Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry Fellowship
The Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology & Alzheimer's Disease Center is committed to recruiting and training fellows to excel in academic medicine. The goal of the Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry Fellowship is to train physicians for national and international leadership positions in the field of behavioral neurology. The fellowship provides clinical experience in outpatient and inpatient behavioral neurology, as well as research training, and uses didactic teaching through seminars and discussion groups. The program is open to Neurologists and Psychiatrists.
The fellowship is accredited by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties. Learn more below.
Outpatient Clinical Experience
The outpatient clinical experience takes place at the Neurobehavior and Memory Clinic at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. This clinic is nationally and internationally recognized for the treatment of neurobehavioral disorders. Integrated with the clinic is an Alzheimer's Disease Center funded by the NIA.
Fellows will see patients with a wide variety of disorders, including dementia (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, primary progressive aphasia, Pick's disease, Lewy body disease), temporolimbic epilepsy, cognitive disorders resulting from stroke, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, traumatic brain injury, Tourette's syndrome, cognitive disorders associated with movement disorders (e.g. Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease) and cognitive disorders associated with a variety of congenital and metabolic diseases.
The clinic environment is multidisciplinary, and fellows will also be expected to gain an understanding of the indications for and interpretation of neuropsychological testing. Fellows will be closely supervised by attending physicians who are board-certified in neurology and have additional specialty training in behavioral neurology.
Inpatient Clinical Experience
The inpatient clinical experience takes place at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Consultations are regularly requested from the Psychiatry, Medicine and Neurological services for assessment of patient with a variety of cognitive disorders. In addition to the disorders listed above, patients are also seen with delirium and more acute neurological illnesses, including acute stroke and transient global amnesia. Attending supervision is provided on all cases. On the whole, two days per week are devoted to clinical practice and the other three to research and education.
Didactic Experience
The didactic experience consists of discussion seminars in cognitive neuroscience and lectures in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. In addition, there is a weekly multidisciplinary case conference during which neurologists (attendings and fellows) and neuropsychologists present new and follow-up patients for discussion. This conference is usually attended by attending physicians in neurology and psychiatry, fellows, neuropsychologists and social workers.
Other didactic opportunities include neuropathology-dementia case conference, neurology grand rounds and neurology clinical case presentations. The fellow will be expected to play an active role in all conferences, including providing summaries of papers for discussion, presenting cases and teaching residents on case consultations.
Multidisciplinary research opportunities in cognitive neuroscience, basic neuroscience and functional imaging are available. Integrated with the center are a functional magnetic resonance imaging laboratory, an eye movement-psychophysics laboratory and a basic anatomy neurochemistry laboratory. Fellows will be expected to participate in mentored research activities. The level of participation will depend on prior research familiarity.
Faculty
The fellowship faculty come from multiple specialties and bring diverse talents and knowledge to the program.
- Borna Bonakdarpour, MD (Neurology)
- Marsel Mesulam, MD (Neurology, Director of the Mesulam Center)
- Darby Morhardt, PhD, LCSW (Social Work)
- Fred Ovsiew, MD (Psychiatry)
- Deborah Reed, MD (Psychiatry)
- Sandra Weintraub, PhD (Director of Neuropsychology)
- Jana Wingo, PhD (Psychology)
Application Process
Interested applicants should have completed or be about to complete training in neurology and should be eligible for a medical license in Illinois. Selected applicants will be invited for interviews over the summer and fall with an expected start date of the following July. To apply, send a CV, personal statement and three letters of recommendation to:
M. Marsel Mesulam
Director, Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
300 E Superior Street, Tarry 8th Floor
Chicago, IL 60611
mesulam-center@northwestern.edu