Neurocritical Care Fellowship

Neurocritical Care specialists take comprehensive, multisystem care of critically ill neurological patients. Neurointensivists take on the primary care role for their patients in the NeuroICU, coordinating both neurological and medical management. Most uniquely, neurocritical care addresses the interface between the brain and other organ systems in the setting of critical illness.

The Neurocritical Care Fellowship at Weill Cornell Medical College is a United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties (UCNS)-certified two-year joint program with the Columbia University College of Physician & Surgeons. The curriculum is equally balanced between neurological and medical aspects of critical care and fulfills the UCNS Neurocritical Care training criteria. There are three to four positions available each year.  

Fellows will learn traditional and ultrasound-guided central venous line placement, arterial line placement, pulmonary artery catheterization, placement of intravascular cooling devices, lumbar puncture/drains, continuous EEG monitoring, cerebral microdialysis, ventriculostomy management, endotracheal intubation, neurosonology training (Duplex and transcranial Doppler), ventilator management, fiberoptic bronchoscopy, chest tube placement, percutaneous tracheostomy, and monitoring of brain oxygen, temperature, and blood flow. In addition to clinical bedside teaching and practice in the NeuroICUs, fellows will also rotate through the medical intensive care unit (MICU), surgical intensive care unit (SICU), cardiothoracic intensive care unit (CTICU), and operating rooms (OR). Fellows are eligible for Neurocritical Care board certification upon completion of the fellowship. 

Application Information

Applicants must be graduates of an ACGME-accredited Neurology, Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology, Internal Medicine, or Neurosurgery residency program. Graduates of both U.S. and foreign medical schools are eligible to apply.  For foreign applicants, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital ONLY sponsors J-1 visas through ECFMG.

Applicants should provide:

1.  A personal letter of interest addressed to:

Alexander E. Merkler, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurology, Division of Neurocritical Care
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Brain and Mind Research Institute
Site Director, New York-Presbyterian Neurocritical Care Fellowship

Weill Cornell Medicine
525 East 68th Street Suite F610
New York, NY 10065
Tel: 212 746 0382

E-mail all application materials to:
alm9097@med.cornell.edu

Please direct all inquiries about fellowship admission to Janice Void, jav2013@med.cornell.edu at (212) 746-6515.

Our Fellows

Class of 2021
Devin Burke, M.D.
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Devin majored in Biochemistry at the State University of New York at Geneseo and was a research fellow at the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease for a year. He graduated medical school from SUNY Upstate Medical Center and completed his medical internship and neurology residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He enjoys playing the trumpet, brewing beer, baseball, and rooting for the Buffalo Bills. 

Laura Cifrese, M.D.
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Laura majored in Neuroscience with a minor in Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. She attended medical school at Temple University and completed medical internship and neurology residency at Thomas Jefferson University. She enjoys traveling, cooking, running, and yoga. 
Prajwal Ciryam, M.D.
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Prajwal majored in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Neurobiology at Northwestern University. As a part of that institution’s Medical Scientist Training Program, he received an MD from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. His PhD in Neuroscience at Northwestern was awarded concurrently with a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Fulbright Scholar and a St John’s College Benefactors Scholar. His doctoral work focused on the physical principles underlying widespread protein aggregation in neurodegenerative diseases. He completed his medical internship and neurology residency at Columbia University. In his spare time, Prajwal enjoys writing about science, medicine, and politics, cooking, traveling, and running. 

Jenna Ford, M.D.
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Jenna double majored in Neurobiology and Food Science & Nutrition at University of Florida, graduated from University of Vermont School of Medicine, and did her residency in Neurology at Columbia University. She enjoys photography, cooking, hiking/traveling, and her dog Zoe. She is passionate about education research and developing non-invasive neuromonitoring. 

Jessica Magid-Bernstein, M.D., Ph.D.
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Jessica majored in Psychology with a concentration in Biological Psychology at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. She worked as a teaching assistant at a private school for children and teens with Autism Spectrum Disorders for a year prior to medical school. She completed a PhD in immunology and medical school at Rutgers University - New Jersey Medical School. She subsequently completed her medical internship and neurology residency at Columbia University. She enjoys baking, knitting (prior to residency), and playing/being silly with her daughter Amelia. 

Nina Massad, M.D.
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Nina grew up in Chicago and went to college at the University of Michigan, where she majored in Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science and minored in French. After graduating, she worked in a sleep research lab at the University of Chicago before getting her MD at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She completed her internship at Maimonides Medical Center and her Neurology residency at Columbia University. She likes to spend as much time as she can traveling, if not exploring the city, cooking, biking and honing her karaoke skills. She loves to spend time with her ataxic cat and her dog named Madonna. 

Morgan Prust, M.D.
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Morgan grew up in Washington, DC. He received his BA in neuroscience from Middlebury College and his MD from Harvard Medical School. He completed his internship in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and his residency in neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, where he served as chief resident in his final year. He is interested in the intersection of neurocritical care and global health, and his research focuses on identifying interventions to improve outcomes from neurologic emergencies in low-resource settings. Outside of work, he enjoys good books, long distance running, mindfulness meditation, blues guitar, and most of all, being a dad and husband. 

Jon Rosenberg, M.D.
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Jon majored in History at Bates College, graduated from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and did his neurology residency at the University of Pennsylvania. A former competitive tennis player, he enjoys sports, hiking, historical fiction, and cooking. 

Jingxin Wang, M.D.
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Jingxin grew up in Harbin China and went to medical school at Harbin Medical University. She completed her PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Her thesis focused on the discovery of novel neuropeptides regulated feeding behavior and biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease using cutting edge mass spectrometry-based strategy. She completed her internship and neurology residency at Baylor College of Medicine. In her free time, she likes travelling, restaurant hunting, dancing Zumba and watching movies, especially hanging out with her little maltipoo puppy Walter. 

Class of 2020
Hannah Kirsch, M.D.
Jessica Lin, M.D.
Billy Roth, M.D.
Clio Rubinos, M.D.

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