A two-year fellowship in neuropathology (one position every other year) is offered by the Division of Neuropathology. Based in a 734-bed tertiary care university hospital, the program provides advanced training and responsibility in all areas of neuropathology including diagnostic surgical neuropathology, neuromuscular, ophthalmic, and autopsy pathology.
The laboratory examines approximately 900 neurosurgical specimens with 200 intraoperative consultations per year. The University of Iowa is a national referral center for neuromuscular disease providing an advanced educational experience with examination of approximately 300 muscle and 30 nerve biopsies per year. The University of Iowa has an NIH-funded Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Specialized Research Center (MDSRC; https://medicine.uiowa.edu/mdsrc/ ) that studies a form of muscular dystrophy termed dystroglycanopathy. Dr. Steven Moore is Co-Director of the MDSRC.
Approximately 250 autopsy brains are examined per year, including approximately 100 forensic cases. The Iowa NeuroBank (brain bank) is a core facility funded by the Iowa Neuroscience Institute and the Roy J. Carver Foundation. It acts as the primary tissue repository for clinical studies on Parkinson/Lewy Body disease, Huntington Disease, and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), among others, and also has a large collection of controls obtained through the University of Iowa autopsy service. Dr. Marco Hefti is co-director and neuropathologist for the core facility. Fellows will be involved in neurodegenerative disease workups for the brain bank as part of brain cutting, and have the option of dedicated brain bank and/or research rotations, if desired.
In addition, the Division of Neuropathology provides outreach services through the University of Iowa Diagnostic Laboratory (https://medicine.uiowa.edu/uidl/faculty-services/neuropathology), through which a variety of neurosurgical, neuromuscular, and autopsy brain specimens are received. This provides an opportunity to interact with pathologists and clinicians at multiple outside institutions and community practices.
Fellows will participate in a variety of teaching and educational activities including a weekly neuro-oncology tumor board, quality assurance conferences, and a neuromuscular multidisciplinary conference. Fellows are expected to be involved with house staff didactics and provide a seminar for Pathology Grand rounds annually. Additionally, there are opportunities to be involved with medical student teaching. Opportunities for participation in both basic science and clinical/translational research are available and encouraged.
Accreditation
The Neuropathology fellowship is ACGME-accredited, program #3151830001.