Epilepsy

Program Duration: 2 years

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: (Left) Multimodality imaging acquired in patients with drug resistant epilepsy. (Right) Intracranial electrode localizations are shown for a patient with temporal lobe epilepsy. The superimposed color scheme indicates electrodes with maximal out-strength, ie. most frequently leading interictal epileptiform activity occurring in other electrodes, as demonstrated in the bottom row (from Diamond et al., Clin Neurophys 2019). Bottom right indicates the resulting resection cavity following epilepsy surgery.
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: (Left) Multimodality imaging acquired in patients with drug resistant epilepsy.  (Right) Intracranial electrode localizations are shown for a patient with temporal lobe epilepsy.  The superimposed color scheme indicates electrodes with maximal out-strength, ie. most frequently leading interictal epileptiform activity occurring in other electrodes, as demonstrated in the bottom row (from Diamond et al., Clin Neurophys 2019).  Bottom right indicates the resulting resection cavity following epilepsy surgery.

This is an integrated two-year fellowship in Clinical Epilepsy and Neurophysiology for candidates with a demonstrated interest in academic neurology. The program is designed to foster the application of neurophysiology and neuroimaging techniques to the evaluation and treatment of focal epilepsy and its co-morbidities. Fellows have exposure to the clinical inpatient and outpatient evaluation of patients with epilepsy with a focus on medically refractory focal epilepsy, including participation in our epilepsy monitoring unit, surgical evaluation and treatment, and longitudinal patient management through our outpatient clinics. Current areas of research interest are focused on structural and functional neuroimaging to identify both normal and cognitive functions such as language and memory, as well as to better understand pathological changes related to epilepsy. The program is affiliated with the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Children's National Medical Center, and both years are ACGME-certified, fulfilling the requirements for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Added Qualification in Clinical Neurophysiology and Epilepsy. 

Area of Current Research

  • Structural and functional MRI for seizure focus localization and seizure network evaluation
  • Electrophysiological correlates of cognition and behavior
  • Decoding electrophysiological seizure markers and predictors using MED and iEEG
  • fMRI studies of language and memory in epilepsy

FACULTY and GME PAGE

Sara Inati, M.D., Chief, EEG Section, sara.inati@nih.gov, Program Director, NCC Epilepsy Fellowship Program at NIH

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

Kareem Zaghloul, M.D., Ph.D., Acting Branch and Chief, Functional Neurosurgery Section, Surgical Neurology Branch,  zaghloulka@mail.nih.gov

William D. Gaillard, M.D., Child Neurologist, Clinical Epilepsy Section, gaillardw@ninds.nih.gov