UCLA Steve Tisch – Sports Neurology and Neurotrauma Fellowship

The Sports Neurology - Neurotrauma Fellowship is a two-year program that involves intensive clinical and research training in the fields of sports neurotrauma and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Now Accepting Applications for 2022-2024 Fellowship

Description:

The UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program is a multidisciplinary center aimed at providing the world's best sports-concussion care for youth athletes. We have relationships with various professional and collegiate athletic programs and also close partnerships with the U.S. Military and U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, through UCLA Operation Mend. In our two-year clinical and research fellowship, trainees will work closely with clinic attending neurologists and neuropsychologists. The fellowship exposes trainees to pediatric sports related concussion, preseason sports neurology examination, sideline concussion management, mTBI military patients, and some more severe TBI patients. Under the mentorship of leading scientists, fellows will be expected to design and carry out a research project investigating neurotrauma, sports neurology, or another related topic of their choice.

Requirements:

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Applicants must have completed a residency in child neurology, adult neurology, or PM&R prior to the start of the fellowship and be eligible for a license to practice medicine in the state of California.

How To Apply:

To apply, please send the following materials to:

Alejandra Corona, Pediatric Neurology Administrative Assistant (ACorona@mednet.ucla.edu) 

I.       Curriculum-vitae
II.      Personal Statement (Can be up to 1.5 pages single spaced)
III.     Three Letters of Recommendation (One letter should come from your residency program director)

For more information, please contact:

Meeryo Choe, MD
Tisch Fellowship Director
Associate Director, UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program
MChoe@mednet.ucla.edu

Past Tisch BrainSPORT Fellows

 

Dorothy Harris, MD, PhD
UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Fellow ‘19

Dr. Harris is a California native who received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. She returned to California and completed her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at UCLA studying molecular mechanisms of brain repair in the adult brain. She remained at UCLA to complete a postdoctoral fellowship in Health Services Research. Her postdoctoral work exploring challenges to management of dementia in primary care was used by the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy People 2020 to develop national guidelines for dementia care. After completing a successful postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Harris entered medical school and completed her medical degree and intern year at Loma Linda University Medical Center. She returned to UCLA and completed residency training in Neurology in June 2018. Dr. Harris is the second UCLA Neurology resident to enter a dual fellowship in the Tisch BrainSPORT and Goldberg Migraine programs, and is excited to combine her clinical training, scientific curiosity, and passion for community service to address community-based disparities and challenges in concussion and headache.

 

Julia Kerrigan, MD
UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Fellow ‘18

Dr. Julia Kerrigan grew up in Minnesota before traveling to California to play basketball at Santa Barbara's Westmont College where she was a four year starting center and All-American scholar athlete. After receiving her undergraduate degree, she accepted a clinical research position in Oslo, Norway where she investigated the influence of antibiotics on long term complications related to otitis media and presented her findings at an international conference in Paris, France in 2005. While in Europe, she was recruited to play Women's basketball and had the opportunity to play professionally while continuing her research. Dr. Kerrigan obtained her medical degree at the University of Minnesota Medical School where she remained active in research, community service, and athletics. In 2016, she completed her Adult Neurology Residency at Harbor UCLA Medical Center and thereafter joined the Tisch Fellowship Program where Dr. Kerrigan is able to combine her love for sports and medicine to help those with acute and chronic complications following concussion.

 

Rafael Romeu-Mejia, MD
UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Fellow ‘19

Dr. Rafael Romeu-Mejia was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where he completed his undergraduate and medical school degrees while being involved in community service and academics. He recently graduated from Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) residency at the VA Caribbean Healthcare System in San Juan, P.R. His experience with sports and personal injuries at a young age drove him to PM&R specialty, where he immediately grew interest in brain injury and multidisciplinary neuro-rehabilitation. By joining the Steve Tisch Sports Neurology-Neurotrauma Fellowship, Dr. Romeu-Mejia is able to combine his passion for community outreach, sports, and his background in rehabilitation medicine to help patients with complications following concussion.

 

Tara Sharma, DO
UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Fellow ‘20

Dr. Tara Sharma grew up in La Canada, California where she spent most of her early years as a competitive figure skater competing in regional and national level competitions. She continued her love for sports in High School and College as a Cross Country and Track runner and still holds many records at her High School. After receiving her undergraduate degree in Biology at Claremont Mckenna College, Dr. Sharma worked in a molecular neurology lab at the Huntington Medical Research Institute in Pasadena, CA on a project targeting enzymes involved in pathways implicated in the transmission of migraine pain. She subsequently pursued further educational training in New York, where she completed her Master’s Degree in Biomedical Sciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.  She remained in New York and completed her medical school training at New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. During her time there she was active in community outreach and provided healthcare to local communities in Ghana, Africa.  After that she completed her residency training in Neurology at Cleveland Clinic Foundation where she focused on research in Headache, Dementia, and Small Fiber Neuropathy.  Given her sports background, clinical training, research, and community service experience, Dr. Sharma knew she wanted to combine her passion for all of these aspects in her fellowship training.