Physician, Professor
Neurology
Department: Neurology
As a neurologist, I have dedicated much of my career to treating patients with Huntington's disease, a rare, inherited disorder that causes nerve cells in the brain to break down. I have been serving as the medical director of Ohio State's Huntington's Disease Clinic since 2000. We are one of only 56 centers in the country designated as a Center of Excellence by the Huntington's Disease Society of America.
I am proud to lead an exceptional multidisciplinary team that includes neurologists, a genetic counselor, a social worker, and physical, occupational and speech therapists. We provide genetic counseling for people at risk for inheriting Huntington's disease, as well as confirmatory genetic testing and help with ongoing symptom management.
In addition to my clinical work, I am highly involved with research. Our clinic is the only one in central Ohio with a large Huntington's disease clinical trial program. I have been the primary investigator on over 20 trials. I am currently the North American co-primary investigator of the international PROOF-HD phase 3 clinical trial of pridopidine for those with early-stage Huntington's disease. I also work closely with the Huntington Study Group, which is an international consortium of academic centers focused on advancing Huntington's Disease research. I serve as co-chair of the group's Executive Membership Committee.
My role includes helping to train medical students, residents, and fellows as they rotate through the Huntington's Disease Clinic. I am a professor in the departments of Neurology and Neuroscience at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
When I'm not working, I love taking long walks with our family dog, an energetic Shetland sheepdog. I enjoy reading, gardening, cooking and drawing.
Please note: Not all physicians schedule patients at each listed location.
I completed my medical degree, my PhD (Pharmacological and Physiological Sciences) and my medical internship at the University of Chicago. I finished a three-year neurology residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard). After my residency, I received a K Award to explore the effects and responses of the central nervous system to injury with a focus on the changes in the expression of neurotrophic growth factors.
Since 2000, I have been the medical director of the Huntington's Disease Society of America Center of Excellence at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (one of 65 certified centers in the country) focusing on treatment and research for individuals with Huntington's disease (HD). I also treat individuals with several other rare, neurological genetic diseases.
I was elected to serve from 2022 to 2025 as co-chair of the Executive Membership Committee for the Huntington Study Group, an international consortium of academic centers dedicated to research and to improving care and treatment for those with HD. I have been a site primary clinical trial investigator on more than 20 trials, including several gene therapy trials, and was the North American CoPrincipal investigator for the recently completed PROOF-HD international trial that included 30 sites in the United States and 29 sites in Europe.
Our current research efforts at include participation in the International Enroll-HD observational trial that has been following individuals with HD for more than 10 years and has been responsible for contributing to many of the recent advancements in the HD world. We are participating in 2 ongoing HD gene therapy trials. We were a major contributor to the recently completed PROOF-HD trial. The results of this trial were published in Nature Medicine in September 2025. We have participated in all three of the trials that helped get medications FDA approved to treat the choreic movements in HD. Our team is also working on several Ohio State site initiated studies and preparing for several upcoming national clinical trials.
I appreciate the commitment to innovation here at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and the readily available resources that allow our team to pursue highly complex research.
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At The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, we support a faculty member’s research and consulting in collaboration with medical device, research and/or drug companies because a faculty member’s expertise can guide important advancements in the practice of medicine and improve patient care. In order to provide effective management of these relationships, the University requires annual disclosures from all faculty members with external interests related to their University responsibilities.
As of 11/3/2025 Sandra Kostyk has reported relationships with the companies or entities listed below. If you have questions about the relationships listed below, please ask the faculty member. If you have questions about how these relationships are monitored by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, please contact our Compliance Office.
