Ricka Messer, MD, PhD

Professional Titles

• Director of the Pediatric Neurohospitalist Program
• Medical Director of Clinical Informatics for Pediatric Neurology

Recognitions

• Century Award, Children's Hospital Colorado (2019)
  Recognizes a staff member with five or fewer years of training who has made major contributions to improving child health through committee work, leadership and advocacy.
• Golden Stethoscope Award, Foundations of Doctoring Medical Student Program (2018)
  Subspecialty Preceptor
• Paul G. Moe Excellence in Child Neurology Award, Pediatric Neurology Department (2017)
  For Exemplary Service in Teaching, Teamwork, and Patient Care
• Education Chief Resident, Johns Hopkins Neurology Residency (2014)
  
• Excellence in Teaching, Gold Humanism Award (2012)
  

Publications

• Janas AM, Miller KR, Stence NV, Wyrwa JM, Ruzas CM, Messer R, Mourani PM, Fink EL, Maddux AB. Utility of Early Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Enhance Outcome Prediction in Critically Ill Children with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury. Neurocrit Care. 2024 Aug;41(1):80-90. PubMed PMID: 38148435
• Messer RD, Troy E, Walleigh D, Wright, M. Chapter 25: Neurologic and Muscular Disorders. In: William W. Hay, Jr., Myron J. Levin, Robin R. Deterding, and Mark J Abzug, editors. Current Diagnosis and Treatment, 27th Edition. New York: McGraw Hill Education; 2024
• Rosenthal S, Mazzio E, Wellman Gilbert H, Guistolisi S, Marks J, Jewell J, Straley M, Silveira L, Messer R, Martin J, Mistry R, Yonker ME, Press CA. Efficacy of IV Valproic Acid and Oral Valproic Acid Tapers for the Treatment of Pediatric Headaches in the Emergency Department. Neurol Clin Pract. 2023 Aug;13(4):e200170. PubMed PMID: 37292258
• Martin JA, Sampey F, Feldman A, Silveira L, Press CA, Messer R, Barry M, Kaul P. Development and Evaluation of a Child Neurology Resident Curriculum for Communication Around Serious Illness. J Child Neurol. 2023 Apr;38(5):307-314. PubMed PMID: 37157829
• Janas AM, Miller KR, Stence NV, Wyrwa JM, Ruzas CM, Messer R, Mourani PM, Fink EL, Maddux AB. Utility of Early Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Enhance Outcome Prediction in Critically Ill Children with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury. Neurocrit Care. 2023 Dec 26. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 38148435
• Rosenthal S, Mazzio E, Wellman Gilbert H, Guistolisi S, Marks J, Jewell J, Straley M, Silveira L, Messer R, Martin J, Mistry R, Yonker ME, Press CA. Efficacy of IV Valproic Acid and Oral Valproic Acid Tapers for the Treatment of Pediatric Headaches in the Emergency Department. Neurol Clin Pract. 2023 Aug;13(4):e200170. PubMed PMID: 37292258
• Martin JA, Sampey F, Feldman A, Silveira L, Press CA, Messer R, Barry M, Kaul P. Development and Evaluation of a Child Neurology Resident Curriculum for Communication Around Serious Illness. J Child Neurol. 2023 Apr;38(5):307-314. PubMed PMID: 37157829
• Gilbert (Wellman) H, Abend NS, Hutchinson M, Messer R, Moharir M, Nash K, Palaganas J, Piantino J, Shah S, Hall M, Wells E, Press CA. (2023) “The Impact of Infections including COVID-19 on the Incidence of Acute Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy in Children.” Annals of Child Neurology (Manuscript ID ACNS-2023-0014, accepted March 2023).
• Nash KB, Palaganas J, Abend NS, Hutchinson ML, Messer R, Moharir M, Piantino J, Press CA, Wells E. The State of Inpatient Child Neurology: A Survey of North American Academic Programs. Neurology. 2022 Sep 12. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 36096689
• Mazzio E, Mistry RD, Rosenthal S, Ser E, Jewell J, Martin J, Messer R, Straley M, Leonard J, Press CA. Neuroimaging for Pediatric Non-First-Time Seizures in the Emergency Department. Neurol Clin Pract. 2022 Jun;12(3):e7-e13. PubMed PMID: 35747538
• Hutchinson ML, Nash KB, Abend NS, Moharir M, Wells E, Messer RD, Palaganas J, Helbig I, Wietstock SO, Suslovic W, Gonzalez AK, Kaufman MC, Press CA, Piantino J. Multicenter Study of the Impact of COVID-19 Shelter-In-Place on Tertiary Hospital-based Care for Pediatric Neurologic Disease. Neurohospitalist. 2022 Apr;12(2):218-226. PubMed PMID: 35414846
• Brajcich MR, Palau MA, Messer RD, Murphy ME, Marks J. Why the Maternal Medication List Matters: Neonatal Toxicity From Combined Serotonergic Exposures. Pediatrics. 2021 Feb;147(2). PubMed PMID: 33504611
• Messer RD, Schreiner TL, Walleigh D, Yang ML, Martin JA, and Demarest S. Chapter 25: Neurologic and Muscular Disorders. In: William W. Hay, Jr., Myron J. Levin, Robin R. Deterding, and Mark J Abzug, editors. Current Diagnosis and Treatment, 25th Edition. New York: McGraw Hill Education; 2020 (In-press)
• Nash KB, Abend NS, Hutchinson ML, Messer RD, Wells EM. Reader response: Child neurology in the 21st century: More than the sum of our RVUs. Neurology. 2020 Dec 15;95(24):1117-1118. PubMed PMID: 33318160
• Messer R, Knupp KG. Infantile Spasms: Opportunities to Improve Care. Semin Neurol. 2020 Apr;40(2):236-245. PubMed PMID: 32143232
• Messacar K, Spence-Davizon E, Osborne C, Press C, Schreiner TL, Martin J, Messer R, Maloney J, Burakoff A, Barnes M, Rogers S, Lopez AS, Routh J, Gerber SI, Oberste MS, Nix WA, Abzug MJ, Tyler KL, Herlihy R, Dominguez SR. Clinical characteristics of enterovirus A71 neurological disease during an outbreak in children in Colorado, USA, in 2018: an observational cohort study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020 Feb;20(2):230-239. PubMed PMID: 31859216
• McGarry L, Messer R, Cree-Green M, Ray K, Knupp K. Incidence of Hypertension Among Children Treated With Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) or Prednisolone for Infantile Spasms. J Child Neurol. 2020 Mar;35(3):215-220. PubMed PMID: 31769329
• Schreiner, T.L., Yang, M.L., Martin, J.A., Messer, R., Demarest, S., and Walleigh, D. "Chapter 25: Neurologic and Muscular Disorders" In: Hay, W.W. Jr, Levin, M.J., Deterding, R.R., and Abzug, M.J, editors. Current Diagnosis and Treatment: Pediatrics. 24th ed. New York: McGraw Hill Education; 2018, p. 752-823. ISBN: 978-1-259-86290-8
• Wagnon JL, Barker BS, Hounshell JA, Haaxma CA, Shealy A, Moss T, Parikh S, Messer RD, Patel MK, Meisler MH. Pathogenic mechanism of recurrent mutations of SCN8A in epileptic encephalopathy. Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2015 Dec 21;3(2):114-23. PubMed PMID: 26900580

Professional Memberships

• American Medical Association (AMA), Member
• American Academy of Neurology (AAN), Member
• Child Neurology Society (CNS), Member
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Member

Practice Locations

• Children's Hospital Colorado
• University of Colorado Hospital

• Center for Neuroscience

Specialty Information

• Child Neurology (2015)
• Science of Clinical Investigation, Certificate (2014)
• Certified Epic Physician Builder, Certificate (2019)

• Brain and Nervous System - Traumatic and Acquired Brain Injuries
• Brain and Nervous System - Stroke
• Brain and Nervous System - Meningitis
• Brain and Nervous System - Epilepsy
• Brain and Nervous System - Multiple Sclerosis
• Brain and Nervous System