Vascular Neurology Fellowship

The University of Texas Medical School in Houston (UTHealth) provides a one or two-year vascular neurology fellowship, both fostering the development of leaders in stroke field, be it in research, education, administration, quality improvement, and/or community outreach.

The two-year fellowship focuses on the career-development of the clinician-scientist, who will dedicate their career to investigating the pathophysiology and epidemiology of cerebrovascular disease and the application of this knowledge to therapeutic advances.

We cover the entire spectrum of stroke clinical trials and clinical research, from acute stroke and brain hemorrhage to stroke recovery and stroke prevention. We have a rich history of fellows developing their own research projects and testing new therapies for stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage.

Neurovascular Fellowship Overview

With a total of 8-9 fellows, our fellowship seeks to develop neurologists to become clinician-scientists in cerebrovascular disease. We stress first rate training in clinical stroke care and conducting rigorously designed research.

The first year is ACGME-accredited and has the following rotations: the stroke inpatient service, inpatient and emergency department consult services, neuro-ICU, stroke prevention clinic, telestroke, neurosonology, neuroendovascular therapy, research, and elective opportunities in neuro-rehabilitation, stroke prevention, and advanced neuroimaging.

After the 1-year ACGME-accredited vascular neurology fellowship, fellows pursing a second year of training will focus on completing career development coursework and will rotate on the inpatient and outpatient services to continue to upkeep clinical skills. Continued mentorship this second year will promote development and publications, in order to position fellows to become competitive candidate for grants and academic careers. Additional elective opportunities may also be sought in this year.

For fellows who desire to pursue a clinical research career in stroke and neuroendovascular surgery, we offer an integrated program consisting of Vascular Neurology followed by Neuroendovascular Surgery Fellowships at McGovern Medical School. Please contact the co-directors below for more information.

Program Highlights

30-year history of training leaders in the stroke field
Largest stroke training program in the country with 8-9 fellows per year, providing care to stroke patients in the most ethnically diverse city in the US
Long track record of fellows conducting cutting edge research on new therapeutic approaches for stroke
Opportunities to attend the annual meetings such as the AHA/ASA International Stroke Conference, the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, the European Stroke Organization and World Stroke Organization international conference, and others.
Weekly Neurovascular conference and a separate Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery conference
Stroke Specific Career Development Series that includes lectures on grant writing, and opportunities to pursue coursework for a Masters in Clinical Research
Three different Journal Clubs on (1)the latest clinical stroke studies; (2)randomized clinical trials that have changed the practice of stroke medicine and (3)translational animal studies of new therapeutic approaches for stroke and brain hemorrhage
Opportunities to pursue specialized research in basic science, drug and cell-based therapy development, comparative effectiveness, population health, health services, quality science, health care implementation, biomarkers, and personalized medicine
Outpatient clinic located on-site focused on providing multidisciplinary care to stroke survivors: secondary prevention and reducing stroke associated complications such as depression, sleep disturbances, and cognitive impairment
Specialized clinics for stroke patients with specific cardiac conditions – ESUS work-up, PFO, Watchman, etc.
Hands-on and comprehensive training on remote consultation within one of the largest academic telestroke networks in the country
Access to Stroke Institute resources such as biorepository and imaging cores, statistical support for analyses, and expertise in clinical trial design, as well as access to variety of unique stroke population level databases in Houston and Texas and access to state and national administrative datasets
The first Mobile Stroke Unit in the United States

Program Culture

UTHealth is part of the Texas Medical Center which is the largest medical complex in the world. We partner with Memorial Hermann Hospital which has extensive clinical resources. Our fellows work at the flagship university hospital, Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center— the first joint commission certified comprehensive stroke center in Texas.

The inpatient stroke service at the Texas Medical Center campus is a standalone service that cares for all stroke patients in the hospital (average daily census 15-20, average daily admissions 3-4), staffed at all times by one attending, one stroke fellow, and 2-3 neurology residents.

12 bed dedicated Stroke Unit, 32 bed Neurology-Neurosurgery ICU with a separate cerebrovascular neurocritical care service, 8 bed Neuro Intermediate Care Unit, and Dedicated Neurology general floor
The hospital Emergency Department (ED) is one of the city’s two level one trauma centers. Almost 10-20% of all stroke patients in the city of Houston are seen in the Hermann ED.
State of the art neuroimaging facilities including CT/CTA/CTP in the ED, plus 4 MRI scanners adjacent to the ED. RAPID software is immediately operational for CTP.
Two angiography suites with endovascular capability, and state of the art carotid and trans-cranial Doppler ultrasound, all available 24 hours per day. Fellows will also spend time at Memorial Hermann – Memorial city for one-on-one educational experience in a community setting with Neuroendovascular Surgery faculty.
In-patient neuro-rehabilitation floor adjacent to the stroke unit that is part of TIRR Rehabilitation, the #2 ranked Rehab Hospital in the US
Outpatient clinics are staffed by stroke faculty and residents in the U.T. Professional Building across the street from the Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center and medical school (connected by a pedestrian bridge).
Serves as a telestroke hub to UT Teleneurology, one of the largest telestroke networks in Texas

Where do our graduates go?

Our stroke fellowship is one of the oldest in the country where the trainees are the backbone of the entire stroke program.

Our graduates have taken positions across the country and internationally, directing their own stroke programs, leading stroke centers, building tele-stroke services, and conducting research.

During fellowship, fellows of the graduating class of 2020 have published in Stroke, Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease, Case Reports in Neurology, JAMA Neurology, and Frontiers in Neurology, and have presented at meetings for organizations such including AHA/ASA, SVIN, and AAN.

Application Process

To apply for the 1-year fellowship, the applicant must be eligible for and possess a Texas Medical License or Physician in Training Permit on the start date of the fellowship. Prior to entering fellowship, applicants must have successfully completed an ACGME-accredited program in neurology, child neurology, neurodevelopment disabilities or a similar program accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Applicants must have also successfully passed USMLE Step 3 prior to fellowship.

Additional requirements for the 2-year fellowship include a full Texas license prior to the second year, and US Citizenship or permanent resident status, due to funding source.

Applications will be accepted from October 1st through March 31st,through the NRMP match https://www.nrmp.org/.

Please contact Sally McMillan, our Program Coordinator at [email protected] if you need any additional information on our fellowship program.

Vascular Neurology Fellowship Board

The one or two-year Vascular Neurology fellowship is directed by Dr. Amanda Jagolino-Cole and Dr. Sishir Mannava. Sally McMillan is the Program Coordinator.