Department of Neurology
Welcome
The UT Southwestern Department of Neurology focuses on providing the highest level of neurological care for our patients, conducting innovative research, and training the next generation of neurologists.
Our vibrant Department comprises more than 90 full-time faculty and 13 adjunct faculty in 12 specialized sections, supporting a spectrum of complex and innovative approaches to neurological care, a broad range of novel research programs, and a panoply of educational opportunities for trainees.
UT Southwestern is ranked among the nation’s top 20 hospitals for neurology and neurosurgery by U.S. News & World Report.
With the arrival in 2020 of our Chair, Dr. Elan Louis, we are home to Merritt’s Textbook of Neurology, one of the premier and longest standing neurological textbooks in the country.
Research
On the research front, our faculty have authored more than 800 peer-reviewed research articles during the past five years, with this number topping 200 in 2019.
The Department is home to a well-resourced basic and translational science research program that houses 13 basic science principal investigators occupying two floors of research space in the Kern Wildenthal Research Building (NL) as well as principal investigators with clinical research programs centered in the areas of:
- Dysautonomia
- Epilepsy
- Headache medicine
- Movement disorders
- Neurocritical care
- Neuroimmunology
- Stroke and cerebrovascular diseases
Our basic science laboratories and clinical researchers are supported through numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Defense, and many private foundations.
UTSW Neurology is a NeuroNEXT site and has been among the top recruiting sites in that endeavor. Our research teams are involved in studies to identify new therapies for neurologic conditions as well as phase 1, 2, and 3 studies to test the safety and efficacy of such interventions.
Neurological Care
Introduction
We are the premium location for specialized neurological care in our entire region, and our work touches the lives of thousands of patients each year who come to us from Texas, our surrounding states, and further afield. In addition to providing consultative services at Clements University Hospital, UTSW Neurology cared for 1,539 inpatients in 2019. Providing timely access to neurological care while maintaining an excellent patient experience are the guiding principles of our outpatient clinical mission.
Expanding Patient Care
With the volume of referrals having surpassed 2,000 per month, we continue to expand our clinical presence both on our main campus and at our community sites in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Our clinical services have grown by over 50% the past 5 years – in 2019, we provided over 50,000 visits, including more than 10,000 new patients.
Specialized Care & Social Responsibility
Our program boasts of international experts and interdisciplinary clinics that provide cutting edge treatment and opportunities for research participation for patients with rare neurological disorders. Social responsibility is a core value UTSW Neurologists act locally upon through our decades-old partnership with Parkland Hospital, one of the busiest safety net health systems in the nation. Through this partnership, UTSW Neurologists with residents and fellows both serve and diffuse subspecialty Neurology expertise deeply through the fabric of our Dallas community. We take pride in bringing advanced neurological care that covers some 12,000 visits to Parkland Neurology Clinic per year, more than 14,000 patient-days across our 4 inpatient Neurology subspecialty services and 3,800 new emergency neurology or inpatient consults annually.
Education
Legacy of Teaching
Neurology has a long-standing tradition of providing a dynamic, progressive and engaging learning environment for our students, residents, and fellows. The Brain and Behavior course, co-directed by faculty in Neurology, Psychiatry, and Neuropathology, is consistently in the top-rated pre-clinical medical student courses each year.
An active Student Interest Group in Neurology (SIGN) hosts regular career talks and an annual Brain Awareness Week.
Neurology is a popular required third-year medical student clerkship, and we are honored that a steady stream of medical students choose to pursue careers in neurology each year.
Residency Program
We offer a categorical four-year residency program in adult neurology that matches 9 residents per year.
In collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry, we also offer a combined six-year residency program in neurology-psychiatry with a curriculum that confers board eligibility in both specialties.
The Department has an NIH R25 institutional grant that provides protected time and funds for eligible clinician-scientists in training; both categorical neurology and combined neurology-psychiatrists may apply. All of our residents train in a wide variety of clinical settings, including:
- Parkland Hospital
- Clements University Hospital
- Dallas Veterans Administration Medical Center
- Children’s Health
- Scottish Rite for Children
- Numerous general and subspecialty outpatient clinics
These sites afford our residents the opportunity to train in essentially every practice setting one can imagine.
The Parkland Neurology Ambulatory Clinic represents the heart of our trainees’ longitudinal continuity clinic experience. Ours is one of the highest volume specialty clinics at Parkland Hospital, with up to 12,000 outpatient clinic visits per year. Neurology resident and fellow physicians have the privilege of serving a very large and diverse patient population with chronic neurological disorders that range from “bread and butter” to rare diseases. Our residents are afforded the opportunity to essentially build their own practices via a combination of new patient referrals, assumption of care of our long-term neurology clinic patients, and hospital follow-ups over a 4-year span of training.
Pediatric Neurology Residency and Fellowships
The Division of Pediatric Neurology offers a three-year child neurology training program, a combined five-year program in pediatrics and child neurology, and a combined six-year program in pediatrics and neurodevelopmental disabilities.
We offer a rich complement fellowship programs in 12 neurological subspecialties. Our fellowship programs follow a uniform structure and are housed under a common administrative umbrella, such that all regulatory and required activities are handled consistently across specialties. Our programs are led by highly qualified, committed, and nationally recognized fellowship directors and section faculty.