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UCI-CHOC Pediatric Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program

Contact Us

Program Coordinator

Nicole Santos
[email protected]

Program Leadership

Maija Steenari, MD
Program Director,
Epilepsy Fellowship

Lilit Mnatsakanyan, MD
Program Director,
Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship

Brian Jung, MD
Associate Program Director for Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology

John Crawford, MD
Division Chief,
Child Neurology

Welcome, and thank you for your interest in the University of California, Irvine, and Children’s Hospital Orange County (UCI-CHOC) Pediatric Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology Program!

We’re proud to train the next generation of pediatric epilepsy leaders in a collaborative and supportive environment.

Please click below to learn more about our fellowship, our team and training at UCI-CHOC.

Program Overview

This pediatric position is open to trainees who will complete a Child Neurology residency program prior to starting the fellowship

For more information on both fellowships, please visit UCI’s website:

Our Hospitals

Both CHOC and UCIMC and have active epilepsy surgery programs, with capabilities to perform Stereo-EEG monitoring using ROSA and a full range of surgical interventions, including VNS, LITT, RNS, and DBS

Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC), Orange

CHOC is ranked among the Best Children’s Hospitals in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report. It serves Orange County and the surrounding regions, with a catchment area of more than 5 million people, and thus provides a very rich learning environment with a diverse patient population. CHOC is an academic, community-based hospital that serves as the main site for training in the fellowship. It has 386 beds, including a 54-bed PICU, 24-bed cardiac ICU, 104-bed NICU, and separate oncology and neuroscience units. CHOC’s ED is a Level I pediatric trauma center.

University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine and the UCI Medical Center (UCIMC)

UCI School of Medicine is ranked among the top 50 medical schools in the nation for research by U.S. News & World Report. UCI School of Medicine has 24 departments, ranging from basic science research to clinical, medical and surgical specialties, and research, clinical, and teaching. UCI School of Medicine is the sponsoring institution and serves as a primary site for basic science and translational bench research opportunities. The UCI Medical Center in Orange serves as the main clinical site for the UC Irvine School of Medicine, integrating teaching, research, and patient care.

Curriculum

Eight months are spent at CHOC for primary emphasis on pediatric epilepsy and EEG, two months are spent at UCIMC on the adult epilepsy/EEG service (with clinical research opportunities available) and months for electives.

At CHOC, the Epilepsy program is a consulting service, with rotations divided into:

Epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) A; including phase 1 and phase 2 (intracranial) studies, epilepsy surgery patients.
Epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) B; shorter phase 1 studies including infantile spasm follow-ups, evaluation for DEE-SWAS, as well as complex inpatient epilepsy consults.
Inpatient EEG studies.
Outpatient EEG and ambulatory studies, epilepsy subspecialty clinics.

There are also weekly didactic lectures, a weekly epilepsy surgery conference, and a monthly journal club.

How to Apply

Applications are accepted through the Electronic Resident Application System (ERAS). Our fellowship program participates in the National Residency Match Program (NRMP). Applicants must have completed an adult or child neurology residency and be American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology board-eligible, with a California medical license, before the July 1 program start date.

Important Dates