testing, alongside her collaboration with such renowned scholars as Dr. Michael Sperling, Dr. David Dougherty, Dr. Jody Hey, and Dr. Thomas Leist, have been instrumental in advancing the field.
Additionally, Dr. Hightower’s position as a sub-investigator during clinical trials of Fingolimod, Alemtuzumab, and Tecfidera has furthered both the understanding of these treatments and the potential pitfalls.
Staying Current in the Medical Field
Throughout her professional career, Dr. Hightower has previously worked as a neurologist for Woodbury Neurology at Inspira Medical Center, the South Jersey Multiple Sclerosis Center, and Virtua Medical Center with the Neurology Consultants of Burlington County. Motivated by her passion for her favorite saying, “improving the human brain one synapse at a time,” she excels as a general neurologist and neurophysiologist. While working for the South Jersey MS Center, she added quite a few more clinical skills in multiple sclerosis, neuroimmunology, as well as migraine treatment, including Botox injections for chronic migraine, as well as the use of Botox for the treatment of spasticity, and blepharospasm.
To stay current in the medical field’s ongoing changes, Dr. Hightower is active with the American Association of Independent Physicians and the American Academy of Neurology and has previously been involved in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Her dedication to staying current in her field helps to ensure she can provide the best care and latest treatments to her patients.
Academic and Career Highlights
Dr. Hightower has been honored many times during her academic and professional career. As a student, she earned the Edward J. Bloustein Scholarship and an Honors in Pathology Award. Dr. Hightower has also been recognized as a leading physician and top doctor in recent years and has been named Best in Medicine by the American Health Council. She takes the most pride in her pursuits to become the best medical provider and healer she can be, embracing a holistic approach to medicine and patient care.
Dr. Hightower envisions a future where her primary focus is healing her patients through innovative therapies and personal care, always putting her patients’ needs first. Her strengths include treating the individual and not the disease and customizing her patient care with the latest technology. Her compassion for her patients sets her apart from most of her peers, as she treats the patients in the context of their psychosocial and financial issues and pays close attention to tailoring her medical care to the priorities of each individual patient, setting individual goals for each.
While passionate about neurology, Dr. Hightower also harbors a love for space exploration and technological advances. She hopes to write a captivating science fiction novel one day and launch a YouTube channel dedicated to exploring the intersections of space and neurology. Dr. Hightower sees the synapses between the 86 billion neurons in the brain, with their myriads of electrical signals firing as scintillating and almost as vast to her as the stars twinkling in the Milky Way galaxy, which contains between 200 to 400 billion stars. Both the human brain and the universe still hold many mysteries and enormous complexity, which deserve the dedication of a lifetime of study.
