Movement Disorders Fellowship

Overview

Movement disorders

Who we are looking for

We seek the best and brightest candidates who are looking to develop focused expertise within specific areas of movement disorders and who desire to become a recognized leader in the field. We encourage candidates to apply who aspire to become expert clinicians, and who have interests in clinical trials, translational or basic science research.

In the first year, the fellow indulges in training in diverse specialized movement disorders clinics with our faculty, and focus on developing his or her clinical skills, as well as skills in public speaking, presenting, and academic writing.

Most fellows choose to do a second (optional) year, selecting an area of interest and developing a plan to master the skills to be a successful leader in this area. We offer tailored programs in training fellows in the full spectrum of DBS neurology (pre-operative selection and evaluation, intraoperative physiological mapping, and DBS programming) and a variety of sub-specialty interests mentored by one of our faculty. Additionally, we have a wide breadth of research programs in clinical trials, translational or basic science research the fellow can train in.

Education opportunity

Movement disorders fellows at Cleveland Clinic have the opportunity to rotate though faculty clinics with a broad variety of sub-specialization.

Fellows attend a variety of conferences. Neurology Grand Rounds is held once weekly. The Center for Neurological Restoration has a Grand Rounds presentation on a topic of systems neuroscience, movement disorders or functional surgery once a month. Additionally there are once-weekly DBS patient care conferences where functional neurosurgery, movement disorders neurology, psychiatry and neurophysiology meet to discuss prospective DBS patients from all perspectives. Once a month, fellows meet with staff to review interesting patient videos. Additionally, we hold a Northeast Ohio regional dinner twice a year to discuss interesting videos from across several area programs. Once a month, fellows also meet with staff for journal club where they alternate presenting interesting recent clinical movement disorders articles. Fellows and members of the movement disorders faculty also meet weekly with the Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering research groups for a neuromodulation journal club. Our fellows are encouraged to attend national meetings to present their research.

Candidates must have successfully completed or are projected to complete their neurology residency training program at the time of application. Candidates must have successfully passed USMLE Steps 1, 2CK and 2CS in order to apply to our program. Candidates requesting an H-1B visa must also have successfully passed USMLE Step 3. International Medical Graduates must have received a currently valid ECFMG certificate in order to apply to our program.

Application Process

Cleveland Clinic’s Movement Disorder Fellowship uses the SF Match Central Application Service (CAS) for document collection. Applicants for our July 1 start should submit all materials via CAS (individual application documents no longer need to be sent to our program address).

The following materials will be requested of you, by CAS:

• CAS Distribution List (Online Submission).
• Completed CAS application form (Online Submission).
• USMLE Scores or equivalent score reports.
• ECFMG Certificate (applicable to International Graduates).
• Three (3) letters of reference.
• Curriculum Vitae (CV).

The SF Match CAS instruction manual, available through your SF Match online profile, will provide additional information regarding application requirements and the submission of application documents. Each fellowship's application instructions and requirements differ.

Please contact our fellowship coordinator at nieducation@ccf.org.

Clinical Fellows

Outstanding patient care, education of those who serve and research are the three goals the Department of Neurology strives to achieve. As a part of that overall commitment to education, below are the recognized current neurology fellows who value the importance of providing the highest quality of medical care.

2022-2023 Clinical Fellows

Year Two

Oliver Phillips, MD
Medical School: University of Kentucky College of Medicine
Residency: Rhode Island Hospital

Year One

Ekhlas Assaedi, MD
Medical School: Saudi Arabia – Taibah University
Residency: University of Alberta Edmonton - Neurology

Leila Saadatpour, MD
Medical School: Iran – Isfahan University of Medical Sciences
Residency: University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio - Neurology

Living in Cleveland

Cleveland, an ethnically diverse, mid-sized city located on Lake Erie, features a host of cultural attractions, recreational activities, major sporting events and an exploding culinary scene. Cleveland is home to the second largest theater district in the U.S., a park system featuring 23,700 acres in 18 reservations, and is the birthplace of rock ’n’ roll, home to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Cleveland Clinic is located near the University Circle area, which is the cultural epicenter of Cleveland. This area features Severance Hall and the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Museum of Art, several other museums, and Case Western Reserve University. Downtown Cleveland, home to all major sports venues and an exploding culinary scene, is approximately two miles from Cleveland Clinic’s main campus.

• Learn more about the city we call home.

Movement Disorders (Nevada)

The Parkinson’s & Movement Disorders Clinical Fellowship Program is designed to prepare academically-oriented neurologists for a career in patient care and clinical/translational research in movement disorders. The two-year training program is flexible; the specific curriculum and duration are tailored to the Fellow’s background, interests, and career goals.

Who We Are Looking For

We seek the best and brightest candidates who are looking to develop focused expertise within specific areas of movement disorders and who desire to become a recognized leader in this rapidly expanding subspecialty field of clinical neurology. We encourage candidates to apply who aspire to become expert movement disorder clinicians, and who may also have interests in clinical trials, translational or basic science research.

In the first year, the fellow indulges in training in diverse specialized movement disorders clinics with our faculty, and focus on developing his or her clinical skills, as well as skills in public speaking, presenting, and academic writing.

In the second year, we encourage fellows to select an area of interest, developing a plan to master the skills to be a successful leader in their narrower area. We offer tailored programs in training fellows in the full spectrum of deep brain stimulation (DBS) neurology (pre-operative selection and evaluation, intraoperative physiological mapping, and DBS programming), neurotoxin injections, neuro-rehabilitation, and a variety of sub-specialty interests mentored by one of our faculty. Additionally, we have a wide breadth of research programs in clinical trials, translational or basic science research the fellow can train in.

Patient Care

One aspect of the fellowship is supervised patient care to develop specialized expertise in the diagnosis and management of Parkinson's disease (PD) and related disorders. Fellows participate as a member of a multi-disciplinary care team that evaluates and treats a large number of patients. We have multi-disciplinary patient care meetings to determine candidacy for advanced treatments such as DBS, Duopa, MR-guided Focused Ultrasound (Exablate), and other advanced treatments. There are two separate patient management meeting series to that effect: one locally at the Ruvo Center with the local team only and one with main campus Cleveland Clinic and the multidisciplinary movement disorder team there. We also have case conferences outside of the advanced treatment-oriented patient management meetings (locally). Medical neurology visits cover a wide spectrum of issues, including diagnosis, disease management, management of symptoms and psychosocial issues, and evaluation for potential participation in experimental therapy protocols. We predominantly see patients with PD and related CNS disorders. It is possible to arrange time in other areas, such as neuroradiology or functional neurosurgery, to gain expertise in a variety of movement disorders.

The Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health is a tertiary care center that provides consultation to health care professionals worldwide, and principal continuing care for patients in Nevada and surrounding states, focusing on neurodegenerative disorders of Dementia, Movement Disorders and Neuroimmunology/Multiple Sclerosis. The Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Program cares for approximately 1500 patients annually. The clinical team is comprised of 2 Movement Disorders Fellowship Trained Neurologists and 2 Advance Care Providers, 3 Movement Disorder Nurses, 2 Social Workers for counseling and support services, physical/occupational/speech therapists who have obtained certified specialty training in movement disorders, a music therapist, neuropsychiatry and neuropsychology staff, including complimentary mental health counseling, and a dedicated outreach and education team. Our center provides comprehensive care for patients with PD and Related Disorders in a community-based academic setting. Besides our general movement disorder clinics, we have a multi-disciplinary Huntington Disease Clinic, DBS clinic, Neurotoxin Injection Clinic, and a soon-to-launch Ataxia Clinic. We are also a leader in telemedicine for Movement Disorders.

Resources include a dedicated imaging center with on-site 3T MRI, high-resolution monitors for viewing images obtained on any CCF scanner, and workstations for quantitative image processing. We also have a dedicated optical coherence tomography unit.

The Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Program at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health is a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence, a CurePSP Center of Care, a Lewy Body Association’s Research Center of Excellence (RCOE), a Parkinson Study Group (PSG) accredited clinical study site (with both movement disorder faculty members involved in the fellowship training program being PSG credentialed investigators). The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health is also an NIH Dementia with Lew Bodies Consortium (DLBC) site.

Experience in Clinical Trials

The other potential focus of the fellowship is training in clinical research, most often experimental therapeutics. In addition to clinical training, Fellows pursuing clinical research training divide their time between participation as a co-investigator in ongoing trials and conducting independent research. We participate in a large number of PD and other movement disorder clinical trials. In some trials, Fellows serve as an Examining Physician to develop expertise in a standardized neurologic examination, calculating rating scales such as the Movement Disorder Society’s Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), and performing other standard scales in movement disorders. In other research studies, Fellows may serve as Treating Physician to become familiar with issues involved in patient management within the constraints of a protocol. Besides clinical trials, we are a site for several pivotal natural history protocols, including the Michael J Fox Foundation’s Parkinson Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI). Fellows gain experience in research study management and, in the second year when fellows have demonstrated appropriate development of skill and interest, implementation by serving as the de facto Site Principal Investigator for a clinical trial under staff supervision. Responsibilities include composing the consent form, preparing IRB correspondences, reviewing the budget, coordinating contract negotiation, managing other regulatory documents, supervising patient recruitment, planning study visits, developing source documents, and working with data coordinators and study monitors to resolve queries. Fellows demonstrating expected progress will be able to reach sufficient experience to qualify for PSG credentialed investigator status.

The Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health PD & Movement Disorder Program infrastructure includes research nurses, data coordinators, and administrative support personnel. All of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health professional staff members participate in clinical research projects (as Principal Investigator or a co-investigator).

Clinical Research

All fellows pursue academic activities, including scholarship in the form of publications, presenting at national conferences, and education. Although research is not the primary focus during year one of this clinical fellowship program, Fellows prepare at least one manuscript for publication even in year one, participate as a co-investigator in clinical trials to gain some exposure to clinical trial conduct, and carry out a focused research project. There are also opportunities to collaborate with Main Campus in Cleveland on research projects.

Education Opportunity

Movement disorders fellows at Cleveland Clinic have the opportunity to rotate through faculty clinics with a broad variety of sub-specialization.

Fellows attend a variety of conferences. Neurology Grand Rounds is held once weekly. The main campus Center for Neurological Restoration has a Grand Rounds presentation on a topic of systems neuroscience, movement disorders or functional surgery once a month. Las Vegas fellows are encouraged to attend these main campus Grand Rounds virtually. Additionally, there is a mandatory 30-week course our movement disorder fellows have to complete as part of their educational curriculum, called “Fundamentals of Clinical Research”, which is a formal educational program on good clinical practice and all fundamental training modules necessary to conduct clinical research. The course is maintained by main campus Cleveland Clinic, but available virtually to fellows training at our Las Vegas campus. Also, fellows have the opportunity to spend time with Center for Neurological Restoration (CNR) movement disorder staff on main campus, as well as other multidisciplinary and research staff there, as both part of the curriculum in the beginning months starting the fellowship and optionally as an elective rotation later on.

Once a month, fellows also meet with staff for journal club where they present instructive and relevant recent clinical movement disorders themed publications. Fellows and members of the movement disorders faculty also meet monthly with our imaging research group to review our imaging research efforts in PD and movement disorders. Our fellows are encouraged to attend national meetings to present their research.

Candidates must have successfully completed or are projected to complete their neurology residency training program at the time of application. Candidates must have successfully passed USMLE Steps 1, 2CK and 2CS in order to apply to our program. Candidates requesting an H-1B visa must also have successfully passed USMLE Step 3. International Medical Graduates must have received a currently valid ECFMG certificate in order to apply to our program.

Download our Fellowship Brochure

Application Process

Beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year, Cleveland Clinic Nevada’s Movement Disorders Fellowship will be using the SF Match Central Application Service (CAS). Applicants for our July 1 start should submit all materials via CAS.

This fellowship name and identification through SF Match is: #8168

Cleveland Clinic Nevada, Adult Neurology, Clinical and Research

Movement Disorders Fellowship

The following materials will be requested of you, by CAS:

• CAS Distribution List (Online Submission).
• Completed CAS application form (Online Submission).
• USMLE Scores or equivalent score reports.
• ECFMG Certificate (applicable to International Graduates).
• Three (3) letters of reference.
• Curriculum Vitae (CV).

The SF Match CAS instruction manual, available through your SF Match online profile, will provide additional information regarding application requirements and the submission of application documents. Each fellowship's application instructions and requirements differ.

This is a time of rapid advances in the basic understanding of the PD disease process leading to the emergence of an increasing number of treatment options. Many institutions are trying to recruit someone with this sort of training.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Living in Las Vegas

While many Las Vegas newcomers are awed by the nightlife and world of entertainment options, they are even more delighted with the myriad of housing options available citywide. Whether you are looking for rural seclusion, a lush, private master-planned community or a high-rise living on the Las Vegas Strip, you will find the options endless.

Clark County contains Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas, which are the three biggest cities in Southern Nevada. Clark County's population based on the most recent U.S. Census figures indicates we have reached nearly two million residents.

Las Vegas is known as the entertainment capital of the world and over the last couple of decades has garnered accolades for its fast-growing population, entrepreneurial atmosphere, unlimited housing and vast employment options. Las Vegas continues to expand its non-gaming industry base and is becoming a notable education and research community.

Henderson has been consistently measured as one of the fastest-growing communities in the nation. Las Vegas' little sister, Henderson has a population of just over 250,000. Just south of Las Vegas, Henderson is a vibrant suburb. Created for Basic Magnesium, Inc. defense plants during World War II, Henderson continues to evolve with the addition of its own entertainment and recreation. Henderson's main attraction is Lake Mead, the world's largest man-made lake and home to Hoover Dam.

North Las Vegas is the third fastest-growing city in the nation with a population exceeding 200,000, and it is a vibrant and independent city. A proactive city government has led the way in creating a technology hub in the area. The city is home to the bulk of Southern Nevada's manufacturing facilities.

Located in the southeastern part of the valley, 25 miles from downtown Las Vegas and 10 miles outside of Henderson lies Boulder City, home of the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead National Recreation Area. This small community preserves the charm of small town U.S.A. and is just minutes from one of the most exciting cities in the world. Controlled growth and thoughtful planning make Boulder City an ideal choice for those seeking a hometown free from gaming.

You might choose the mountain communities located in west and southwest Las Vegas. Mountain's Edge, Summerlin and Centennial Hills are all planned neighborhood communities that offer amazing vistas and landscapes. Southern Highlands in southwest Las Vegas is one of the newest areas near the airport and the trendy "south" Strip. You might prefer more established communities in the heart of the city near the Strip and resort corridor in Paradise Valley. There are also beautiful communities in Henderson just south of Las Vegas featuring championship golf courses and country clubs such as Green Valley Ranch, MacDonald's Highlands and Seven Hills.