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Residency Overview

  • Dear Applicants,

    Welcome to the University of Texas Medical Branch  Residency Program! We are thrilled that you are considering a career in this fascinating and rewarding specialty. The mission of our department is to provide excellent clinical care, educate future leaders in the field of Neurology, and conduct research to improve and advance the specialty.

    The UTMB Residency Program in Neurology offers excellent clinical training which involves caring for the most medically complicated and challenging patients in the Galveston area. Education is a central dogma of our department and residency. Residents participate in a variety of educational activities including a rigorous Morning Report series,  epilepsy surgical conferences, EEG reading lecture series, Neuromuscular lecture series, Neuroendovascular conference, professional development opportunities, quality improvement projects, faculty mentorship and research faculty mentorship. Our diverse faculty has trained at premier programs across the country, bringing their experience and knowledge to U.T.M.B.

    We encourage you to apply to the program, and to explore to learn more about University of Texas Medical Branch, Neurology has to offer.

    Sincerely yours,

    Chilvana Patel, MD   Alok Dabi, MD
    Chilvana Patel, MD        Alok Dabi, MD
    Director     Associate Director 

  • Residents spend most of their time on the Galveston campus. Galveston campus which first opened its doors for patients in 1891; includes 3 hospitals all of which are interconnected by tunnels and includes a level 1 trauma emergency room. Follow link to learn more about Galveston campus: https://www.utmbhealth.com/locations/hospitals-campuses/galveston-campus

    Clinical Sites

    UTMB 2
    Jennie Sealy Hospital
    Established in April 2016 at a cost of $438 million, this state of the art facility consists of more than 310 patient rooms including a dedicated 14-bed Neuro critical care unit, and 16-bed neurology and Neurosurgery floor, and a 4-bed epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU). Housed here is also the neurology on call room with a computer workstation, television, telephone and bed with attached bathroom and shower. This room is for sole use of neurology residents on call/overnight.
    John Sealy Hospital
    John Sealy Hospital
    Dedicated mother and baby hospital with labor and delivery, it also houses the cafeteria.
    UTMB TDCJ Hospital
    TDCJ Hospital Galveston
    A 178-bed hospital dedicated to the care of inmates of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). It serves as the tertiary care hospital of the prison inmates for the entire State of Texas. It provides a great learning site with its unique patient population with exceedingly rare and complicated diseases. Neurology residents also have a weekly neurology clinic and weekly neurology telemedicine clinic here.
    Clinics at Galveston Campus
    Clinics located at the University Health Clinics (UHC) in Galveston
    Clear Lake Hospital
    Clinics at Clear Lake Campus
    Clinics located at the UTMB Health Clear Lake Campus (CLC) in Webster.
    MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston Medical Center)
    State of the art, world-renowned cancer hospital, where residents get exposure to neuro-oncology and the neurological complications of cancer. Residents rotate through the neurology consult service and get exposure to a plethora of interesting and rare cases, creating research opportunities.
    Texas Children's Hospital
    One of the premier pediatric hospitals in the State of Texas. Residents spend one month on the inpatient pediatric neurology service.

  • The program fosters a strong culture of mentorship. Each resident is assigned a designated faculty mentor, who meets with the mentees on a monthly basis to discuss career goals and guide them through different opportunities to achieve these goals.

    In addition, each junior resident is assigned one senior resident mentor as well. The chairman, Dr. Bhardwaj also has a yearly one-on-one meeting with each resident to discuss career goals and provide additional mentorship.

    The program leadership including the chairman and program directors have an open-door policy and house-staff/faculty are welcome to discuss any issues that may arise.

  • The program offers many opportunities for research and our residents have been prolific in contributing to the scholarly literature. Yearly, our residents present 100 abstracts at national meetings and publish peer-reviewed articles in various prestigious journals.

    Residents can also avail the combined Neurobiology of Disease (NOD) Track, where they get a PhD in neuroscience at the Mitchell Center on the Galveston Campus, during their 4 years of residency. This integrated program has produced many illustrious clinician-researchers in the field of neuroscience.

    In addition, we offer an additional one-year research fellowship integrated in the PGY4 year to two PGY4 residents. This is sponsored by the Texas Alzheimer’s Research Consortium (TARCC).

  • The residents are integrally involved in the education of medical students at the UTMB School of Medicine. Each year nearly three hundred, 3rd and 4th year medical students rotate through our neurology clinics and wards. The residents play an important role in their education and mentoring. Senior residents take part in student neurology lectures and evaluate students for their clinical service rotations. Each year the medical students vote for the “Resident Teacher of the Year” in neurology. This award is presented to the resident during the graduation ceremony.

    Below are some of the past recipients of this award:

    2017-2018 – Dr. Varun Shah
    2018-2019 – Dr. Ahmad Yusuf Solaiman
    2019-2020 – Dr. Yousaf Ajam
    2020-2021 – Dr. Neeharika Thottempudi
    2021-2022 – Dr. Nelitza Rivera Vega
    2022-2023 – Dr. Cabral Frade