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Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship

We offer a comprehensive training experience designed to grow and develop experts in providing clinical neurophysiological care.

Neurophysiology faculty members sitting at a microscope

Our one-year fellowship program prepares neurologists to care for people with neurophysiological conditions and incorporates direct patient care responsibilities. The program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

We accept three Clinical Neurophysiology fellows each year. Graduates of our program who are certified in neurology are eligible for certification by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) in clinical neurophysiology.

As part of a diverse training experience, we provide opportunities for our fellows to:

  • Observe, evaluate and manage inpatients and outpatients of all ages with a wide variety of disorders of the nervous system and muscles
  • Learn the effectiveness of procedures

Our fellows train at The University of Kansas Health System, a nationally recognized academic medical center, and affiliated facilities across the Kansas City metropolitan area. Visit our Facilities and Affiliate Programs page for more information.

Training Information

Our Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship consists of three rotations.

  • Neuromuscular/Electromyography (EMG)
    • 4 months
    • This rotation includes:
      • Participation in the evaluation of patients in the ALS Association clinic (1 week)
      • Evaluation of patients in the neuromuscular clinic (2 weeks)
      • Performing EMGs daily (5 weeks)
        • There are more than 1,100 EMG studies per year available to rotating fellows.
      • Participation in the evaluation of inpatients on the neuromuscular consult service
    • These supervised activities take place at the Landon Center on Aging located on the main campus of Ku Medical Center and the University of Kansas Hospital.
  • Epilepsy, Electroencephalogram (EEG) and Evoked Potentials (EP)
    • 4 months
    • This rotation includes:
      • Daily reading of EEGs
      • Care of patients on the epilepsy monitoring unit, epilepsy clinics and weekly EP readings.
    • These supervised activities take place at the University of Kansas Health System (more than 1,500 EEGs per year) and Children's Mercy Hospital.
  • Kansas City Veterans Administration Medical Center
    • 4 months
    • This rotation includes:
      • Neuromuscular/Electromyography (EMG) clinics (6 per year)
      • Chemodenervation
      • Epilepsy and EEG clinics
      • Weekly remote intraoperative monitoring (University of Kansas Hospital)
      • Sleep clinic

As part of the fellowship, we cover basic clinical neurophysiology topics through a combination of training activities.

  • Inpatient and outpatient clinical experiences
  • Basic neuroscience conferences
  • EMG/neuromuscular disease conferences
  • EEG/epilepsy conferences
  • Evoked potentials
  • Intraoperative monitoring
  • Other areas of clinical neurophysiology such as autonomic testing, single fiber EMG and the basic physiology of sleep

Fellows are introduced to clinical research and have opportunities to do courses in research methodology.

During the training experience, our fellows actively participate in a variety of educational opportunities, such as:

  • Weekly Muscle Biopsy/Journal Club
  • Lecture series
    • Neuromuscular
    • Clinical Neurophysiology
    • Epilepsy/Electroencephalogram (EEG)
    • Electromyography (EMG)
    • Sleep
    • Evidence-Bassed Medicine
    • IOM Education Session
  • Neurology/Neurosurgery case presentations
  • Grand Rounds 

Under close supervision of our expert faculty, our Clinical Neurophysiology fellows are involved in designing, conducting and interpreting the results of studies. They also engage in research with direct longitudinal involvement, investigator-initiated studies and other clinical neurophysiology studies.

During this rotation, each fellow works in conjunction with research faculty to learn about clinical neurophysiology research trials; endpoint measures; and their applications, benefits and limitations.

Required coursework
Fellows are required to participate in the following courses, which are offered through FRONTIERS: The Heartland Institute for Clinical and Translational Research:

  • Introduction to Biostatistics for Clinical and Translational Researchers
  • Introduction to Clinical Research
    Course description
    The course will provide a basic and broad overview of clinical research. The student will gain an understanding of how to develop clinical research questions, including protocol design and factors that should be considered in initiating a clinical research study. This will include biostatistical considerations, the recruitment of study participants, regulatory issues, data management and defining measures and instruments. Students will gain knowledge of how to define clinical research among the various institutional entities involved with clinical research at the University of Kansas Medical Center, such as the Research Institute (RI), General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) and the Human Subjects Committee (HSC). Additionally, one component of the course will focus on how to apply for funding (grantsmanship), critical appraisal of research studies and how to present research data.

    Course objectives

    Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:
      • Describe the process of identifying a clinical research idea.
      • Discuss principles of clinical research study design and protocol development.
      • Describe ethical and regulatory issues in conducting research involving human subjects.
      • Discuss biostatistical significance including data management and defining measures and instruments.
      • Describe how to present research data.

K30 Clinical Research Curriculum Program
The goal of the K30 program is to develop clinician scholars with a strong foundation in patient-oriented research principles and methods. Benefits of program participation include:

  • Formal training in research skills that can lead to a master’s degree (Public Health or Clinical Research).
  • Access to nationally recognized researchers via the Distinguished Visiting Scholars series.
  • Interaction with other researchers in the Clinical and Translational Research Seminar series.
  • Mentored research training experiences.
  • Access to biostatistical consultation, mentorship and funding opportunities.

The program supports two levels of trainees – the novice and the transitional investigator. The program for the novice offers a structured learning process for trainees with demonstrated interest, but little training in patient-oriented research. The core of this experience is formal coursework. The program for the transitional investigator provides support for more advanced scholars who need mentoring and specific additional knowledge and skills. Participants have the option of completing a master’s degree in public health or clinical research, but this is not required. Overall, the program is designed to increase the number of clinical scholars who receive funding from patient-oriented research at both the career development and individual investigator levels.

Student services continue to evolve, through new courses such as Introduction to Clinical Research, seminars and personal assistance in scientific writing and by support of the development of grant writing skills.

Online courses and other educational materials
Fellows also are expected to become familiar with the following online courses and sources of information that are designed help investigators understand clinical research and develop proposals/grant submissions for potential funding:

  • Introduction to the Principals and Practice of Clinical Research (IPPCR). A lecture in real time with 2011-2012 archive videos available. The course runs from October-March and the previous year's course is available at any time.
  • University of Iowa Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS). The Clinical Research Professionals Basic Certificate course is offered through ICTS Virtual University and provides a basic introduction to clinical research. Other courses on bioethics, genetics and pharmacology also are available. Participants are required to create an account and establish login information.
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grants and Funding – About Grants. This site provides investigators with grant writing guidance, strategy and instruction.
  • CTSpedia. This is a collaborative vehicle for the Clinical and Translation Science Awards (CTSA) Program's Biostatistics/Epidemiology/Research/Design (BERD) Online Resources and Education Task Force that identifies and shares resources across the national consortium with a worldwide community of researchers. BERD educational materials link to biostats course materials, searchable by keyword, format, audience, etc., submitted by many consortium institutions.
  • NIH Ethical and Regulatory Aspects of Clinical Research. This resource provides full links to the 2012 course including syllabus, readings, videocasts and podcasts of lectures. Registration for the 2013 course will open in the summer.
  • CTSA Central Education and Training resources. This provides links to various resources at CTSA consortium institutions.

More resources


Fellowship leadership

Gary S. Gronseth, M.D.
Professor
Chairman, Department of Neurology

Mamatha Pasnoor, M.D.
Professor
Director, Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program

Mazen M. Dimachkie, M.D.
Professor
Associate Director, Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program

Utku Uysal, M.D.
Associate Professor
Associate Director, Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program

Constantine Farmakidis, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Associate Director, Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program

Stacey Qandil
Fellowship Coordinator
(913) 945-6429
sqandil@kumc.edu

KU School of Medicine

University of Kansas Medical Center
Department of Neurology
Mailstop 2012
3901 Rainbow Blvd.
Kansas City, KS 66160
Phone: 913-588-6970
Fax: 913-588-6965