Pediatrics CertifiedTara Johnson, MD

Dr. Tara Johnson is a Child Neurologist and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) with special interests in neurodevelopmental disorders in infants and children. She is the Director and Founder of the Arkansas Children’s Biomedical Innovations Program.

Dr. Johnson graduated with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University and a B.M. in Horn Performance from The Peabody Conservatory. She earned her medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

She completed her Pediatrics residency at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, and her Neurodevelopmental Disabilities residency at Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Johns Hopkins Hospital. She is board certified in Pediatrics and is board eligible in Child Neurology. 

She is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, the Child Neurology Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, the Biomedical Engineering Society, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Medical Degree

• Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine - 2011

Residency

• Johns Hopkins University Hospital - 2018
• St. Christopher's Hospital for Children - 2013

Dr. Tara Johnson joined Arkansas Children’s in July 2018. She is a Child Neurologist and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) with special interests in neurodevelopmental disorders in infants and children. She is the Director and Founder of the Arkansas Children’s Biomedical Innovations Program. After graduation with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Johnson earned her medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She completed her Pediatrics residency at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and her Neurodevelopmental Disabilities residency at Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Johns Hopkins Hospital. She is board certified in Pediatrics and is board eligible in Child Neurology.

Dr. Johnson integrates her biomedical engineering research background with neurodevelopmental medicine clinical knowledge to design, construct, and test medical simulators and devices to model disease processes and provide more effective treatment and rehabilitative alternatives for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. At ACRI, Dr. Johnson conducts her research in a laboratory complete with a machine shop and electrical components. Together with collaborators she builds devices to help children. She, along with an interdisciplinary team at Johns Hopkins, designed and tested a cup for individuals with cerebral palsy. This invention was found to be a safe intervention for promoting independence in individuals with oral motor impairments.