Dr. Olga Taraschenko, MD PhD
Not yet claimedNeurologist · Physician (MD)
Omaha, NE
Dr. Olga Taraschenko is an epilepsy specialist and associate professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. She treats hard-to-control seizures and reads EEGs for patients in the intensive care unit.
About Dr. Olga Taraschenko, MD PhD
Updated Sep 20, 2026 · next review Dec 19, 2026Dr. Olga Taraschenko (also listed in some directories as "Olha Taraschenko") is a neurologist in Omaha, Nebraska who specializes in epilepsy. She earned her medical degree from O. O. Bogomolets National Medical University in 1996 and completed epilepsy fellowship training at Emory University, focused on epilepsy surgery, hard-to-treat epilepsies, and continuous EEG monitoring in intensive care.
At the University of Nebraska Medical Center she is Associate Professor of Epilepsy, Chief of the Epilepsy Division, Director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, and Program Director of the Epilepsy Fellowship. She also directs the Autoimmune Epilepsy Laboratory at the Durham Research Center. She sees patients through Nebraska Medicine at the Clarkson Doctors Building North, and her hospital affiliations include Nebraska Medical Center and Bellevue Medical Center. Her listed clinical interests are immunotherapy for autoimmune seizures, epilepsy surgery, and electroencephalography (EEG).
Her research focuses on new onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE), febrile infection-related epilepsy syndrome (FIRES), and autoimmune encephalitis. A research profile lists 78 publications with about 2,006 citations. She was a co-author of the 2022 international consensus recommendations for managing NORSE and FIRES.
In patient-education articles from her employer, she has discussed diet and epilepsy, saying the ketogenic diet can be very effective but is hard to follow. Federal Open Payments records list $1,176.37 in industry payments to her across 13 records from 2021 to 2025, from companies including LivaNova, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and NeuroPace. Payments like these are common and legal, and this amount is small.
- Epilepsy fellowship training
- She completed epilepsy fellowship training at Emory University, focused on epilepsy surgery, refractory epilepsies, and continuous EEG monitoring in intensive care settings. unmc.edu
- Leads UNMC epilepsy program
- She is Chief of the Epilepsy Division, Director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, and Program Director of the Epilepsy Fellowship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. unmc.edu
- Board certification in epilepsy
- A directory profile lists her as board certified in Epilepsy, and her employer describes her as a board-certified neurologist. providers.sharecare.com
- International guideline author
- She co-authored the 2022 Epilepsia international consensus recommendations for the management of new onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE), including FIRES. thelancet.com
- Autoimmune epilepsy research lab
- She directs the Autoimmune Epilepsy Laboratory at the Durham Research Center and has published on anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis models. onlinelibrary.wiley.com
- Published research record
- A research profile lists 78 publications and about 2,006 citations, concentrated in NORSE/FIRES and autoimmune encephalitis. researchgate.net
- Research award funding
- A journal disclosure notes research grant support from the American Epilepsy Society through a Junior Investigator Research Award. onlinelibrary.wiley.com
- Public comments on diet
- In patient Q&A articles she said the ketogenic diet can be very effective for epilepsy but is hard to follow, and that a less restrictive modified Atkins diet can also reduce seizures though it is not as effective. nebraskamed.com
- Industry payments 2021-2025
- CMS Open Payments lists $1,176.37 total across 13 records, with the largest from LivaNova USA ($518.98), Jazz Pharmaceuticals ($246.71), and NeuroPace ($220.54). openpaymentsdata.cms.gov
Worth knowing
- A LinkedIn post by another neurologist describes her as the new Chief of the Epilepsy Section at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and a business data listing links her to a cuanschutz.edu email. Her UNMC faculty page still lists her in Omaha, and this possible move could not be confirmed with either institution. Patients may want to confirm her current location before booking. linkedin.com
- No license discipline, malpractice suits, or criminal matters were found, but direct searches of the Nebraska license lookup and court dockets were not completed, so this is "none found" rather than a verified clean record. dhhs.ne.gov
- Her employer's faculty page states she has been recognized by numerous national awards for her work in neuroscience, but no itemized list of those awards was found in public sources. unmc.edu
- Her board certification in epilepsy appears on a directory profile and in her employer's general description; verification through the certifying board's registry was not completed. providers.sharecare.com
Industry payments (CMS Open Payments)
Open the CMS recordFederal law requires drug and device companies to report what they pay clinicians: meals, travel, speaking, consulting, and research. Payments are common and legal; the point is that you can see them.
2021 to 2025
$1,176
13 payments
| 2021 | $72 |
| 2022 | $234 |
| 2023 | $208 |
| 2024 | $223 |
| 2025 | $439 |
Top payers
- LivaNova USA, Inc.$519
- JAZZ PHARMACEUTICALS INC.$247
- NEUROPACE, INC.$221
- SK Life Science, Inc.$118
- Greenwich Biosciences, Inc.$50
Payment types
- Food and Beverage$1,176
A word of caution about these numbers
A payment does not mean your doctor is compromised or acting unethically. Most of these entries are drug samples left for patients, or lunch brought in for the office staff, and the amounts are usually small. Research funding and speaking at medical meetings are also normal parts of a clinical career.
As a rough guide, a total under $15,000 a year is usually not a concern. Much larger sums, especially from one company whose product your doctor recommends to you, are worth asking about. You are allowed to ask.
Sources: unmc.edu · nebraskamed.com · researchgate.net · doctor.webmd.com · providers.sharecare.com · nebraskamed.com · thelancet.com · doi.org. Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.
Summary prepared with AI assistance from the public sources linked above, reviewed every three months. It is not a review, a rating, or an endorsement.
Practice location
Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center
1635 Aurora Ct
Omaha, NE 80045
Open in maps