Pediatric Epilepsy Fellowship

The Pediatric Epilepsy fellowship training program is a one- or two-year program which provides intensive training in pediatric electroencephalography, evaluation of potential candidates for epilepsy surgery, and the clinical treatment of refractory pediatric epilepsy.  

The clinical training includes direct patient care in the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy in children with a focus on pharmacological, surgical and diet therapy management.  Two-year fellows complete a first year in Clinical Neurophysiology and a second year in Epilepsy, with the first year primarily dedicated to EEG reading and the second year in surgical epilepsy management with opportunities for research. One-year fellows can complete their year either in Clinical Neurophysiology or Epilepsy.

The UCLA Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Program is a well-established tertiary referral center for children with intractable epilepsy, with many patients referred from the across the United States and abroad.  The neurophysiology training is thorough and well rounded, including video-EEG telemetry monitoring, routine EEG studies, and intraoperative electrocorticography. We have a very active and growing intensive care unit EEG monitoring program involving both the Pediatric ICU and Neonatal ICU. Although the majority of time is spent on pediatric cases, there is also exposure to adult EEG studies. Invasive monitoring with depth and subdural electrodes, EEG mapping, automated EEG analysis, intraoperative monitoring, MEG, and neuromodulatory therapies (VNS, RNS, DBS) are core elements of the curriculum.  Exposure to polysomnography, intraoperative monitoring, advanced neuroimaging, and evoked potentials is also available. 

Fellows are expected to participate in one or more clinical or basic research programs being carried out within the division, elsewhere in the Pediatric or Neurology departments or within the Brain Injury Research Center. Fellows are also expected to submit at least one poster and/or publication. Research time is built into both the first and second year of the training program, but with a larger emphasis on the second year of training to best support a future career in academics.

Fellows who complete our two-year program will be eligible to take the board certification exams in Clinical Neurophysiology from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) and Epilepsy Monitoring from the American Board of Clinical Neurophysiology (ABCN), as well as the ABPN Epilepsy board certification. Fellows who complete our one-year program will be eligible for the board corresponding to their ACGME fellowship, either in Clinical Neurophysiology or Epilepsy. 

Applicants must have completed an ACGME-accredited residency in child or adult neurology and be eligible for a license to practice medicine in the state of California. Because the fellowship is designed for special training in advanced epilepsy and EEG, it is preferred that the applicant already be familiar with routine EEG interpretation.

Our program is participating in the National Residency Match Program and all applications should be submitted via ERAS.  Please note that we have two separate tracks that can be applied to, listed under UCLA Medical Center Neurology: Clinical Neurophysiology – Pediatric Epilepsy Track (1- or 2-year) and Pediatric Epilepsy (1-year).  Clinical Neurophysiology is a PGY-5 position and adult neurology residents may apply to this track, but not Pediatric Epilepsy, which is a PGY-6 position.  Please direct any questions regarding the program or application process to the fellowship program director, Lekha M. Rao, MD at [email protected].