Dr. Prater is a native Texan who attended Texas A & M University for both her undergraduate and medical education, graduating from the TAMU College of Medicine with honors in 1987. After completing her pediatric residency at Vanderbilt University College of Medicine in Nashville, TN in 1990, she accepted a position with Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville, Georgia to help establish a coordinated system of care for the medically indigent pediatric population of Gwinnett County Health District. Starting out as the sole provider responsible for running a busy in-patent pediatric and nursery service and a small outpatient clinic located at the local health department, the program grew to include a total of 6 physicians, 5 nurse practitioners, and a large freestanding clinic under Dr. Prater’s direction. During her 8-year tenure with Gwinnett, Dr. Prater received a letter of commendation for contributing to the health district’s drop in infant mortality to the lowest in the state. In 1998 Dr. Prater moved to Chattanooga, TN with her family, where she took a position as staff physician and clinical attending at T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital. Her responsibilities included the supervision of medical students and pediatric residents at hospital-run community health centers and the in-patient nursery service. She returned home to Texas in 2001 when her husband accepted a teaching position at UTA, and for several years worked part-time for Cook’s Childrens Physicians Network locums pool, allowing her to spend more time at home with her children. Dr. Prater returned to general pediatric practice in 2007, taking a position with the Medical Clinic of North Texas at their new Mansfield location. A few years later she joined Mansfield Pediatrics, which has been her practice home until her decision to pursue PANS/PANDAS.
Dr. Prater lives in Rendon, Texas on a small farm with her husband Dr. Edmund Prater, a professor in the College of Business at UTA. They have 2 college-age daughters, one pursuing a career in medicine and the other a career in business. They are active in their local church where Dr. Prater is involved in short-term medical missions, a passion of hers since she first began medical school. Some of the countries she has visited on mission efforts include Nigeria, Liberia, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. Her personal interests include gardening, reading, cooking, and drawing.
Dr. Prater is Board-certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, a Fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a member of the PANDAS Physicians Network.
