Neurology Fellowship Programs
COVID-19 Update
For the 2021-2022 application cycle, all Department of Neurology fellowship programs at MCW will be conducting virtual interviews due to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic.
Our Programs
The Department of Neurology offers a fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology which is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Successful completion of this one-year program leads to eligibility to sit for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) examination in Clinical Neurophysiology.
The Department of Neurology offers a fellowship in Epilepsy which is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Successful completion of this one-year program leads to eligibility to sit for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) examination in Epilepsy. Applications for a position to start in July 2022 are still being accepted.
For the academic year 2020-2021 application cycle, all Department of Neurology fellowship programs at MCW will be conducting virtual interviews for all fellowship positions per recommendations from the CDC and the ACGME due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. MCW, in accordance with the CDC and ACGME, will provide updated information as it becomes available.
The Neurocritical Care Fellowship Program at the Medical College of Wisconsin is accredited through the United Council of Neurological Subspecialties (UCNS). This training program is tailored to fulfill the educational curriculum and requirements as set forth by the UCNS and provides an opportunity to work with nationally and internationally recognized experts in the field of Neurointervention, Stroke, Neurosurgery and Neurocritical Care.
Fellows are trained in the diagnosis and management of a wide variety of pathologies including traumatic brain injuries, subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracerebral hemorrhages, acute ischemic strokes, neuromuscular respiratory failure, status epilepticus, CNS infections, brain tumors and the postoperative care of complicated neurosurgical patients.
Fellows will achieve competence in EVD and ICP monitoring and management, management of bolts and Licox monitors, basics of mechanical ventilation, hemodynamic monitoring, vasopressor support, EEG monitoring, antibiotic therapy, targeted temperature management, etc. Fellows will also achieve competency in the use of transcranial dopplers and have the opportunity to be certified through the American Society of Neuroimaging.
Procedural skills to be mastered include central venous catheterization, arterial catheterization, endotracheal intubation, use of video laryngoscopy and fiber optic scopes for intubation, bronchoscopy, bedside percutaneous tracheostomy, TCDs and limited bedside Ultrasound.
Teaching and supervision of medical students, housestaff and physician extenders as well as functioning as a liaison between the various Primary and Consulting services forms an integral part of their fellowship training.
The primary training institution is Froedtert Hospital which is a 500 bed Level I Trauma Center and Comprehensive Stroke Center ranked consistently in the Top 50 of the annual Best Hospitals list by US News & World Report.
The Neuroscience program at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin currently houses a 12 bed Neurologic ICU and 6 bed step down ICU (NPCU), staffed full time by Board Certified Neurointensivists. Construction is currently underway for expansion to a state of the art 20 bed ICU and 6 bed NPCU slated to open January 2017.
The Medical College of Wisconsin/Froedtert Hospital is seeking qualified applicants currently for a 2 year UCNS certified Neurocritical Care Fellowship.
Learn more about the Division of Stroke, Neurointervention and Critical Care.
Eligibility for Fellowship position
- Successful completion of an ACGME accredited training program in Neurology, Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine or Internal Medicine.
- Physicians with prior Critical Care Fellowship training or currently pursuing such training.
- Candidates must be able to obtain an unrestricted Wisconsin license.
The fellowship is under the direction of Assistant Professor of Neurology, Pramod Gupta, MD. Applications are being accepted through the SF Match. Interviews are expected to take place starting in January through March. If you miss the listed deadline and intend to apply, please contact the coordinator.
For more information:
Jenny Her, Fellowship Coordinator
(414) 955-0643 | (414) 955-0127 (fax)
jher@mcw.edu
For the academic year 2020-2021 application cycle, all Department of Neurology fellowship programs at MCW will be conducting virtual interviews for all fellowship positions per recommendations from the CDC and the ACGME due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. MCW, in accordance with the CDC and ACGME, will provide updated information as it becomes available.
The Division of Neurointervention is dedicated to training highly-skilled neurointerventionalists who will be able to continue to expand care for patients with neurovascular disorders.
The fellowship is under the direction of Assistant Professor of Neurology, Marc A. Lazzaro, MD.
For more information:
Linda Calvert, Fellowship Coordinator
(414) 955-0643 | (414) 955-0127 (fax)
Neurofellowships@mcw.edu
For the academic year 2020-2021 application cycle, all Department of Neurology fellowship programs at MCW will be conducting virtual interviews for all fellowship positions per recommendations from the CDC and the ACGME due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. MCW, in accordance with the CDC and ACGME, will provide updated information as it becomes available.
The fellowship is under the direction of Julie Janecek, PhD and Sara Swanson, PhD.
View more information on our Neuropsychology Division page.
For more information:
Linda Calvert, Fellowship Coordinator
(414) 955-0643 | (414) 955-0127 (fax)
Neurofellowships@mcw.edu
For the academic year 2020-2021 application cycle, all Department of Neurology fellowship programs at MCW will be conducting virtual interviews for all fellowship positions per recommendations from the CDC and the ACGME due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. MCW, in accordance with the CDC and ACGME, will provide updated information as it becomes available.
This is a one year, ACGME accredited program. The Vascular Program is dedicated to training highly-skilled vascular neurologists who will be able to continue to expand care for patients with neurovascular disorders.
For more information:
Linda Calvert, Fellowship Program
(414) 955-0643 | (414) 955-0127 (fax)
Neurofellowships@mcw.edu
Recent Awards
Dr. Jessica Pommy awarded the Daniel M. Soref Fellowship for Clinical Neuroscience

Dr. Pommy is focusing the majority of her effort during her fellowship on research projects related to dementia, particularly initiatives related to early diagnosis. Dr. Pommy has expertise in cognitive neuroimaging analysis, and her present work is aimed at assessing patients who are showing signs of mild cognitive impairment. If successful, this work will lead to earlier identification of neurodegenerative disorders and improve prediction of further decline due to Alzheimer’s disease or other causes. Diagnosing patients at this stage of disease progression is a critical priority for researchers and clinicians who are working to understand how Alzheimer’s disease develops and spreads in the brain.
In addition to undertaking her own research, she is working with mentors to apply for additional funding to support her research, publish and present at conferences, and receive higher-level training in advanced forms of statistical analysis.
Dr. Sam Hooshmand awarded the Daniel M. Soref Fellowship for Clinical Neuroscience 2021-2022

Background:
First developed in 1955, the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) continues to be the most widely used outcome measure in multiple sclerosis (MS) research1,2. Despite routine implementation in clinical trials, the EDSS is criticized for its time-consuming nature, a lack of inter/intra-reliability, limited sensitivity to changes in patient condition, bias towards changes in ambulation, and neglect of patient-reported symptoms3-7. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) recognized the EDSS shortcomings and the need for better measures of disability, which has led to development of the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite Scale (MSFCS) along with other less notable scales4. The MSFCS improves upon the EDSS by including measures of dexterities and cognitive functions; however, MSFCS cannot replace EDSS due to its lack of detailed assessments and difficulties with correlating standardized clinical scoring with z-scores8. A need clearly exists for a quantitative MS disability tool/scale that can provide comprehensive precise measures, which is easy to administer, and can incorporate patient-reported symptoms.
Our project aims to address the limitation of current assessment tools of disability in MS
- To design a multi-dimensional novel battery of tests to assess MS disability progression by combining innovative, technology-based measures with classical objective assessments.
- Pilot the tool on participants with clinically definitive MS longitudinally to establish the feasibility for repetitive testing and participant retention/adherence.
- Obtain feedback from each participant concerning their overall experience with the tool with a focus on increasing study size.
- Kurtzke, J. (2015). On the origin of EDSS. Multiple sclerosis and related disorders, Mar 31;4(2):95-103.
- Obeidat, A. (2016). John F. Kurtzke, MD (1926-2015). Neuroepidemiology, Jan 20;46(2):118-9.
van Munster, C., & Uitdehaag, B. (2017). Outcome Measures in Clinical Trials for Multiple Sclerosis. CNS Drugs, 217 - 236. - Whitaker, J., McFarland, H., Rudge, P., & Reingold, S. (1995). Outcomes assessment in multiple sclerosis clinical trials: a critical analysis. Multiple Sclerosis Journal, Apr;1(1):37-47.
- Noseworthy, J. H., Vandervoort, M. K., Wong, C. J., & Ebers, G. C. (1990). Interrater variability with the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and Functional
- Systems (FS) in a multiple sclerosis clinical trial. Neurology, 40(6), 971-971.
- Francis, D. A., Bain, P., Swan, A. V., & Hughes, R. A. (1991). An assessment of disability rating scales used in multiple sclerosis. Archives of neurology, 48(3), 299-301
- Goodkin, D. E., Cookfair, D., Wende, K., Bourdette, D., Pullicino, P., Scherokman, B., & Whitham, R. (1992). Inter‐and intrarater scoring agreement using grades 1.0 to 3.5 of the Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). Neurology, 42(4), 859-859.
- Cutter, G., Baier, M., Rudick, R., Cookfair, D., Fischer, J., Petkau, J., Ellison, G. (1999). Development of a multiple sclerosis functional composite as a clinical trial outcome measure. Brain, May 1;122(5):871-8.
The proposed project will be the first to integrate technology-based, detailed measures into a multidimensional battery of tests to assess disability progression in MS. Additionally, it will be the first to integrate patient reported outcome measures into the scoring system of objective tests. Further, the concept of weighted scoring is novel for MS disability assessment tools. Consequently, this project will have the possibility of being a viable alternative to current MS disability measures such as EDSS, in addition to providing an innovated notion of weighted disability scoring in MS. Future directions of this project will aim to test the novel tool in a large population of MS patients, validate the tool against current MS measures (EDSS, MSFC, MSOAC), correlate the measurements with other biomarkers of disease activity (imaging and laboratory tests), and pursue studies to establish the potential for the novel tool as a primary clinical measure of disability in MS clinical trials.
Dr. Christopher Southwood awarded the Daniel M. Soref Fellowship for Clinical Neuroscience 2019-2020

Hypothesis: Existing processes and workflows at Froedtert Hospital for patient management, care team activation, and transport in the Door-to-Device (DTD) phase of care contain inefficiencies leading to time delay, which can be improved with a systematic review, revision, and implementation of time-sensitive process updates.
Aim 1: Perform a retrospective analysis of previously collected time intervals for all patients with acute ischemic stroke who underwent thrombectomy.
Aim 2: Convene a multidisciplinary workgroup to review and compare time intervals with published data, identify areas for potential improvement, and propose a revised process for patient management in the DTD phase of care targeting a safe and meaningful reduction in time.
Aim 3: Perform Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles to implement and assess effectiveness of change, specifically for a safe and meaningful reduction in time.
Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and recognized as a leading cause of disability1. Treatment of acute ischemic stroke has undergone a revolution within the last half-decade with focuses on improving access to thrombolytic pharmacologic therapy and later overwhelming evidence supporting endovascular therapy (EVT). Treatment with pharmacological thrombolysis with alteplase (tPA) has also been refined to enhance access for more patients. Specifically, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association has implemented a Target: Stroke initiative to streamline processes and efficiently deliver reperfusion therapy in a timely fashion. This initiative has successfully reduced Door-to-Needle times. Specifically, at Froedtert hospital we have been able to improve our door-to-needle times by 34 minutes over the last 5 years.
In 2015, EVT was firmly established within six hours to significantly improve functional recovery. Thrombectomy treatment for acute ischemic stroke has been further validated up to 24 hours, allowing for more stroke patients to attain functional independence. Now, the focus has turned to streamlining the endovascular therapy processes to improve efficiency and outcomes, deemed Door-to-Device (DTD) target times as has been supported by some of the thrombectomy trials2,3. The ESCAPE trial emphasized efficient workflow to achieve fast vessel recanalization2. As the Target: Stroke program enters phase III, the DTD will target 50% of patients in 90 minutes or less for patients entering Froedtert’s emergency room, and for DTD targeting less than 60 minutes for patients transferred from outside facilities4.