Dr. Ramzi Ben-Youssef is a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist who trained at Loma Linda University Medical Center and at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in California. During his residency, he served as chief resident, and after residency he pursued additional neuro-rehabilitation training at Rancho Los Amigos with special focus on spinal cord medicine, stroke and brain injury rehabilitation. He was subsequently hired by Rancho Los Amigos as chief of the Spinal Cord Injury Outpatient Center. During that period he helped establish the Spinal Cord Injury Patient Centered Medical Home and worked as its acting medical director. He later joined the University of Southern California with the department of neurology as an assistant professor of neurology and physical medicine and rehabilitation. In this position, he helped establish and launch the Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit and he is the unit’s medical director. Dr Ben-Youssef has a background in surgery and research. Early in his career, he did an internship in general surgery at the University of Southern California, then he did a second year of surgical training as a resident at Loma Linda University Medical Center, followed by four years of clinical research in solid organ transplantation and solid organ transplantation immunology, and he published many research papers and abstracts and he presented at national and international medical meetings. Dr. Ben-Youssef has also published many papers and abstracts in the field of rehabilitation medicine and is currently involved in two research projects with USC and Rancho Los Amigos studying robotic exoskeleton devices and stem cell therapy in spinal cord injured patients.

Associations

1. Member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
2. Board Member, Southern California Spinal Cord Injury Model System
3. Previous Member of the American Spinal Injury Association
4. Previous Member of the American Medical Association
5. Previous Member of the International Pediatric Transplantation Association

Professional Affiliations

1. Medical Director, Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, Keck Medical Center of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA, March 2013- Active.

2. Chief, Spinal Cord Injury Outpatient Rehabilitation Service-SCI Medical Home, Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, Downey, California, USA, July 2011-March 2013.

3. Consultant Staff Physician Specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, Downey, California, USA, July 2011- March 2013.

4. Assistant Professor of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA, March 2013- Active.

5. Adjunct Research Assistant Professor of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA, March 2012- Active.

Medical Training

1. Chief Resident, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center Track, Downey, California, USA, appointed July 2010.

2. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Resident, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, California, USA, July 2008- July 2011.

3. Clinical Research Associate in Solid Organ Transplantation, Transplantation Institute, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, California, USA, June 2004- June 2008.

4. General Surgery Resident, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, California, USA, July 2003- July 2004.

5. General Surgery Resident, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA, June 2002- June 2003.

Posters and Oral Presentations

1. Ramzi Ben-Youssef, Jennifer Tanaka, David Richards. Heterotopic Ossification of the Quadriceps Muscle Complicating Distal Femoral Traction with Pins: A Case Report. AAPMR Annual Assembly Meeting, October 1-4, 2015, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

2. Ramzi Ben-Youssef, M.D, Mindy Aisen, M.D, Abdullah Safwan Nassif, M.S., Yaga Szlachcic, M.D. Sleep Disturbances in Paraplegics within a Large Urban Community: Prevalence, Risk Factors and Associated Co-Morbidities about 180 cases. Oral presentation, 3rd International Conference on Neurology and Epidemiology, November 21-23, 2013, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

3. Ramzi Ben-Youssef, M.D, Mindy Aisen, M.D, Osama Abou Saleh, M.S., Abdulelah Assi, M.S., Afsan Farid, M.S., Yaga Szlachcic, M.D. Sleep Disturbances in Paraplegics within a Large Urban Community: Prevalence, Risk Factors and Associated Co-Morbidities about 100 cases. American Spinal Injury Association 40th Anniversary Scientific Meeting, May 6-8, 2013, Chicago, Illinois, United States.

4. Ramzi Ben-Youssef, M.D, Mindy Aisen, M.D, Robert Boucher, P.A., Terry Starr, N.P., Jardine Cordero, N.P., Terrie DeBord, D.D.S., Leilani Hermosura, N.P., Yaga Szlachcic, M.D. Implementing the Medical Home Model in Spinal Cord Injury Patients within a Large Underserved Urban Community. American Spinal Injury Association 38th Annual Scientific Meeting, April 19-21, 2012, Denver, Colorado, United States.

5. Ramzi Ben-Youssef, Ake Evans, David Saperia, Henry Richardson, Phuong Tien, Ken Hsin, Murray Brandstater. Cryptogenic Stroke in a Young Woman with Patent Foramen Ovale and May-Thurner-Cockett syndrome. 2011 Association of Academic Physiatrists Annual Meeting, April 12 - 16, 2011, Phoenix, Arizona, United States.

6. Ramzi Ben-Youssef, Ziyad Ayyoub, Murray Brandstater, Ake Evans, Ken Hsin, Mallikarjuna Nallegowda, Henry A. Richardson, Phuong Q. Tien. Levetiracetam and Speech Therapy in Aphasia from Penetrating Brain Injury: A Case Report. AAPMR 71st Assembly Meeting, November 4-7, 2010, Seattle, WA, United States.

7. Ken Hsin, Ziyad Ayyoub, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, Murray Brandstater, Ake Evans, Mallikarjuna Nallegowda, Henry A. Richardson, Phuong Q. Tien. Atypical Presentation of Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis: A Case Report. AAPMR 71stAssembly Meeting, November 4-7, 2010, Seattle, WA, United States.

8. Henry A. Richardson, Ziyad Ayyoub, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, Murray Brandstater, Ake Evans, Ken Hsin, Mallikarjuna Nallegowda, Phuong Q. Tien. Miller Fisher Syndrome—Response to Intravenous Immunoglobulin: A Case Report. AAPMR 71st Assembly Meeting, November 4-7, 2010, Seattle, WA, United States.

9. Phuong Q. Tien, Ziyad Ayyoub, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, Murray Brandstater, Ake Evans, Ken Hsin, Mallikarjuna Nallegowda, Henry A. Richardson. Transverse Myelitis with Atypical Findings: A Case Report. AAPMR 71st Assembly Meeting, November 4-7, 2010, Seattle, WA, United States.

10. Ake Evans, Ziyad Ayyoub, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, Vance Eberly, Ken Hsin, Mallikarjuna Nallegowda, Henry A. Richardson, Phuong Q. Tien. Proximal and Distal Patellar Realignment for Chronic Patellar Dislocation in Ectrodactyly and Congenital Type 2 Deficiency of the Tibia: A Case Report. AAPMR 71st Assembly Meeting, November 4-7, 2010, Seattle, WA, United States.

11. Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, Okechukwu Ojogho, MD, Edson Franco, MD, Jill Weissman, PharmD, WaheedBaqai, MPH, Arputharaj Kore, MD, Marino DeLeon, PhD, Zaida Cordero-MacIntyre, PhD, and Pedro W. Baron, MD. Immunosuppressive drugs and new onset diabetes mellitus after kidney transplantation in recipients of Hispanic origin. XII International Congress of the Transplantation Society, August 10-14, 2008, Sydney, Australia.

12. Pedro W Baron, MD, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, Edson S Franco, MD, Arvand Elihu, MD, Arputharaj Kore, MD, D Duane Baldwin, MD and Okechukwu N Ojogho, MD. 150 consecutive hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy: a successful single center experience. Oral presentation at the XII International Congress of the Transplantation Society, August 10-14, 2008, Sydney, Australia.

13. Pedro W. Baron, MD, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, Edson Franco, MD, Jill Weissman, PharmD, WaheedBaqai, MPH, Arputharaj Kore, MD, Marino DeLeon, PhD, Zaida Cordero-MacIntyre, PhD and Okechukwu Ojogho, MD. New onset posttransplant diabetes in Hispanic kidney transplant recipients. XII International Congress of the Transplantation Society, August 10-14, 2008, Sydney, Australia.

14. Jill Weissman, PharmD, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, Edson S Franco, MD, Arputharaj Kore, MD, Okechukwu N Ojogho, MD and Pedro W Baron, MD. Comparison of outcome with low-dose thymoglobulin, basiliximab or no induction therapy in living donor kidney recipients. XII International Congress of the Transplantation Society, August 10-14, 2008, Sydney, Australia.

15. Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, Pedro W Baron, MD, Edson S Franco, MD, Arputharaj Kore, MD, and Okechukwu N Ojogho, MD. Excellent clinical outcomes in simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation without routine anticoagulation prophylaxis. American Transplant Congress, May 31-June 4, 2008, Ontario, Canada.

16. Okechukwu N Ojogho, MD, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, Edson S Franco, MD, Arputharaj Kore, MD and Pedro W Baron, MD. Pancreas graft thrombosis in simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation without anticoagulation prophylaxis: impact of venous drainage. American Transplant Congress, May 31-June 4, 2008, Ontario, Canada.

17. Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, Pedro W. Baron, MD, Jill Weissman, PharmD, Edson Franco, MD, Arputharaj Kore, MD, and Okechukwu Ojogho, MD. The impact of EBV infection on Immuknow levels in pediatric kidney transplant recipients. 8th International Conference on New Trends in Immunosuppression and Immunotherapy, February 14-17, 2008, Berlin, Germany.
18. Okechukwu Ojogho, MD, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, Jill Weissman, PharmD, Edson Franco, MD, Arputharaj Kore, MD, and Pedro W. Baron, MD. The immune profile of pediatric kidney transplant recipients with dysfunctional allografts. 8th International Conference on New Trends in Immunosuppression and Immunotherapy, February 14-17, 2008, Berlin, Germany.

19. Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, Pedro Baron, MD, Edson Franco, MD, and Okechukwu N Ojogho, MD. The role of intercurrent EBV infection on ATP levels in CD4+ T cells of pediatric kidney transplant recipients. 4th Congress of the International Pediatric Transplant Association, March 17-21, 2007, Cancun, Mexico.

20. Okechukwu N Ojogho, MD, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, D. Duane Baldwin, MD, Fouad Abdelhalim, MD, Shobha Sahney, MD, Edson Franco, MD, and Pedro Baron, MD. Pediatric renal transplantation into a dysfunctional lower urinary tract. 4th Congress of the International Pediatric Transplant Association, March 17-21, 2007, Cancun, Mexico.

21. Okechukwu N Ojogho, MD, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, Edson Franco, MD, and Pedro Baron, MD. The immune profile of pediatric kidney transplant recipients with dysfunctional allografts. 4th Congress of the International Pediatric Transplant Association, March 17-21, 2007, Cancun, Mexico.

22. Okechukwu N Ojogho, MD, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, Edson S Franco, MD, Linda J Chen, MD, Janet M Williams, RN and Pedro W Baron, MD. Antibody induction therapy with low dose anti-thymocyte globulin in simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation. World Transplant Congress meeting, Boston 2006 (Poster # 153-I).

23. Pedro W. Baron, MD, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, D. Duane Baldwin, MD, Edson Franco, MD, Linda J. Chen, MD, and Okechukwu Ojogho, MD. The first 100 cases of hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy: no conversion to open procedure, no blood transfusion required and no delayed graft function occurred. World Transplant Congress meeting, Boston 2006 (Poster # 69-IV).

24. Pedro W. Baron, MD, Michel Mendler, MD, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, Zeid Kayali, MD, Patti Radovich, CNS, Brijie Elhazin, FNP, Edson Franco, MD, Linda J. Chen, MD, David Bush, MD, and Okechukwu Ojogho, MD. Control of non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma by proton-beam radiotherapy prior to liver transplantation. World Transplant Congress, Boston 2006 (Poster # 208-IV).

25. Pedro W. Baron, Okechukwu Ojogho, Shobha Sahney, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, Drew Cutler, Jill Weissman, Edson Franco, Craig Zuppan, Waldo Concepcion. Low dose anti-thymocyte globulin compared to basiliximab induction therapy in pediatric kidney transplantation. American Transplant Congress, Seattle, WA, May 2005(Poster # 1335).
26. Pedro W. Baron, MD, Antranik A. Bedros, MD, Fatenah Majlessipour, MD, Craig Zuppan, MD, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, George Yanni, MD, Linda J. Chen, MD, Edson Franco, MD, Okechukwu Ojogho, MD, and Waldo Concepcion, MD. Large undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver successfully treated with chemotherapy and liver resection. American Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association Annual Meeting, March 2006, Miami Beach, Florida (Poster # P 55).

Published Papers

1. Pedro W. Baron, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, Okechukwu N. Ojogho, Arputharaj Kore, and D. Duane Baldwin. Morbidity of 200 Consecutive Cases of Hand-Assisted Laparoscopic Living Donor Nephrectomies: A Single-Center Experience. Journal of Transplantation, Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 121523, 7 pages, doi:10.1155/2012/121523

2. Ziyad Ayyoub, Ramzi Ben-Youssef. Levetiracetam and Intensive Speech Therapy in Aphasia from Penetrating Brain Injury: Could It Be the Way To Recovery? IJPMR 2010; 21: 51-55.

3. Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, Pedro W. Baron, MD, Shobha Sahney, MD, Jill Weissman, PharmD, Edson Franco, MD, Arputharaj Kore, MD, and Okechukwu Ojogho, MD, MMM. The impact of intercurrent EBV infection on ATP levels in CD4+ T cells of pediatric kidney transplant recipients. Pediatric Transplantation 2009; 13: 851-5.

4. Pedro W. Baron, MD, Okechukwu Ojogho, MD, Peter Yorgin, MD, Shobha Sahney, MD, Drew Cutler, MD, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, Waheed Baqai, MPH, Jill Weissman, PharmD, Edson Franco, MD, Craig Zuppan, MD, Waldo Concepcion, MD. Comparison of outcomes with low dose anti-thymocyte globulin, basiliximab or no induction therapy in pediatric kidney transplant recipients: a retrospective study. Pediatric Transplantation 2008; 12: 32-39.

5. Pedro W. Baron, MD, Fatenah Majlessipour, MD, Antranik A. Bedros, MD, Craig Zuppan, MD, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, George Yanni, MD, O.N. Ojogho, MD, Waldo Concepcion, MD. Undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver successfully treated with chemotherapy and liver resection. Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery 2007; 11 (1): 73-75.

6. Okechukwu Ojogho, MD, Ramzi Ben-Youssef, MD, Linda Chen, MD, Pedro Baron, MD, Edson Franco, MD, D. Duane Baldwin, MD. Simultaneous pediatric kidney transplantation and ureterocystoplasty in a 20-month-old boy. Pediatric Transplantation 2007; 11: 436-440.

7. Ramzi Ben-Youssef, Pedro Baron, Edson Franco, Michael Walter, Terence Lewis, Okechukwu Ojogho. Intrapyloric injection of botulinum toxin A for the treatment of persistent gastroparesis following successful pancreas transplantation. American Journal of Transplantation 2006; 6 (1): 214-218.

8. Ben-Youssef Ramzi, Iwaki Yuichi, Baron Pedro, Franco Edson, Rowsell Edward, Buckert Linda, Ojogho Okechukwu. Successful living related kidney transplantation across an anti-donor HLA antibody. Transplant Proc, 2006; 38:1280-2.

9. Ben-Youssef Ramzi, Baron Pedro, Franco Edson, Raghavan Ravi, Ojogho Okechukwu. Strongyloides stercoralis infection from pancreas allograft: case report. Transplantation 2005; 80 (7): 997-998.

10. Baron Pedro, Ben-Youssef Ramzi, Ojogho Okechukwu, Franco Edson, Smith Douglas, Concepcion Waldo. Hemobilia secondary to a posttransplant lymphoma after liver transplantation. Transplantation 2005; 79 (12): 1766-1767.

Peer reviewed/Indexed M.D. Thesis: Acute suppurative flexor tenosynovitis of the hand: about 70 cases. These Med., Sousse-Tunisia, Faculte de Medecine, 1998 (in French): this thesis received the distinction very honorable with congratulations from the jury and proposition for the presidential award.

Guest Lectures:

“Adult Brain Injuries, diagnosis and management”: November 2013; lectured first and second year occupational therapy students at USC occupational sciences department

Language Skills

1. Arabic: fluently spoken and written
2. English: fluently spoken and written
3. French: fluently spoken and written