About our Fellowship
Who We Are
Launched in the 2021 academic year, our ACGME-accredited Epilepsy Fellowship offers a one-year training program based at a level IV NAEC Epilepsy Center with a large and diverse referral base. Fellows gain invaluable hands-on experience with a broad range of complex epilepsy cases and benefit from direct exposure to cutting-edge diagnostic and therapeutic technologies. The program includes the opportunity to take the EpiFITE in-service exam and provides robust preparation for ABPN Epilepsy board certification. Our fellowship strives to cultivate clinical and academic excellence, preparing graduates for leadership roles in the field of epilepsy care. We are deeply committed to our missions of compassionate, patient-centered care to those with epilepsy across Florida and beyond, of advancing epilepsy research, and of providing top-tier sub-specialty medical education.

What Makes Us Special
Our program stands out for its high volume and exceptional teaching cases, offering fellows a vibrant learning experience. The flexible curriculum aligns with each fellow’s individual interests and career goals, ensuring a personalized and meaningful training journey. All our faculty are deeply invested in fellow education. In the first half of the year, we provide a comprehensive set of didactic sessions covering the breadth of adult and pediatric epilepsy. Such formal teaching is reinforced continuously through the year on service rounds and case conferences. In addition, fellows benefit from a designated educational fund that supports their professional growth by covering expenses such as conference registration, flights, hotels, and educational materials. Fellows are also fully integrated into the broader departmental community through joint fellowship transition-to-practice curricula, professional development opportunities, and social events, that foster collegiality and professional growth.

Clinical Training
Epilepsy Monitoring Unit Service (EMU)
We are a level IV NAEC Epilepsy Center who offer the full suite of advanced investigative and treatment modalities for epilepsy. There are 8 hard-wired adult EMU beds on the neurology floor of our new Neuromedicine Hospital that evaluate over 200 patients a year. In the first few months, fellows learn the fundamentals of video-EEG monitoring, analysis of seizure semiology and acute antiseizure medication titration. They progress quickly to acquire advanced skills such intracranial EEG (stereo-electroencephalography; SEEG) planning and interpretation, intraoperative electrocorticography and extraoperative stimulation mapping. Through their engagement at our weekly case conferences, fellows gain experience of epilepsy-oriented neuroimaging (3T MRI, fMRI, DWI-tractography, PET), advanced clinical neurophysiology (EEG source localization and MEG) and the neuropsychology of epilepsy (including Wada testing). Further training in these advanced areas through elective periods or clinical research is always available to interested fellows.

Long Term and Critical Care EEG Monitoring Service (LTM)
Our Long Term and Critical Care EEG Monitoring Service comprises 16 modern XLTEK portable EEG machines equipped with state-of-the-art Persyst® software permitting quantitative interpretation of trends for precise analysis of seizure burden and ischemia monitoring. The LTM service is busy, with over 3000 24-hour studies performed annually; uniquely, the service can be requested 24/7 with EEG technicians always in-house. Supervision of the service is the responsibility of the EEG attending physician of the week, along with resident and fellow trainees. The LTM service is fast-paced and intense, reflecting the clinical acuity of the patients being monitored. Communication with referring medical teams is high priority, and there are daily virtual EEG rounds to convey updates.

Continuity Clinic
Fellows have half day clinics each week throughout the one-year training where they follow their own patients under faculty supervision. Fellows evaluate both new presentations as well as returning patients, and over the year obtain experience of the large majority of epilepsies seen in primary, secondary and tertiary settings. Fellows also have the opportunity to observe more specialized outpatient practice, for instance our adult ketogenic diet clinic, and the neuromodulation clinic. Additional specialized services, such as epilepsy complicated by neurobehavioral syndromes, and clinic for women of childbearing age are being planned.

Elective Rotations
During their one year, fellows get at least one month of elective time to customize their experience based on longer-term career interests. Electives chosen by prior fellows have included neuroradiology and MEG. The UF Epilepsy Fellowship program also offers – uniquely in the nation and entirely free of cost – the option for fellows to travel anywhere in the world to spend one month’s elective time in an epilepsy-related field. Such individualized rotations are enthusiastically encouraged, but do need a willing supervising faculty mentor in the remote location and a written statement of goals and objectives to be submitted in advance.

Academic Training
Didactics
Our didactic education initiatives include a robust schedule of weekly and monthly sessions designed to foster multidisciplinary learning and clinical excellence. These include a weekly multidisciplinary SEEG conference and a weekly Epilepsy Management Conference (EMC), both of which bring together diverse expertise to enhance patient care. Additionally, we host weekly departmental grand rounds and a journal club as part of our “Academic Friday” series, providing a platform for continuous academic engagement. Monthly, we conduct an Interesting ICU EEG case discussion to deepen understanding of complex cases. Our curriculum is further enriched by a comprehensive Bootcamp lecture series and an Advanced Epilepsy lecture series, offering foundational and in-depth knowledge for trainees at all levels.

Teaching
Fellows join faculty in providing epilepsy didactic lectures to neurology residents and participate in the education of residents rotating on the EMU and/or LTM services. The fellows also lead the weekly epilepsy journal club presentation and discussion.

National Conference
Fellows are encouraged to attend American Epilepsy Society (AES) Annual Meetings. Our program has set up a designated educational fund to support our fellows to attend the conference.

Research
Research opportunities abound in all fields relevant to clinical epilepsy – e.g. pharmacology, electrophysiology, imaging, health outcome, epidemiology and descriptive case series. Division faculty members currently have active research collaborations with scientists in bioengineering, electrical engineering, neurogenetics and dietetics. Divisional research meeting is held once every other month.

Application Requirements and Program Details
Eligibility
To be eligible for epilepsy fellowship program, applicants must have successfully completed (or be on track to complete) an ACGME-accredited adult or pediatric Neurology Residency prior to matriculation. Applicants must have passed USMLE Step 3 prior to application.
Important Dates and Deadlines
Applicants interested in epilepsy fellowship position apply through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) approximately eighteen months prior to anticipated matriculation. Applicants will be invited to interview in December through March. Please visit the ERAS website for complete information about application, schedules, and regulations & the NRMP website for NRMP deadlines.
Length of Fellowship
The fellowship lasts for one year. There is the possibility of doing an optional second year of epilepsy training in clinical practice and research for fellows who are interested in pursuing a career in academic medicine.
Compensation and Benefits
Compensation is commensurate with level of training (paid as PGY-5 and PGY-6, respectively) by the GME office at UF-Health. UF Benefits are generally regarded as quite competitive.
Rotation Details
12-month rotation, alternating between EMU (Epilepsy Monitoring Unit) and LTM (Critical Care Long Term EEG) services weekly
At least one month rotation with pediatric epilepsy service, mix of pediatric EMU and pediatric EEG services
At least one month of elective rotation
Weekend call (typically will be in home call), on average one weekend every 3-4 weeks
Visa Sponsorship
We will sponsor J-1 visas. In certain circumstances, we will port an existing H1-b visa. In order to get approval, an H-1B visa must have been issued not more than 3 years prior to the projected start date with our program.
