Clinical Neurophysiology

Program Duration: 1 year

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: EMG of myotonia; MEG; Repetitive stimulation
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: EMG of neuromyotonia; MEG; Repetitive stimulation

This is an ACGME-accredited fellowship that provides eligibility for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Certification Examination in the subspecialty of Clinical Neurophysiology. The program is approved to enroll two Fellows each year: one position in an EEG-predominant track (EEG Section) and one position in an EMG-predominant track (EMG Section). Fellows receive practical and didactic training in a wide variety of physiological techniques used in diagnosis and clinical research, and participate in the daily performance and interpretation of EEG and EMG studies on inpatients and outpatients. Fellows evaluate a broad spectrum of patients through rotations at three institutions: the NIH Clinical Center, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), and Children’s National Medical Center (CNMC). Fellows in the EEG-predominant track will gain experience in the presurgical evaluation of epilepsy patients, intraoperative monitoring, long-term noninvasive monitoring, and invasive monitoring as well as magnetoencephalography. Fellows in the EEG track are chosen in conjunction with the Epilepsy Fellowship. The EMG-predominant track offers Fellows opportunities to learn autonomic nervous system testing, transcranial magnetic stimulation, neuromuscular ultrasound and the use of botulinum injections in movement disorders. The EEG-predominant track position is offered as part of an integrated two-year program in collaboration with the Clinical Epilepsy Section. Applicants for the EMG-predominant track can consider combining this 1-year fellowship with fellowships in other areas of clinical research. Completion of an ACGME-accredited neurology residency program and a valid, unrestricted U.S. license are required.

Area of Current Research

  • EEG and MEG source localization in epilepsy
  • Functional and structural neuroimaging for seizure focus localization
  • Outcome measures in neuromuscular disorders including transcranial magnetic stimulation, electrical impedance myography and MUNE
  • Biomarkers in motor neuron disorders
  • Specialized techniques in neuromuscular ultrasound

FACULTY and GME page

Tanya Lehky, M.D., Program Director, Chief, Electromyography Section, lehkyt@ninds.nih.gov

Justin Kwan, M.D., Neurodegenerative Disorders Clinic, justin.kwan@nih.gov

Sara Inati, M.D., Associate Program Director, Chief, Electroencephalography Section,  inatisk@ninds.nih.gov

William H. Theodore, M.D., Chief, Clinical Epilepsy Section, theodorw@ninds.nih.gov 

William D. Gaillard, M.D., Child Neurologist, Clinical Epilepsy Section, NIH, and Division Chief,  Epilepsy and Neurophysiology, CNMC, gaillardw@ninds.nih.gov

Diana Bharucha-Goebel, M.D., Neuromuscular/EMG, CNMC and Neuromuscular and Neurogenetic Disorders of Childhood Section, NINDS, NIH, diana.bharucha@nih.gov

Glen Cook, M.D., Neurology Clinic, WRNMMC, glen.a.cook4.mil@health.mil