Epilepsy Fellowship

In addition to several ACGME Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowships (EEG/IOM, EMG, or Pediatric emphasis) we also offer ACGME-accredited Adult Epilepsy positions. Trainees can elect to do one or two years of fellowship training with either one year of Clinical Neurophysiology or Epilepsy or alternatively a two-year ACGME fellowship training program with dual certification in Clinical Neurophysiology followed by Epilepsy. Both fellowships are ACGME accredited, leading to dual ABPN (American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology) board certification recognized by both ACGME and ABMS (American Board of Medical Specialties).

Details

The Epilepsy Fellowship includes specific training in clinical epilepsy, including surgical epilepsy. The emphasis during the fellowship year is on management of complex medical and surgical epilepsy patients and interpretation of long-term EEG monitoring including intracranial recordings. 

Training is in the area of Epilepsy with broad exposure to routine adult and pediatric EEGs, long-term video EEG monitoring (both in the epilepsy monitoring unit and ICU setting), and intracranial surgical monitoring with subdural grids/strips/depth electrodes and stereotactic EEG. In addition, fellows are involved with the latest techniques in Responsive Nerve Stimulation (RNS), Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS), Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), and Laser Guided Thermal Ablation for Epilepsy. We also have an active ketogenic and adjunctive dietary treatment program for Epilepsy.

Fellows are directly involved with all aspects of pre-surgical epilepsy workup including Wada testing and cortical brain mapping. Trainees also rotate through the pediatric epilepsy monitoring unit for broad exposure to pediatric syndromes and surgical management. In addition to inpatient training, all trainees also see their own patients in weekly Epilepsy clinic with exposure to a medically refractory epilepsy population. 

Fellows divide their time between Weill Cornell Medical Center and adjacent Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Fellows are exposed to all aspects of clinical epilepsy (as above) at Weill Cornell Medical Center. At MSKCC, fellows additionally attend weekly epilepsy clinic with emphasis on tumor-related epilepsy, offering exposure to a unique subpopulation of patients. Fellows are exposed to both routine and continuous EEG as well as weekly surgical electrocorticography at MSKCC.  

Trainees further refine their clinical management skills by presenting complex medical or surgical epilepsy cases at a multidisciplinary conference with the guidance of supervising faculty. Fellows learn to appraise and assimilate all diagnostic testing including electrographic data, specialty imaging, and neuro-psychologic data. In addition to weekly Epilepsy didactic lectures from faculty, fellows participate in monthly journal club and monthly neuroradiology rounds.

Epilepsy fellows also have dedicated elective time and are encouraged to pursue individual research projects or gain additional experience in the care of patients with epilepsy and seizures, epilepsy research, neuropsychology, or neuroimaging.

Application Information

Applicants must have completed an ACGME-approved residency in Neurology at the time of entrance into the program (typically July 1), and must be board-eligible in the Neurology section of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. To apply, send a letter of intent with a statement of career interests, a curriculum vitae, and three letters of recommendation to the fellowship director. 

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, two years prior to the intended fellowship start date. Applicants are encouraged to apply early and submit their applications in the summer.

For more information and to inquire about how to submit an application, please contact David Chuang, Program Director.

Contact Info

Please send application materials DIRECTLY to the program director as listed below.  Please do not send application materials to the program coordinators.

Epilepsy Fellowship:
David Chuang, MD

Weill Cornell Medicine Neurology 525 E. 68th St.
PO Box 117
New York, NY 10065 Phone: (212) 746-6575