Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship
Mission & Vision
The mission of the Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program is to provide comprehensive clinical training in the study and interpretation of the clinical neurophysiology tests commonly utilized in the diagnosis and prognosis of neurological disorders, involving the central and peripheral nervous systems.
By the completion of training, fellows are expected to become competent in the use of these tests, which will allow them to perform comprehensive evaluation of patients with chronic and treatment-resistant epilepsy, newly diagnosed epilepsy, non-epileptic events of organic or functional nature, as well as the assessment of neuromuscular disorders in private practice or academic settings.
Mission & Vision
The mission of the Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program is to provide comprehensive clinical training in the study and interpretation of the clinical neurophysiology tests commonly utilized in the diagnosis and prognosis of neurological disorders, involving the central and peripheral nervous systems.
By the completion of training, fellows are expected to become competent in the use of these tests, which will allow them to perform comprehensive evaluation of patients with chronic and treatment-resistant epilepsy, newly diagnosed epilepsy, non-epileptic events of organic or functional nature, as well as the assessment of neuromuscular disorders in private practice or academic settings.
Program Director’s Welcome
The vision of the University of Miami/Jackson Health System Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program is to train neurologists with special expertise in the administration and interpretation of the following tests: routine and prolonged electroencephalography studies as well as video-EEG monitoring studies in all age groups; evoked potentials and electromyogram and nerve conduction velocity studies. In addition, our program will expose all trainees to intraoperative monitoring. For fellows with specific interest in this field, a more in-depth training is arranged. Finally, fellows will become familiarized with neurophysiologic studies used in the evaluation of sleep disorders, including polysomnogram and multiple sleep latency tests.
Program Director’s Welcome
The vision of the University of Miami/Jackson Health System Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program is to train neurologists with special expertise in the administration and interpretation of the following tests: routine and prolonged electroencephalography studies as well as video-EEG monitoring studies in all age groups; evoked potentials and electromyogram and nerve conduction velocity studies. In addition, our program will expose all trainees to intraoperative monitoring. For fellows with specific interest in this field, a more in-depth training is arranged. Finally, fellows will become familiarized with neurophysiologic studies used in the evaluation of sleep disorders, including polysomnogram and multiple sleep latency tests.
Our objectives include teaching fellows the theory, methodology, instrumentation and interpretation of EEGs; prolonged EEGs and video-EEG monitoring studies; evoked potentials; EMG and NCV through didactic lectures; interactive workshops and hands-on experience under close supervision.
Fellows rotate through three hospitals/medical centers (Jackson Memorial Hospital; Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and UHealth Tower, a University of Miami Hospital and Clinics Facility) each one with patients that present different types of pathology, spanning all ethnicities and age groups (including premature babies). Each facility has an inpatient video-EEG monitoring unit, inpatient and outpatient EEG recordings (routine and prolonged) and outpatient clinics. In addition, these institutions house the largest epilepsy and neuromuscular programs in South Florida, including two Level IV epilepsy centers and a VA Epilepsy Center of Excellence, while the neuromuscular service has centers of excellence for ALS. During their rotation in each hospital, fellows are exposed to recordings of at least two to three patients with status epilepticus and 10 to 20 pre-surgical and/or diagnostic video-EEG monitoring studies per week and more than 50 EMG and NCV studies per month.
-Dr. Melissa Fellman.
Description
Fellows rotate through three hospitals/medical centers (Jackson Memorial Hospital; Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and UHealth Tower, a University of Miami Hospital and Clinics Facility) each one with patients that present different types of pathology, spanning all ethnicities and age groups (including premature babies). Each facility has an inpatient video-EEG monitoring unit, inpatient and outpatient EEG recordings (routine and prolonged) and outpatient clinics. In addition, these institutions house the largest epilepsy and neuromuscular programs in South Florida, including two Level IV epilepsy centers and a VA Epilepsy Center of Excellence, while the neuromuscular service has centers of excellence for ALS. During their rotation in each hospital, fellows are exposed to recordings of at least two to three patients with status epilepticus and 10 to 20 pre-surgical and/or diagnostic video-EEG monitoring studies per week and more than 50 EMG and NCV studies per month.
-Dr. Melissa Fellman.
Fast Facts
Accreditation
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
Number of Fellows per Year?
2
Duration of Fellowship?
1 year
Clinical Experience
Overview
Our Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program is designed to allow fellows to rotate through the electroencephalography and epilepsy services at Jackson Memorial Hospital; the Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and UHealth Tower. Fellows are also able to rotate through the electromyography/nerve conduction velocity and neuromuscular service at Jackson Memorial Hospital, the sleep and intraoperative medicine services at the VA Medical Center and the outpatient neurophysiology service at UHealth at The Professional Arts Center.
Devoted time for research is also an essential part of this program. The didactic curriculum for fellows includes a variety of neurophysiology lectures with clinical teaching sessions, weekly multidisciplinary epilepsy patient management conferences, weekly EEG rounds with fellows for the neurology residents in the inpatient service, bi-monthly status epilepticus rounds with fellows and the neurology intensive care team and monthly journal club meetings covering a variety of different topics in neurophysiology. Didactic lectures cover a wide range of topics and are well-attended by our fellows, faculty and neurology residents. Evaluation of trainees consists of Milestones framework for assessment of the fellow’s development in key dimensions of the elements of physician competency in clinical neurophysiology.
Educational & Other Experience
The clinical neurophysiology fellowship will give trainees the opportunity to develop expertise in the following areas: EEG; intracranial EEG monitoring, video‐EEG telemetry; electrocorticography; EMG nerve conduction studies; sleep studies and evoked potential monitoring, including intraoperative monitoring. The disease entities in which the fellows will develop expertise in relationship to the neurophysiologic tests include epilepsy, neuromuscular disease and sleep medicine. The fellow will also have the option to develop research skills in areas such as clinical trials and basic neurophysiology.
After completion of the first year of clinical neurophysiology fellowship, the fellow is expected to be competent in interpreting EEGs, EMG/NCVs, evoked potentials or sleep studies, and to have expertise in obtaining a relevant epilepsy, neuromuscular disease and sleep disorder history. Fellows will be able to develop a differential diagnostic list based on historical and physical findings, be able to plan a relevant diagnostic evaluation including neurophysiologic tests and interpret the diagnostic evaluation in the appropriate clinical setting.
In addition, fellows will be able to emergently manage epilepsy patients, outline a long‐term plan for treatment of the relevant disorders, be able to provide neuromuscular consultations and be a useful resource to general neurologists. Fellows will also be able to supervise and teach junior residents and medical students, and interact with consultants in closely related fields such as neurosurgery and cardiology.
Your Faculty
Michael Benatar, MD, PhD
Chief, Neuromuscular Division
Professor, Neurology
Walter Bradley Chair, ALS Research
Marcella Coutts, MD
Attending Physician, Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Kamil Detyniecki, MD
Assistant Professor, Clinical Neurology
Volkan Granit, MD
Assistant Professor, Neurology
Associate Director, Neuromuscular Medicine Fellowship Program
Maria Raquel Lopez, MD
Assistant Professor, Clinical Neurology
Merredith Lowe, MD
Assistant Professor, Clinical Neurology
Andres Kanner, MD, FANA
Associate Director, Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program
Ramses Ribot, MD
Assistant Professor, Clinical Neurology
Basim Uthman, MD
Chief, Neurology, Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Director, Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program
Naymee Velez-Ruiz, MD
Assistant Professor, Clinical Neurology
Douglas Wallace, MD
Associate Professor, Clinical Neurology, VA Sleep Medicine Division
Alumni Placements Include:
Access Physicians
Advanced Pain Institute, LLC
Ascension St. Vincent’s Southside Hospital
Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix
Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Case Western Reserve University
Holy Cross Hospital
El Camino Hospital, Mountain View Campus
Middlesex Hospital
Nemours Children’s Hospital
NYU Winthrop Medical Affiliates
St. Mark’s Hospital
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
University of Rochester Medical Center’s Center for Health + Technology
University of Saskatchewan
Various national and international private practices
Alumni Placements Include:
Access Physicians
Advanced Pain Institute, LLC
Ascension St. Vincent’s Southside Hospital
Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix
Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Case Western Reserve University
Holy Cross Hospital
El Camino Hospital, Mountain View Campus
Middlesex Hospital
Nemours Children’s Hospital
NYU Winthrop Medical Affiliates
St. Mark’s Hospital
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
University of Rochester Medical Center’s Center for Health + Technology
University of Saskatchewan
Various national and international private practices
Notable Alumni
Alexandra Carter, MD*
2018
Clinical Neurophysiology, University of Saskatchewan
*Second epileptologist at the University of Saskatchewan, where she started a program for the evaluation and management of patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, which is unique in Canada.
Marcella Coutts, MD*
2017
Neurology, University of Miami and Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Epilepsy Center of Excellence)
*Recruited as UM Department of Neurology faculty
Melissa Fellman, MD*
2018
Neuromuscular Division, University of Miami
*Recruited as UM Department of Neurology faculty
Karlo Lizarraga, MD*
2017
Neurology, Movement Disorder Program, University of Rochester
*Did a fellowship in movement disorders at the University of Toronto where he applied his clinical neurophysiology training into his research.
Naiara Garcia Losarcos, MD
2016
Neurology, Epilepsy Program, Case Western Reserve University
Alexandra Carter, MD*
2018
Clinical Neurophysiology, University of Saskatchewan
*Second epileptologist at the University of Saskatchewan, where she started a program for the evaluation and management of patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, which is unique in Canada.
Marcella Coutts, MD*
2017
Neurology, University of Miami and Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Epilepsy Center of Excellence)
*Recruited as UM Department of Neurology faculty
Melissa Fellman, MD*
2018
Neuromuscular Division, University of Miami
*Recruited as UM Department of Neurology faculty
Karlo Lizarraga, MD*
2017
Neurology, Movement Disorder Program, University of Rochester
*Did a fellowship in movement disorders at the University of Toronto where he applied his clinical neurophysiology training into his research.
Naiara Garcia Losarcos, MD
2016
Neurology, Epilepsy Program, Case Western Reserve University