Duration: One Year 

Prerequisite: Eligible candidates must have completed an accredited neurological surgery residency prior to beginning the fellowship

Program Faculty

Bradley Lega, M.D.

• Vice Chair of Research, Neurological Surgery
• Associate Professor, Neurological Surgery

Srinivas Chivukula, M.D.

• Assistant Professor, Neurological Surgery

Frederick Hitti, M.D.

• Assistant Professor, Neurological Surgery

Angela Price, M.D.

• Associate Professor, Neurological Surgery & Pediatrics

Nader Pouratian, M.D.

• Professor & Chair, Neurological Surgery
• Lois C.A. and Darwin E. Smith Distinguished Chair in Neurological Surgery

Description

The Functional Neurosurgical Fellowship Program provides a broad educational experience in epilepsy surgery, deep brain stimulation, and the management of pain disorders to complement and enhance training in the Neurological Surgery Residency.

One fellowship position will be available per academic year, offering broad exposure to clinical evaluation and appropriate patient selection in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. It will include active participation in patient management conferences for epilepsy and movement disorders. The position also offers the opportunity to engage in research projects and grant writing. Fellows can work with any of the four competitively funded neurosurgical laboratories led by faculty members.

A minimum of 12 months of fellowship training will be spent under the direction of the clinical faculty. A 24-month program with more extensive research time is also possible pending discussion with the faculty. Fellows will actively participate in the operative management of intractable epilepsy. This will include open invasive mapping, surgical resection, responsive neurostimulation (RNS), deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the centromedian and anterior thalamic nuclei, and laser ablation. The pediatric experience will occur at Dallas Children's Hospital, focused on the surgical treatment of epilepsy.

Fellows will be performing DBS for movement disorders using awake and asleep methods. The program also includes DBS for affective disorders as part of sponsored clinical research trials for the treatment of depression.

Selection of candidates for the fellowship position will be based on merit, including performance of the applicant at his/her residency training program, scholarly work, support letters, and successful interviews with the training faculty. Selection will occur on or about July 5th, 2 years before the anticipated beginning of the fellowship.

Contact

Bradley Lega, M.D.
Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery
Bradley.Lega@UTSouthwestern.edu
(214) 648-7816