Dr. Deborah Ondrasik lives in Rhode Island with her husband Nick and 3 beautiful children ages 5, 8, and 10. Her oldest daughter, Gabrielle, was diagnosed with CACNA1A-associated Epileptic Encephalopathy in 2015. At the time, she was told Gabby was the only person in the US with this rare genetic mutation. Gabby has intractable epilepsy, ataxia, autism spectrum disorder, and intellectual disability.  

Dr. Ondrasik earned her MD from Drexel University College of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency in Honolulu, Hawaii through the Uniformed Services Health Professions Scholarship Program. She completed 6 years of service for the US Army, including a deployment to Iraq. She is a board-certified Pediatrician, working in a primary care clinic on the South Coast of Massachusetts. 

Her passion is to increase awareness among physicians on the advances in genetics and the positive impact a genetic diagnosis can have for a  child and their family. Dr. Ondrasik divides her journey into pre-Foundation and post-Foundation chapters. Having found the Foundation 5 years after Gabrielle’s diagnosis, she is overcome by the support, community,  purpose, and hope that has come through the CACNA1A Foundation. She is absolutely thrilled to join the Board and to use her voice as a pediatrician and mother to help make a difference for all children living with a rare disease.