Neuromuscular Fellowship
Our ACGME-accredited Neuromuscular Medicine (NM) Fellowship is a one-year program providing comprehensive training in diagnosis and management of neuromuscular disorders with a strong emphasis on electrodiagnostic training and expertise.
There is an optional second year for training in research and to expand clinical expertise in specific NM disorders.
Our program offers training in adult and pediatric neuromuscular medicine. Interested applicants can seek training on either track.
Fellows will rotate through clinical sites during their training:
- Neuromuscular Clinic at UT Southwestern Ambulatory Center: A typical schedule includes evaluation & management of New and Established Neuromuscular (NM) patients in the morning and NCS/EMGs in the afternoons. We also host a weekly multi-disciplinary ALS clinic which is supported by the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Besides NCS/EMG, fellows will also receive training in NM ultrasound, autonomic testing, single fiber EMG, skin biopsy, and interpretation of nerve and muscle biopsies.
- Neuro-palliative clinic at UT Southwestern Ambulatory Center: Our fellows also work with our NM palliative faculty where they learn about care of patients with advanced NM diseases.
- Parkland Neuromuscular Clinic: This clinic serves as a safety net for residents of Dallas County and is part of one of the largest public hospital systems in the United States. Fellows will be trained to manage the care of patients from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds through weekly Myasthenia Gravis and EMG clinics.
- Pediatric Neuromuscular Clinic at Children's Health: Fellows will train with our pediatric NM faculty where they will see patients with a broad spectrum of genetic pediatric and acquired NM disorders. They will also receive training in pediatric NCS/EMGs.
- Neuromuscular Clinic at VA Medical Center: This clinic provides valuable care to our veterans with NM and autonomic disorders. Fellows will work with our core NM faculty at this location.
Upon completion of the fellowship, our fellows are eligible to sit for Neuromuscular Medicine Subspecialty board conducted by the ABPN and the Electrodiagnostic Medicine board (ABEM).
Research
Fellows are expected to conduct one independent scholarly project over the course of their training under the supervision of an assigned mentor. The fellow may choose their own research topic of interest or may work with their mentor on an ongoing project. Our section collaborates closely with faculty in pulmonary, cardiology, sleep, neurosurgery, PM&R, and palliative care faculty – this offers a rich and diverse opportunity to our fellows in research project planning.
Our NM section organizes the annual Carrell-Krusen Neuromuscular Symposium, a widely attended national conference. The fellows have an opportunity to present their research findings at this symposium and also at the annual AAN and AANEM meetings.
Funding Opportunity
UTSW is one of six NIH-funded Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Centers in the country. This grant includes a training core for which the NM fellowship director, Dr. Jaya Trivedi, is the PI. One of the goals of this training core is to provide NM fellows an opportunity to perform research in muscular dystrophies. Under this mechanism, the fellows can apply for research grants during their fellowship training.
Teaching and Didactics
Our fellows participate in several didactics:
- Weekly NM lectures
- Weekly EMG review conference
- Weekly departmental Grand Rounds
- Biweekly neuropathology conference
- Monthly NM journal club
- Monthly NM case conference
We use the AANEM Neuromuscular Fellowship Portal to recruit fellows. Interested candidates may submit their applications on this portal starting January 1 the year prior to their anticipated fellowship. Interviews are conducted upon receipt of the applications. Match results are announced through the portal on June 1.