The continued success of the Clinical & Basic Neuroscience Training Program is founded on providing comprehensive research training and mentoring to both PhD's and MD's interested in uncovering or targeting molecular mechanisms associated with diseases of the nervous system.
Learn more about the program by jumping to the sections below:
The Clinical & Basic Neuroscience research training program has been funded continuously by the NIH/NINDS since 1982 and has served more than 125 trainees, who continued accelerating careers. Trainees take advantage of a supportive and encouraging environment composed of more than 45 faculty members, most of whom are both basic or clinician scientists and clinical neurologists that serve as mentors, and state-of-the-art research facilities housed in 35,000 square feet of laboratory space.
Applicants must be United States citizens or permanent residents, and must hold an MD and/or PhD degree. Postdoctoral trainees are either:
- Neurologists or physicians in related fields who have completed clinical training and select a basic or clinical research career
- Biomedical scientists who seek training in basic neuroscience research
- Other clinical researchers with PhD training who desire additional mentored research experience related to clinical neuroscience.
One or two years of training are anticipated with the second year contingent on trainee progression and submission of an external grant application. Stipends are commensurate with prior postdoctoral experience and NRSA regulations.
The program is especially interested in qualified candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community.
Interested applicants should send their CV, research statement (description of interest area, mentor identified, and title of planned research), and three letters of recommendation to Denice Heckel, on behalf of Eva L. Feldman, MD, PhD to [email protected]. For more information about the training program, contact Denice Heckel at 734-763-7274.
The Clinical & Basic Neuroscience training program is tailored to promote career development for both PhDs and MDs. Although PhDs and MDs are trained together, the training program has two tracks, bench scientists (PhDs) and clinical scientists (MDs), supplemented by interdisciplinary and collaborative project meetings, seminars and appropriate course work including research responsibility and ethics. All trainees in clinical scientist track are required to complete a Master’s Degree, either the School of Public Health’s Masters Program in Clinical Research or a unique Health Services Research Master’s Program.
This training program is embedded within the rich research environment of the University of Michigan which includes a highly collegial and interdisciplinary neuroscience research community, excellent core resources for biomedical research, and strong resources for clinical and health services research. The latter include a very strong School of Public Health, a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program, and the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, the largest academic health services research program in the USA. Individual mentors are responsible for guiding their trainees in generating research proposals, supervising trainees’ work, and evaluating trainees’ performance with additional mentoring provided by discipline specific committees for each trainee and general oversight by the Executive Committee.
Research Focus Areas
The main research focus areas are neurodegeneration, neuromuscular diseases, neuroinflammatory disorders, stroke, systems neuroscience, and health services research. In addition, the trainees are exposed to the most advanced research techniques in different areas, ranging from genomics and proteomics to computational medicine and bioinformatics. Trainees are biomedical scientists who seek training in disease-oriented neuroscience and clinicians (neurologists, neurosurgeons, pediatricians, or other physicians) who have completed clinical training and select a laboratory-based or clinical research career. Interested candidates with research experience in genetics, proteomics, molecular biology, biochemistry and clinical research applied to other research focus areas will also excel within the available research programs.
Individual Research Training
Each trainee will work closely with a faculty mentor in his or her laboratory or clinical research program on a specific project or projects. The trainee will be expected to progress towards independence during the training period. Each trainee will have a three person mentorship committee, which will monitor the progress of the trainee and provide additional insights. Trainees are expected to present their work in national forums and publish their work in peer reviewed journals. Each trainee will submit a grant application during the first year of training.
Courses
All trainees are required to complete Research Responsibility and Ethics (PIBS 503). This course fulfills the NIH requirement for responsible conduct of research training and includes 8 hours of small group sessions. Laboratory based trainees (PhDs) are also required to take the course Introduction to Scientific Communications (Pharm 502) which includes training on grant writing. Trainees in clinical scientist track are required to complete a Master’s Degree, either the School of Public Health’s Masters Program in Clinical Research or a unique Health Services Research Master’s Program. These provide comprehensive formal training in clinical or health services research methods by University of Michigan.
Seminars
All trainees attend a weekly Translational Neurology Seminar. This seminar series supplements the many conferences available to the trainees within the Department of Neurology and other programs, such as Grand Rounds and a Live Patient Conference. Trainees also attend laboratory meetings within their mentor’s research area. They are also required to present their research at one of the Neurology Research Seminars.
Fellow Research Days
Trainees present their work at Neuroscience Day and the annual Neurobiology of Disease Symposium.
Trainees are selected competitively by the program’s Executive Committee. Trainee recruitment includes a strong diversity outreach program with a “bridging” program connecting this training program to NINDS sponsored programs aimed at increasing diversity in neuroscience graduate student education and a particularly strong connection to the University of Puerto Rico.
- Trainees are given stipends based on their post-doctoral level in accordance with NIH standards. Funding to support research-related expenses is also available.
- Trainees are expected to present their work at national meetings. Travel stipends are provided by the program.
- The training program provides support for related coursework including a master’s program in clinical research.
Ronald Gavidia, MD
Current position: House Office, Neurology, University of Michigan
MD, University of El Salvador, School of Medicine
Jennifer Magnusson, PhD
Current position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Neurosurgery, University of Michigan
PhD, University of Missouri
Evan Reynolds, PhD, MS
Current position: Statistician Lead, Neurology, University of Michigan
PhD, University of Michigan
Tamara Stevenson, PhD
Current position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan
PhD, University of Michigan
Samuel Terman, MD, MS
Current position: House Officer, Neurology, University of Michigan
MD, University of Michigan
Hilary Archbold, PhD
Current position: Lecturer III, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, LSA, University of Michigan
PhD, University of Michigan
Diane Bender, PhD
Current position: Sr. Staff Scientist; Washington University
PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Brian Callaghan, MD
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Neurology, University of Michigan
MD, University of Pennsylvania
Kevin Carbajal, PhD
Current position: Scientist II; Aerie Pharmaceutical
PhD, University of California, Irvine
Lindsey Carlin, PhD
Current position: Technical Sales Consultant, Immunology, Miltenyi Biotec, Ann Arbor, MI
PhD, University of Iowa
Lindsey De Lott, MD
Current position: Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology & Visual Science and Neurology, University of Michigan
MD, The Ohio State University
Galit Dunietz, PhD, MPH
Current position: Research Assistant Professor, Neurology, University of Michigan
PhD, Michigan State University
Julia Gerson, PhD
Current position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Neurology, University of Michigan
PhD, University of Texas Medical Branch
M. Rebecca Glineburg, PhD
Current position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Neurology, University of Michigan
PhD, University of Pennsylvania
Jill Haenfler, PhD
Current position: Lecturer III, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, LSA, University of Michigan
PhD, University of Michigan
Eric Horstick, PhD
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, NIH, Division of Developmental Biology
PhD, University of Michigan
Amanda Huber, PhD
Current Position: Research Investigator, Surgery, University of Michigan
PhD, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York
Jamie Johansen, PhD
Current position: Assistant Professor, Neuroscience, Central Michigan University
PhD, Michigan State University
Ashley Kalinski, PhD
Current position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan
PhD, Drexel University
Osama Kashlan, MD
Current position: Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery, University of Michigan
MD, Emory University
Siri Khalsa, MD
Current position: House Officer, Neurosurgery, University of Michigan
MD, George Washington University
Vikas Kotagal, MD
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Neurology, University of Michigan
MD, University of Minnesota
Emily Lehmann Levin, MD
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery, University of Michigan
MD, University of Michigan
Daniel Leventhal, MD, PhD
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Neurology, University of Michigan
MD, PhD, Case Western Reserve University
Jennifer Magnusson, PhD
Current position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Neurosurgery, University of Michigan
PhD, University of Missouri
Hayley Mc Loughlin, PhD
Current Position: Research Investigator, Neurology, University of Michigan
PhD, University of Iowa
Katiuska Molina-Luna, PhD
Current Position: Lecturer, LSA, University of Michigan
PhD, Swiss Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland
Alina Monteagudo, PhD
Current position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Neurology, University of Michigan
PhD, University of Rochester
Samual Pappas, PhD
Current Position: Research Investigator, Neurology, University of Michigan
PhD, Michigan State University
Emily Rainey-Barger, PhD
Current Position: Adjunct Professor, Biology, Lake Erie College, Lakeland Community College
PhD, University of Michigan
Julie Rumble, PhD
Current position: Scientist I, Cayman Chemical, Ann Arbor, MI
PhD, University of Michigan
Stacey Sakowski Jacoby, PhD
Current position: Managing Director, Program for Neurology Research & Discovery, University of Michigan
PhD, University of Michigan
Mark Schultz, PhD
Current Position: Research Investigator, Pathology, University of Michigan
PhD, University of Iowa
Aarti Shakkottai, MD
Current position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Neurology & Clinical Lecturer, Pediatrics, University of Michigan
MD, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey/R.W. Johnson Medical School
Kaia Skaggs, PhD
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Findlay
PhD, University of Michigan
Tamara Stevenson, PhD
Current position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan
PhD, University of Michigan
Jennifer Strahle, MD
Current position: Instructor, Pediatric Neurosurgery, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
MD, University of Minnesota Medical School
Anthony Wang, MD
Current position: Neurosurgeon, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
MD, University of Michigan
Yu Wang, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Neurology, University of Michigan
MD, Central South University Xiangya College of Medicine, Hunan China
PhD, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
David (Drew) Wilkinson, MD
Current position: Resident PGY-7, Neurosurgery, University of Michigan
MD, University of Michigan
Matthew Willsey, MD
Current position: House Officer, Neurosurgery, University of Michigan
MD, Baylor College of Medicine
Kathy Wilson, MD, MS
Current position: Sleep Physician, IHA Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep, Ypsilanti, MI
MD, University of Michigan
Thomas Wilson, MD
Current position: Peripheral Nerve Surgery Fellow, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
MD, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Chair, Department of Neurology
Professor of Neurology
Interim Co-Director, Michigan Neuroscience Institute
Research Professor, Michigan Neuroscience Institute
Professor of Neurology and Co-Division Chief Cognitive Disorders
