Our two- or three-year fellowship trains fellows to become clinicians with expertise in the diagnosis and management of patients with demyelinating disease. Fellows learn about designing clinical trials, analyzing the results, and implementing the studies. Our graduates typically have many employment offers, including academic, private practice, and other research opportunities.
Fellows gain exposure to a large number of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients of varying ages, disease courses, and severity. Typically, fellows provide one of the disease-modifying therapies. Fellows follow patients over the course of their illnesses, monitoring their response to treatments for acute exacerbations and to disease-modifying therapies. Currently, we see approximately 6,000 follow-up patients and 500 new patients each year.
Curriculum
In addition to doing the initial work-up and following patients, fellows are the principal physician for these patients, under the supervision of the attending faculty, with fellows taking on increasing independence as appropriate. Fellows are also responsible for educating other house staff including neurology residents, interns, and medical students.
Fellows work with an interdisciplinary team of neuroradiologists, advance practice MS nurse practitioners, a neuropsychologist, social workers, a clinical trial coordinating team, senior MS fellows, and a neuroimaging group. We have affiliations with members of the Neuroradiology, Rehabilitation, Urology, Psychiatry, Oncology, Neurophysiology, and Neuro-ophthalmology Departments as well. We also enjoy state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging facilities, including a 7T research magnetic resonance imaging scanner.
Research
The fellowship has a strong research component. We participate in many clinical trials of new agents or new approaches to multiple sclerosis, including trials of disease-modifying agents for various forms of MS and clinically isolated syndrome, as well as trials of symptomatic therapies and treatment of acute exacerbations. Not only do we take part in multi-center clinical trials, but we also design and implement major studies and serve as the coordinating center for several more.
By working on a clinical trial, fellows learn all aspects of clinical trial design, implementation, and analysis. You gain an understanding of the regulatory requirements of clinical trials (e.g., interactions with the Institutional Review Board, obtaining an investigational new drug exemption from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) and have direct experience using the Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale, the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite, and other scales often required by various protocols. You can expect to work with clinical trial coordinators and three monitors who comprise our clinical research team.
While this is a clinical fellowship, you do have access to neuroimmunology and glial cell basic science laboratories at The Mount Sinai Hospital, including those of Drs. Sam Horng and Patrizia Casaccia, both of whom have appointments within the Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center. Fellows acquire a thorough grounding in the basic neuroscience of demyelinating disease and a framework for translating basic science insights into clinical paradigms.
In addition, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai now has a program leading to a Master’s Degree in Clinical Research that is available to MS Fellows as part of the Clinical Curriculum Research Training Grant.
Faculty
Our faculty belongs to The Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis and has extensive training in the disease.
Gretchen K. Mathewson, FNP-BC, CMSN
Current fellows:
Jasmin Patel, MD
Jamie Nichols, MD
Neha Safi, MD
Amit Kohli, MD
Elizabeth Daphne Verter, MD
How to Apply
To be considered, you should have completed an approved neurology residency or equivalent and be eligible for licensure in the State of New York.
To apply, download the application and submit a copy of your curriculum vitae, three letters of recommendation, and a personal statement to the Program Coordinator and Program Director. The fellowship begins on July 1 and we recommend you submit your application before January 1 of the year prior to starting. We conduct interviews with selected candidates soon after we receive the applications.