December 16, 2025

Meet Tulsi Pandat, MD

Neuro Rehabilitation Specialist 

Dr. Pandat is a board-certified physiatrist specializing in adult brain injury rehabilitation, including traumatic brain injury, stroke, anoxic brain injury, and brain tumor rehabilitation. She also specializes in adult cerebral palsy rehabilitation, the evaluation and management of spasticity and of cervical dystonia, and botulinum toxin injections for post-traumatic headaches and for migraines.

Where are you from? 

I grew up in North Little Rock, AR. It's a fairly small town, but there's a non-functional mill in town where the opening scene of Gone with The Wind was shot.

What made you choose neuro rehabilitation as a specialty? 

It's a very practical specialty, where patients buy in to the interventions offered because we focus on improving functionality and quality of life for folks with disabling conditions. 

What brought you to WashU Medicine Orthopedics? 

The passion exhibited by both clinical and administrative staff towards building a robust neurorehabilitation program was a huge draw. It can be difficult to provide comprehensive care for patients with congenital and acquired brain injuries – seeing the initiatives put forth by the team even prior to my recruitment made me feel confident that I would be supported in my thorough practice patterns.  

What aspect of your practice do you find most interesting or rewarding?

I love celebrating any and all functional gains my patients make – whether it be the ability to hold a fork independently for the first time since an accident, the ability to speak a phrase for the first time after a stroke causing global aphasia, or the ability to walk 10 feet after months of being bed-bound.  

Is there a patient who made a lasting impact on you?

I took care of a patient during my residency in their mid-50s with an anoxic brain injury who was admitted to inpatient rehabilitation with the expectation of minimal progress, mostly goals of communication and family training. The patient walked out of our rehab facility six weeks later, and it's a stark reminder to me that our data and prognostication is always an average – there are outliers who will do better than expected, and I want to give every patient I meet the chance to be that outlier. 

What's on the horizon for neuro rehabilitation?

Cryoneurolysis for spasticity management, and new botulinum toxin formulations which will hopefully have a longer duration of action than what we currently use.

What's the best advice you ever received?

Avoid dogmatism – everything has a time and a place, and if you've written off a particular tool you may miss the one time where it may be useful.

What is your favorite thing to do outside of work? 

Listening to podcasts or audiobooks while going on walks/runs/hikes. 

If you weren't a physician, what would you like to be doing? 

Spending quality time with my family and listening to podcasts or audiobooks while going on walks/runs/hikes. 

Anything else you'd like to share?

I live with my husband, and we got a mini Goldendoodle puppy in November. My time is currently occupied with all the training and playing with my almost 4-month-old mini golden doodle! I love watching and re-watching TV shows with strong female leads, such as Veronica Mars and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I can spend days in any given art or anthropological museum. I really enjoy hiking and kayaking as well. 

Learn why patients choose WashU Medicine Orthopedics, request an appointment online or call (314) 514-3500.