
Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship
NYU Langone’s Department of Neurology offers an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)–accredited, one-year fellowship in clinical neurophysiology, directed by Christopher Elder, MD. Our clinical neurophysiology fellowship provides comprehensive training in an intellectually stimulating environment where inquiry is encouraged and clinical skills expertly honed. At our academic core is a tremendous wealth of knowledge and clinical experience shared among leading experts in the field of epilepsy/electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG)/nerve-conduction studies (NCSs), and other clinical neurophysiology subspecialties.
A technologically advanced learning and clinical care environment at NYU Langone’s state-of-the-art Kimmel Pavilion is a primary training location, and offers a truly unique experience for both patients and trainees. Clinical rotations, depending on the fellow’s track selection, include experiences in EEG; intracranial EEG monitoring and special procedures such as bedside and intraoperative mapping; EMG and nerve conduction velocity (NCV); sleep medicine; and intraoperative monitoring (IOM). Additional exposure to evoked potentials (EPs) and instrumentation is also provided.
During this year of training, fellows acquire the skills needed to practice as independent clinical neurophysiologists in either an academic setting or in private practice. We offer two training program tracks, an EEG track and an EMG track. While our one-year neurophysiology fellowship combines clinical work in both EEG and EMG, the year’s rotation schedule reflects the fellows’ primary interest. Those focused on a career in EEG and epilepsy have more EEG-dedicated service time with additional exposure to sleep medicine, whereas the schedules of fellows planning a more EMG-centered career reflect that goal, with additional exposure to IOM.
Fellows rotate through two main sites during their first year: NYU Langone’s Tisch Hospital and NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, where EEG/epilepsy training takes place, and where EMG/NCS rotations and exposure to EPs take place. Tisch Hospital is home to NYU Langone’s adult and pediatric inpatient video EEG monitoring units. Tisch Hospital also possesses an active epilepsy surgical service, as well as an epilepsy consult service. IOM rotations are located at Tisch Hospital. Sleep medicine rotations are located at NYU Langone’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Center—Sleep Center.
All incoming fellows begin the program in July on the first day of the academic calendar year. Before orientation, materials are made available to assist you with scheduling medical record system training. A full day of orientation is provided to ensure understanding of rotation-related procedures and expectations. This is followed by an educational “Boot Camp” series, which takes place over the course of several days during which time you are excused from clinical obligations. Our Boot Camp series is an intensive course which introduces fellows to the basics of electrophysiology and EEG interpretation, instrumentation, and epilepsy-related clinical emergencies. This series will help to prepare you as you begin your fellowship year, and serves as a supplement to the curriculum lectures provided across the year.
All fellows are provided iPads to use across the academic year. The iPads can be used to access NYU Langone’s electronic medical record system, Epic, for clinical care, or our extensive electronic PDF library of selected EEG and epilepsy-related articles that is available on a shared network drive. This library is an excellent resource, and fellows are highly encouraged to read the literature throughout the academic year. In addition, orientation materials featuring general policy and procedures, as well as our fellowship handbook, are all located online for convenience.
The one-year clinical neurophysiology fellowship can be followed, or preceded, by a separate ACGME-accredited year of epilepsy fellowship. Alternatively, the one-year clinical neurophysiology fellowship can be followed by a second non-accredited year of research, during which time the fellows enjoys both dedicated research time in addition to clinical epilepsy/EEG-related rotations. Only the most highly qualified applicants will be offered sequential years of training during their first application round. Completion of both ACGME-accredited clinical neurophysiology and epilepsy fellowships offers the unique opportunity for double-board certification. The non-accredited research fellowship year is most appropriate for those individuals who wish to pursue a career in academic medicine as an epileptologist. The dedicated research time gives you the opportunity to develop a research project in an epilepsy-related area of interest in collaboration with some of the country’s leading experts in the field.
Didactics and Conferences for Fellows
All clinical neurophysiology fellows are expected to attend regularly scheduled conferences that make up the clinical neurophysiology fellowship curriculum. Topics related to EEG, epilepsy, EMG and NCSs, sleep, EPs, and neuromuscular disease are covered across the year. Lectures are held every Thursday at 12:00PM and are prepared and given by faculty for fellows; in the latter half of the year, EMG-track fellows lead case presentations and discussions at the weekly conference, under attending physician supervision.
While on service at Tisch Hospital, all fellows are encouraged to attend the Multidisciplinary Conference, held on Mondays at 3:30PM, where adult and pediatric patient cases being considered for surgery are presented to NYU Langone’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. Participants include epileptologists, neurosurgeons, our neuroradiologist expert in epilepsy imaging, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, and nursing staff.
Every Wednesday morning a separate journal club–style conference is held at the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. This is protected time for fellows on the Tisch Hospital rotations. Invited lecturers from NYU Langone, as well as other external facilities, lead the discussions, in addition to our own Comprehensive Epilepsy Center faculty. Clinical neurophysiology fellows also have the opportunity to lead one journal club each year. At the end of the academic year clinical neurophysiology fellows present a quality improvement project at one of the Wednesday morning conferences. Fellows may work on their quality improvement project as a group along with the epilepsy fellows over the course of the academic year.
Research Experience
Research is a major focus at the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, and our faculty are involved in a number of ongoing projects. Participation in research during the fellowship year is encouraged, and fellows are paired with mentors toward the beginning of the academic year based on the fellow’s area of interest. The mentor–mentee dyad has been successful in generating abstract submissions, fellow poster presentations at academic meetings, and publications.
In addition, the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center research working groups hold regular meetings on Wednesdays immediately after the morning lecture. Fellows with academic or research interests in a particular topic are encouraged to attend. The format of these meetings varies, from formal lectures on new data and reviews of related recently published literature from other groups, to working meetings where researchers discuss new projects or troubleshoot ongoing projects.
In addition, formal laboratory meetings for the research labs affiliated with the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center are scheduled regularly, and fellows participating in research projects with these groups are encouraged to attend.
Commitment to Diversity
NYU Langone’s Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program is committed to supporting underrepresented members of the field of neurology and providing the foundation for future leadership in this subspecialty. Our program also strives to respond to the diversity of our patient population, enhance the delivery of culturally competent care, and supports efforts to diversify the clinical neurophysiology profession.
As part of our effort to meet these goals, the Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship program is committed to identifying and training qualified members of underrepresented groups who are interested in the field of clinical neurophysiology. We look forward to reviewing all applications.
How to Apply
We are now participating in the Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology Match, conducted through the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP). The application process will be managed through the Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS). Candidates interested in applying for Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship EEG or EMG track positions for academic year 2025–2026 should submit all documentation via ERAS. Learn more about NRMP and ERAS application, interview, and match deadlines.
Contact Us
For more information on our fellowship programs, please contact Dr. Elder, fellowship director, at Christopher.Elder@NYULangone.org or 212-263-4352.
For application information or questions, contact Kimberly Kaloroumakis at Kimberly.Kaloroumakis@NYULangone.org or 929-455-5927.