Child Neurology Residency Training Program
About the Training Program
Launched in 1989, the Child Neurology Residency Training Program in the Division of Neurology provides a dynamic and energetic environment for training future pediatric neurologists. Over the past several decades, groundbreaking innovations have helped to achieve that goal. The program has 19 pediatric neurologists and includes collaboration with pediatric and adult psychiatry, pediatric radiology, the pediatric intensive care unit, the newborn infant critical care unit, pediatric neurosurgery, genetics, ophthalmology, oncology, adult neurology at the University of Southern California, and other services.
The Child Neurology Residency Training Program is the heart of the Division of Neurology’s educational component. The size of our faculty and our residency program, as well as our relationships with other divisions, provide trainees with a rich community of colleagues to support and enrich the learning experience with various career models and perspectives. CHLA is proud to serve a broad and diverse patient population who come to us for solutions they cannot find elsewhere.
We choose our residents carefully—not only on the basis of their academic credentials, but also on their human qualities. We pride ourselves on training residents who are team players and who form lasting friendships with their colleagues in the residency program and beyond.
Why CHLA?
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is consistently ranked among the top 10 pediatric neurology and neurosurgery programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is a busy urban teaching hospital with a diverse patient population. New hospital facilities opened in July 2011 with an increase to over 400 active beds. There is a very active outpatient neurology clinic with subspecialty programs in neuromuscular disorders (MDA), epilepsy (including epilepsy surgery, VNS and ketogenic diet), movement disorders (including deep brain stimulation and baclofen pump), neuro-intensive care, pediatric stroke, neurocutaneous disorders and demyelinating disorders.
Our faculty currently provide outpatient clinical services at CHLA and five satellite clinic locations within the greater Los Angeles area. The Division of Neurology has an ACGME-approved Child Neurology Residency Program which operates in collaboration with the Keck School of Medicine LAC + USC University Hospital. Our division accepts three child neurology residents per year who divide their time between the two sites. Furthermore, there is ongoing clinical research within our general child neurology and subspecialty programs.
The Division of Neurology is part of the Neurosciences service line (the Neurological Institute) at CHLA. The Division of Neurology is undergoing rapid expansion with the development of comprehensive clinical general and sub-specialty child neurology programs, as well as enhancement of its research portfolio. The goal of the Neurologic Institute is to offer comprehensive and integrated neurologic services in a patient-centered environment.
Learn More about the Training Program
- Curriculum
- Teaching Experience
- Clinical Experience
- Scholarly Activity
- Our Residents
- Our Teaching Faculty
- Our Graduates
- Program Fast Facts
The child neurology portion of training is 3 years in length with 12 months spent in adult neurology training. Our program follows a schedule of 13 blocks rotating every 4 weeks. Pediatric inpatient, outpatient, and elective training occurs at CHLA. Adult neurology training is primarily accomplished through rotations at LAC+USC Medical Center and Keck Medical Center of USC; select rotation arrangement can be made with other prestigious institutions in the local area. Residents are provided 20 days of paid time off per year, with the ability to carry over to the following academic year if needed. CNY-2 and CNY-3 residents are provided additional time to attend annual meetings such as the Child Neurology Society meeting, with exception also made to support those CNY-1 residents presenting at a conference.
Annual Block Schedule
Selective opportunities are available both within the neurology department, and with extra-departmental subspecialties.
- Neuro-ophthalmology
- Neuromuscular
- Neuroradiology
- Neurogenetics
- Neurocritical Care
- Epilepsy (EMU monitoring, epilepsy surgery)
- Acute inpatient rehabilitation
- Pathology
- Neurosurgery
- Neuro-psychology
- Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
- Pain management
- Palliative care
- Sleep medicine
- Neuro-immunology
- Senior teaching elective
- Electives at outside institutions are supported on a case-by-case basis
- Residents are given the opportunity to teach and assume administrative responsibilities
- Present lectures at the neuroscience conference
- Teach third- and fourth-year USC medical students, general pediatric residents, and child psychiatry fellows
- Administrative duties include preparation of the monthly on-call list by the senior child neurologist on service
Inpatient Service
Our inpatient team is composed of CHLA residents, child psychiatry fellows, adult neurology residents, medical students and nurse practitioners. The team is divided into a general neurology service and a neurocritical care service, each staffed by a separate attending physician. Residents spend time on each service during their inpatient blocks.
Outpatient Clinic
Residents rotate in the CHLA outpatient clinics to experience a variety of unique subspecialty clinic exposures, including epilepsy, movement disorders, neurocutaneous disorders and neuromuscular disorders. Residents also rotate through various multidisciplinary clinics including the brachial plexus clinic, epilepsy surgery clinic, ketogenic diet clinic, genetic epilepsy clinic and muscular dystrophy clinic. During elective blocks, residents can spend dedicated time in any of the subspecialty clinics.
Child neurology residents have their own continuity clinic one half day per week. Residents see hospital follow-up patients and new consults with a variety of general neurology concerns. They follow these patients longitudinally throughout the duration of their neurology training.
There are educational lectures scheduled throughout the week that cover various topics within child neurology. While rotating at LAC+USC Medical Center for adult neurology, residents attend didactic lectures offered through USC’s Adult Neurology Residency Program.
Example Week at CHLA
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
---|---|---|---|---|
GME Fellow Core Lecture Series 12:00-1:00 |
Tumor Board 07:30-8:00 Neurology Grand Rounds Brain Cutting Monthly Journal Club |
Epilepsy Fellows Lecture Series 12:00-1:00 |
Neurology Core Lecture Series 12:00-1:00 |
EEG Review 07:30-08:15 *Wellness Monthly Didactics |
Lecture Descriptions
GME Fellow Core Lecture Series (Weekly) | Lecture series with various topics in compliance with GME |
Tumor Board (Weekly) | Multidisciplinary meeting between oncology, neurosurgery, pathology, radiology and neurology to discuss active brain tumor patients |
Neurology Grand Rounds (Weekly) | Presentations provided by guest speakers, resident case reports and journal club presentations, and neuro-radiology conference |
Brain Cutting (Weekly) | Review of gross brain specimens with pathology fellows and faculty |
Epilepsy Fellows Lecture Series (Weekly) | Pediatric and adult epilepsy topics are presented by CHLA and USC Epilepsy Faculty throughout the academic year |
Neurology Core Lecture Series (Weekly) | Various neurology topics are presented by CHLA faculty throughout the academic year |
EEG Review (Weekly) | Review of inpatient EEGs from the week with our epilepsy team |
*Journal Club (Monthly) | Resident-lead journal club session moderated by an attending, reviewing current literature and research |
*Wellness (Monthly) | Once a month session with our wellness coordinator |
*Monthly Didactics (Monthly) | Resident-lead board review sessions |
Scholarly Project
Child neurology residents will complete a scholarly project during their training. The goal of the project is to foster critical learning in medicine and neurology. Projects can be accomplished in various domains such as research, quality improvement, education and/or patient advocacy. Child neurology residents will work with a faculty mentor throughout the duration of their project. Each project will be completed prior to graduation in the PGY5/6 year.
Mellad Khoshnood
PGY-5
Academic Chief
Dana O'Rourke
PGY-5
Administrative Chief
Harshul Zaveri
PGY-5
Wellness Chief
Nikkee Amin
PGY-4
James Huynh
PGY-4
Saba Jafarpour
PGY-4
Brian Choi
PGY-3
Eric Ronne
PGY-3
Natasha Sosa
PGY-3
Shafali Spurling Jeste, MD
Chief, Division of Neurology
Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
Latanya Agurs, MD
Epilepsy
Nusrat Ahsan, MD
General Neurology and Neuroimmunology
Jay Desai, MD
General Neurology
Payal Gu, MD
General Neurology and Sleep Medicine
Eugenia Ho, MD, MPH
Fetal-Neonatal and Neurocritical Care Neurology
Deborah Holder, MD
Epilepsy
Andrew Kim, MD
Epilepsy
Quyen Luc, MD
Movement Disorder Neurology
Wendy Mitchell, MD
General Neurology
Deepti Nagesh, MD
Vascular and Neurocritical Care Neurology
Andrew Ng, MD
General Neurology
Leigh Ramos-Platt, MD
Neuromuscular Neurology
Tena Rosser, MD
Neurocutaneous and General Neurology
Kiarash Sadrieh, MD
General Neurology
Jonathan Santoro, MD
Neuroimmunology and Down Syndrome Neurology
Noelle Tiongson, MD
Neuromuscular Neurology
Michelle Van Hirtum-Das, MD
Epilepsy
Vijay Vishwanath, MD, PhD
General, Neurocutaneous, and Movement Disorders Neurology
Our past trainees have gone onto prestigious fellowships, academic general neurology, academic neuroscience, and private practice.
Recent graduates’ fellowship placements have included:
- Clinical Neurophysiology
- University of Southern California
- Children’s Hospital of Orange County
- Miami Children’s Hospital
- Pediatric Epilepsy
- Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles
- University of Southern California
- Miami Children’s Hospital
- Neuromuscular Medicine
- University of California Los Angeles
- Multiple Sclerosis / Neuroimmunology
- University of California San Francisco
- University of Southern California
- Movement Disorders
- Children’s Hospital Los Angeles / USC
- Headache Fellowship
- University of Southern California
- Stanford University
ACGME Accredited: Yes
*NRMP code: 1031185C0
Fellows per year: 3
Duration: 3 years
Postgraduate training required: 2 years General Pediatrics
U.S. Citizenship Required: no
Salary Minimums:
Post Graduate Year 3: $69,208
Post Graduate Year 4: $71,550
Post Graduate Year 5: $74,900
Post Graduate Year 6: $74,900
Benefits Include: Health and dental insurance, 14 days paid vacation + 6 protected sick days and generous educational/CME stipend, monthly meal stipend, and 401(k) matching up to 3%
* Applicants should apply to the Categorical Pediatric Neurology program via ERAS for consideration of the 5-year training program. Separate application to General Pediatrics is NOT required. An interview with the CHLA General Pediatrics program will be automatically granted to those selected for an interview with Child Neurology.
How to Apply
The match process for the CHLA Child Neurology Residency Training Program is done through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). Applications are accepted via the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS).
All applications must be submitted through ERAS and must contain the following:
- Personal statement
- Curriculum vitae
- Minimum of two letters of recommendation
- Dean's letter
- A copy of your USMLE score(s)
- Medical school transcripts
- For International Medical graduates, we also require an Evaluation Status Letter from the Medical Board of California in Sacramento
We offer three categorical positions each year for our future residents to complete both their two years of preliminary General Pediatrics and three years of Child Neurology training at CHLA. Applicants should apply to the Categorical Pediatric Neurology program via ERAS for our 5-year training program. Separate application to General Pediatrics is NOT required. An interview with the CHLA General Pediatrics program will be automatically granted to those selected for an interview with Child Neurology.
There is no cutoff for board scores. We review the entirety of the application including medical school performance, letters of recommendation, and extra-curricular activities when selecting applicants for an interview. All documentation must be received before an applicant's file is reviewed. Applicant files are processed in the order in which they are received.
*We are aware of the impact of the COVID pandemic, including inability to complete some clinical rotations or inability to complete USMLE Step 2 examinations prior to the application cycle. These factors will not affect your consideration for the interview.
Positions Available in the 2022 Match:
There are three PGY1 Categorical positions offered with preliminary training in General Pediatrics at CHLA starting in 07/2022 and CHLA Child Neurology training starting 07/2024
2021-2022 Application Timeline
September 1, 2021 | ERAS applications accepted |
September 15, 2021 | 2022 Match Registration Opens |
September 29, 2021 | Applications are reviewed |
After Receipt and Review of MSPE | Applicants are notified of interview offer |
October 13, 2021 | CHLA Child Neurology deadline for ERAS applications to be received |
October 29, 2021 through January 21, 2022 | Virtual Interviews in conjunction with CHLA General Pediatrics |
January 31, 2022 | Deadline for 2022 Match Registration |
February 1, 2022 | Ranking opens |
March 2, 2022 | Rank Order List Certification Deadline |
March 18, 2022 | Match Day |
Virtual Interviews
In compliance with AAMC, APPD, and AAN guidelines, interview days for the 2022 Match will be virtual. Interviews will take place over Zoom between late October and January. More information regarding the interview process will be provided through email correspondence once an interview offer is made.