Autoimmune Neurology Fellowship

Overview

This one-year program provides extensive clinical experience, training, and research mentorship to prepare fellows for leading-edge clinical and/or research careers in autoimmune neurology and neuroinflammatory diseases at academic centers or in industry. Fellows will acquire knowledge, skills, and expertise in the diagnosis and management of complex diseases seen at two large tertiary care centers — Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital — including the full spectrum of autoimmune neurologic and neuroinflammatory diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Fellows will receive mentorship from faculty engaged in clinical research and will be encouraged to participate in primary and/or secondary investigations leading to publication. An optional second year provides dedicated time and mentorship for clinical and translational research.

Requirements

Fellows should have completed an accredited neurology residency training program and demonstrate an interest in autoimmune neurology and neuroinflammatory diseases as well as a career in academic neurology.

Curriculum

The academic year will start with a foundational didactic curriculum over the summer covering basic neuroimmunology. These weekly sessions will then give way to more subspecialized didactic sessions for the remainder of the year covering the breadth of neuroinflammatory diseases including neuro-infectious diseases by fellowship faculty as well as invited expert faculty from Mass General Brigham and elsewhere.

Fellows participate in weekly division case conferences to present and discuss recent cases of interest with fellowship faculty. Fellows will also present challenging imaging cases at a weekly neuroradiology conference with our neuroradiologist colleagues.

During the neuroinfectious diseases block, fellows will present at monthly neuro-ID journal club conferences. During the ataxia clinic block, fellows will attend and occasionally present cases at the weekly Ataxia Unit case conferences. Fellows will present relevant cases at quarterly neurorheumatology case conferences (a shared conference with the division of Rheumatology).

Research Experience

First-year fellows will receive mentorship from fellowship faculty engaged in clinical and translational research and will be encouraged to participate in primary and/or secondary investigation leading to publication. Fellows in the optional second-year research extension will receive 1:1 mentorship and training from fellowship and other division faculty engaged in clinical and translational research and will be expected to develop and implement at least 1 investigational protocol leading to publication.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should send a letter of intent and CV as well as at least three letters of recommendation to program coordinator Altrecia Henry at aehenry@mgb.org.

Fellowship and Faculty Contacts

Dr. Haatem Reda
Massachusetts General Hospital; Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
hreda@mgh.harvard.edu
Program Director

Dr. Shamik Bhattacharyya
Clinical Investigator, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Associate Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Sbhattacharyya3@bwh.harvard.edu
Associate Program Director; Research mentor

Dr. Nagagopal Venna
Massachusetts General Hospital; Associate Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Nvenna1@mgh.harvard.edu
Program founder; Faculty mentor

Dr. Michael Levy
Clinical Investigator, Massachusetts General Hospital; Associate Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
mlevy11@mgh.harvard.edu
Faculty mentor; Research mentor