‘My Mom Was My Role Model’: How a Mother and Daughter Became FAAN Neurologists
November 12, 2024
Children often follow in their parents’ footsteps, but they don’t often choose the same profession— let alone the same specialty and advanced designation. Rocio A. Santibanez, MD, FAAN, and her daughter R. Carolina Garcia Santibanez, MD, FAAN, are both leaders in neurology and recent Fellow members of the AAN. FAAN designation acknowledges exemplary work and achievements in areas like the neurosciences, clinical practice, and within the Academy.
It started in Guayaquil, the largest city and main port of Ecuador, where Santibanez went to medical school and became fascinated by neuroscience.
“It was amazing,” she said. “I was a teaching assistant in neuroanatomy, and I got very excited about what the anatomy of the brain means, how the data inside could explain all of what we are as thinking, moving human beings. I decided to become a neurologist.”
Santibanez went on to practice in a Guayaquil public hospital for more than 30 years, becoming especially involved in the care of patients with neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s. All the while, her daughter was watching and learning.
“For me, of course, my mom was my role model,” Garcia Santibanez said. “She was already a doctor by the time I was born, so it was how I always knew her. I would see how fulfilled she felt by caring for her patients, how challenged she also felt trying to understand the complex conditions that neurologists see.”
Garcia Santibanez decided to go to medical school, but she wasn’t sold on following her mother’s footsteps into neurology—she wanted to keep her options open. It wasn’t long, however, before the same subject that inspired her mother also caught her attention.
“I learned how complex neurology is,” Garcia Santibanez said. “Neurologists see patients of all walks of life, all ages, and a significant variety of medical conditions, some that we can treat and others that we can only help patients deal with. I think that’s why I decided to become a neurologist.”
Her path to neurology had become clear… but it wouldn’t be exactly like her mother’s.
“I was able to do something that I know my mom always wanted to do, which was to go outside Ecuador to train,” Garcia Santibanez said. “She just didn’t have that opportunity, but I did.”
Soon, she was flying nearly 3,000 miles away to New York City, where she completed her residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. Then it was off to fellowships at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, and Washington University in St. Louis, MO. She now practices at Emory and focuses on neuromuscular medicine.
Santibanez, meanwhile, has continued to grow in her career. Now serving as a private practice neurologist and a professor at Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, she passionately creates opportunities for public outreach—an educational fair on Alzheimer’s disease, yoga or shadowboxing workshops for patients with Parkinson’s disease, and other ways for her students and the community to connect and learn.
While the pair live and practice far apart, their connection remains strong. They collaborate with each other, respect each other as colleagues, and even reunite in person at neurological conferences like the AAN Annual Meeting.
“I’m very proud of my daughter,” Santibanez said. “I was proud from the beginning, and I’m proud that she followed my steps, and I’m proud that we consult each other, share cases, and continue to learn from each other.”
Garcia Santibanez, too, is proud of her mother and grateful for what they have learned from each other.
“I not only follow her example as a human being, but also as a physician,” she said. “If my patients say that I’m empathetic, that I know how to listen, that I really care for them, that’s probably because she taught me.”
Applying for FAAN Status
By Santibanez’s estimation, there are less than 100 neurologists in Ecuador, a tiny number of whom are Fellows of the AAN. A longtime member, she initially held back from applying for the status. In the end, it was her daughter achieving the status that urged Santibanez to reach for it.
“Initially, I thought it was too difficult—very far, very unreachable,” Santibanez said. “But later, when Carolina applied and got it, I was inspired to try it. I reviewed the requirements again. I’ve been a member since the 1990s and coming to meetings, I have publications, and I’ve formed good friendships with colleagues here who nominated me. I am very proud to have gotten it.”
Garcia Santibanez earned FAAN status in February 2023, and Santibanez earned hers less than four months later.
“I think it makes us closer to what the AAN does, allows us to be more vocal players and to grow our community in neurology,” Garcia Santibanez said. “We have worked hard throughout our careers, and this is a community that we also are part of, and this recognition is something to be very proud of.”
Learn more about FAAN membership, review requirements, and apply online.