The Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship is an ACGME-accredited one year program (with an optional second year of Epilepsy or Neuromuscular Fellowship – see below). The Fellowship offers specialized training in the diagnosis and management of central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous system disorders using combined clinical evaluation and electrophysiologic testing such as electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and nerve conduction studies (NCS). Additional training in autonomic testing, polysomnography, and intraoperative monitoring is incorporated.

Fellows can select between an adult or pediatric-focused track. Regardless of track, exposure is offered to patients and expert faculty from both disciplines. The education program includes a comprehensive neurophysiology lecture series. There are also weekly clinical conferences for epilepsy surgery, EMG, and muscle biopsy review. The Fellowship provides hands-on experience and intensive individual training by faculty in the following procedures and clinical activities:

• Basic electronics and principles of neurophysiology
• Pharmacology of antiepileptic drugs
• Investigational antiepileptic drug research
• Outpatient epilepsy clinic
• Use of the vagus nerve stimulator and responsive neurostimulation
• Pre-surgical evaluation and surgical treatment of epilepsy
• Scalp electroencephalography in neonates, children, and adults
• Invasive electroencephalography with depth and subdural electrodes
• Electrocorticography
• Intra- and extra-operative cortical mapping
• Wada testing
• Intraoperative monitoring
• Evoked potentials
• Outpatient multidisciplinary neuromuscular clinics (including clinics sponsored by the Muscular Dystrophy Association)
• EMG and Nerve Conduction Studies
• Muscle biopsies
• Autonomic studies
• Polysomnography, multiple sleep latency test and clinical evaluation of sleep disorders

Fellows in the adult track spend time at Parkland Memorial Hospital and Zale Lipshy Pavilion – William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital (a neuroscience specialty hospital). The Epilepsy Monitoring Unit has 11 beds and admits 500 patients annually. The associated Neurophysiology Labs provide outpatient and inpatient services to more than 1,100 beds within the affiliated sites of the UT Southwestern Medical Center. Outpatient experience is offered at the adjacent Neurology Clinic at the James W. Aston Ambulatory Care Center.

Fellows in the pediatric track are based at Children's Health℠, where there is an 8-bed Epilepsy Monitoring Unit which admits 600 patients yearly for video-EEG monitoring. The pediatric Neurophysiology Laboratory performs more than 3,500 EEGs and evoked potential studies annually. The Comprehensive Epilepsy Center has 7,000 outpatient pediatric epilepsy clinic visits per year and includes multidisciplinary clinics for the ketogenic diet, epilepsy surgery, and genetic syndromes programs.

Fellows completing the program will be board eligible for subspecialty certification in Clinical Neurophysiology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). An optional second year of fellowship training in Epilepsy or Neuromuscular Medicine is available, and optimal for candidates preparing for an academic practice in a tertiary center. The combined 2-year fellowship program offers a greater opportunity to become proficient in advanced neurophysiologic techniques. Second year fellows are expected to complete an independent research project for presentation at a national meeting and publication.

Application Process

Applications are generally accepted 24 months prior to the anticipated start of training. This is typically in August of the PGY-3 year for Adult Neurology Residents, or PGY-4 year for Pediatric Neurology Residents. Interviews typically occur thereafter in fall/winter.

For questions about the Adult Clinical Neurophysiology fellowship: CNP.Fellowship@utsouthwestern.edu

For questions about the Pediatric Clinical Neurophysiology fellowship: alejandro.lopez2@utsouthwestern.edu

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