Teaching is the core of our identity at the University of Iowa and there are diverse opportunities for fellows with an interest in education to get involved. As the state’s only academic medical center, the University of Iowa prides itself on educating the next generation of healthcare providers. There are monthly opportunities to provide didactics to Carver College of Medicine students rotating on their neurology clerkship. Our medical students highly value the teaching from our Graduate Medical Education trainees, rating the quality in the top quartile nationally.

Opportunities also exist on a monthly basis to teach both adult and pediatric neurology residents. We provide lectures on epilepsy and clinical neurophysiology topics to residents most Thursdays each month. We also conduct simulations in our state-of-the-art Center for Procedural Skills and Simulation and host EEG practice workshops throughout the year. In addition to training neurology residents, we are routinely invited to provide foundational lectures for our primary care and psychiatry residencies.

The University of Iowa also serves as the primary clinical site for the Electroneurodiagnostic (END) Technology Program through Kirkwood Community College. Fellows may elect to provide didactics or informal teaching to our END students.

Several regional conferences are held annually in Iowa City including the Iowa Neurologic Association’s Annual Meeting and the END Technologist’s Annual Symposium which offer fellows the opportunity to present to a wider audience.

For those looking to further develop their skills as a medical educator, the Office of Consultation and Research in Medical Education offers a broad range of services to support medical education and scholarship. Fellows may choose to participate in monthly skills development workshops, self-instructional programs, and individual consultations to target their personal goals for growth. They also provide resources for educational research and scholarship.

Clinical Care

Diagnostic Procedures: Interpret and generate reports in a timely fashion for:

• Routine EEG
• Long term video EEG (EMU, ICU, ED and floor)
• Ambulatory EEG
• Intracranial EEG
• Intraoperative electrocorticography
• Intraoperative SSEP for motor cortex localization
• EEG monitoring during Wada procedure

Continuity clinic: Fellow attends 1 half- day continuity clinic a week

• Conduct comprehensive evaluations of patients with epilepsy, including detailed medical history, and physical examination
• Develop individualized treatment plans, including anti-seizure medication management, dietary therapy (e.g., ketogenic diet, modified Atkins diet), presurgical evaluation and dose titration of neurostimulation devices (VNS, DBS, RNS) .
• Provide ongoing management and follow-up care for patients, adjusting treatment plans as necessary based on patient response and evolving clinical evidence.
• Take ownership of continuity clinic patients and respond to patient messages and phone calls in a timely fashion. 

Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) rounds: Fellow joins rounds on the patients admitted to EMU.

• Actively participates in daily treatment plans for patients admitted for EEG monitoring for spell classification, seizure classification and seizure localization
• Actively engages in discussion of EEG updates with the patient/family on rounds
• Supervises neurology residents

Multidisciplinary Collaboration

• Participate in epilepsy surgery case conferences, and other collaborative meetings to discuss complex cases and develop integrated care plans.
• Work closely with a multidisciplinary team, including neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, neuroradiologists, dieticians, nurses, EEG technicians and social workers, to provide comprehensive care for epilepsy patients.

Research

Fellow is highly encouraged to:

• Engage in research projects and scholarly activities such as quality improvement projects, retrospective chart review studies, or conduct prospective research study related to epilepsy in collaboration with a mentor.
• Prepare manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals and present (posters/platform presentation) at national and international conferences.

Education and Training

• Teach and mentor neurology residents, and medical students rotating in EMU
• Participate in continuing medical education (CME) activities, attend scheduled lectures, journal clubs, epilepsy surgery case conferences and national conferences to stay current with the latest advancements in epilepsy care.

Administrative Duties

• Documentation: Maintain accurate and thorough medical records, including clinic notes, EEG reports, treatment plans, and follow-up care notes.
• Procedure logs: Maintain and update procedure logs for EEG studies in a timely fashion

Professional Development

• Skill Enhancement: Continuously enhance clinical skills and knowledge through self-study, attending relevant conferences, and seeking opportunities for professional growth.
• Board Certification: Work towards obtaining board certification in epilepsy and maintaining certification through ongoing education and practice.

The University of Iowa Department of Neurology, Stead Family Children’s Hospital Child Neurology Division, and the Iowa Neuroscience Institute are actively involved in epilepsy research. A fellow interested in becoming involved in epilepsy research during their training will find ample opportunities in the basic science, translational, and clinical research realms. Up to two months of epilepsy fellowship can be set aside as protected time to conduct a research project. Below is sample of the types of research being conducted.

The Buchanan Lab focuses on understanding basic mechanisms of epilepsy, particularly the effect of seizures and vigilance state on cardiorespiratory control and how these may lead to sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). They employ behavioral, surgical, electrophysiological, molecular, and histological techniques in conjunction with a variety of seizure induction models to address research questions.

The Richerson Lab focuses on determining the mechanisms by which serotonergic neurons sense changes in CO2, and how their downstream effects contribute to control of pH in entities such as sudden unexpected death in epilepsy and sudden infant death syndrome. The lab also focuses on how GABA is released from neurons and glia, and how this release is affected by anticonvulsants.

The Dlouhy Lab focuses on understanding mechanisms of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy using animal models and children and adult with epilepsy to identify the neural networks that influence breathing and to better understand how breathing is inhibited during seizures.

The Glykys Lab is dedicated to understanding the cellular mechanisms of the inhibitory system and how its dysfunction contributes to seizure development. A key area of focus is neuronal edema, along with the dynamics of chloride and calcium within neurons. The lab addresses these scientific questions using advanced techniques such as electrophysiology, two-photon imaging, and immunohistochemistry.

The University of Iowa is also participating in a first-in-human study of stereotaxic placement of inhibitory interneurons (NRTX-1001) in the treatment of drug-resistant unilateral mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.

We are a proud member of the Managing Epilepsy Well Network, a group of 8 academic medical centers whose mission is to advance epilepsy self-management by facilitating and implementing research, conducting research in collaboration with network and community stakeholders, and broadly disseminating the findings.

Alex Bassuk's laboratory is focused on understanding human disease and developing new therapies and cures. Dr. Bassuk's laboratory has ongoing projects pursuing epilepsy drug discovery, traumatic brain injury treatments, eye inflammation (uveitis) genetics and therapy, and the role of inflammation in human disease.

Ania Dabrowski is a physician scientist and pediatric epileptologist with an interest in how genetic changes associated with epilepsy alter brain development and lead to seizures and seizure-related comorbidities, with a focus on understanding synaptic and micro-circuitry alterations.

Michael Ciliberto is a pediatric epileptologist actively engaged in multi-institutional clinical research through the Pediatric Epilepsy Research Consortium. He is also involved in leading treatment trials, including the STOKE trial for Dravet Syndrome and the soticlestat trial for Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome.