Vascular Neurology Fellowship
The Vascular Neurology Fellowship at Tufts Medical Center in Boston is a one year, ACGME-accredited fellowship in preparation for sub-specialization in the care and management of patients with stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases as well as clinical research, education and quality improvement practices.

About this program

 

We believe in providing our fellows with a broad and balanced clinical training involving acute stroke management, critical care of cerebrovascular diseases, young adult stroke and survivorship, teleneurology, neurosonology, secondary stroke prevention, and stroke recovery and rehabilitation. We have at least 300 stroke admissions each year along with a busy consultation service and outpatient practice. 

We offer one fellowship position each year for a 12 month training period. This fellowship is part of the NRMP Match.
Contact info
user
Karlee Pedemonti, MS
Education Manager, Neurosciences

Goals

Below is an outline of the Vascular Neurology Fellowship at Tufts Medical Center's curriculum and fellow responsibilities: 

  1. Evaluation and management of Stroke Codes in the Emergency Department and inpatient wards
  2. Coordination and case selection for patients undergoing intra-arterial therapy for acute ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion
  3. Supervision of inpatient management of patients with stroke and cerebrovascular diseases on the Neurology Service and other inpatient services
  4. Vascular Neurology consultations in the Neuro Critical Care Unit, other ICUs, and inpatient medical and surgical services
  5. Outpatient Vascular Neurology clinics (precepted by Drs. Thaler and Leung)
  6. Night call (from home) for at least 3 months but no more than 6 months (supervised by Drs. Thaler and Leung)
  7. Interpretation of advanced imaging studies including brain MRI and MRA, CT angiography, digital subtraction angiography
  8. Interpretation of neurosonology studies (transcranial Doppler ultrasound)
  9. Cerebrovascular Disease Conference (including Stroke Journal Club, Stroke Case Conference, Neurosonology and Neuroradiology)
  10. Teaching residents and medical students on the hospital wards and in teaching conferences
  11. Participation and enrollment for ongoing stroke clinical trials
  12. Develop projects for clinical or translational research, write and submit manuscripts, and/or develop educational or quality improvement initiatives
  13. Maintenance of the Tufts Stroke Registry and longitudinal care coordination
  14. Electives in Teleneurology, Neuroradiology, Neurovascular Surgery, Neuro-Rehabilitation, etc.

Academic career development

We are interested in helping you develop your career as a Stroke Neurologist in any setting, but we have the resources, experience, and interest in helping you develop an academic career pathway if that is your calling.

We have several Neurologists and colleagues in associated departments who are interested in having fellows lead research projects and provide mentorship for the development of your own areas of research. We can also provide guidance and mentorship regarding activities related to quality improvement and education.

Research

Our Neurology team is always looking for ways to improve medicine. Right now, our researchers are studying neuromuscular diseases, stroke, and fatigue in patients with high grade glioma. To view all of our on going research, visit our webpage.

Salary, benefits + other policies

The fellowship provides a salary commensurate with the PGY level, adjusted by the hospital if needed for cost of living. The fellow has 4 weeks of paid vacation and is encouraged to attend at least one academic conference per year.

Additional policies:

All fellowship activities will be supervised by a Neurology attending. Moonlighting is prohibited during the Vascular Neurology fellowship.

Faculty
Neurology faculty
  • Emiliya Melkumova, MD, Fellowship Program Director
  • David E. Thaler, MD, PhD, Chairman, Fellowship Program Director
  • Lester Y. Leung, MD, Fellowship Assistant Program Director, Quality & Safety Director
  • Joshua Kornbluth, MD, Neurology Critical Care
  • Deborah Green-LaRoche, MD, Neurology Critical Care
  • Xuemei Cai, MD, Neurology Critical Care
  • Bryan K. Ho, MD, Attending Neurologist
  • Suriya Jeyapalan, MD, MPH, Attending Neurologist
  • Joel Oster, MD, Attending Neurologist
  • Mithila Vullaganti, MD, Attending Neurologist
Associated faculty
  • Adel Malek, MD, PhD, Chief of Neurovascular Surgery
  • Daniel Do-Dai, MD, Chief of Neuroradiology
  • Harprit Bedi, MD, Neuroradiology
  • Neel Madan, MD, Neuroradiology
  • Zachary W. Bohart, MD, Neuro-Rehabilitation

Current fellow + graduates
2023-2024
Firas Al Shakarchi

Firas Al Shakarchi, MD
Medical School: University College Dublin School of Medicine and Medical Science
Residency: St Louis University School of Medicine Neurology Program
2020-2021
Mohammed Al Dulaimi

Mohammed Al-Dulaimi, MD
Medical School: University of Baghdad College of Medicine
Internship: St Elizabeth’s Medical Center
Residency: Tufts Medical Center Neurology 
Post Fellowship: Neurocritical Care Fellowship at Yale School of Medicine
2017-2018
Sonja Chaparala

Sonja Chaparala, MD
Medical School: St. George's University
Internship and Residency: Allegheny Health Network
2016-2017
Emiliya Melkumova

Emiliya Melkumova, MD
Residency: New York Medical College at Westchester
After Graduation: Faculty, Tufts Medical Center
2013-2014
Hassanain Toma

Hassanain Toma, MD
Residency: University of Kansas Medical Center
After Graduation: Fraser Health Authority, BC
2012-2013
Dmitri Kolychev

Dmitri Kolychev, MD
Residency: Tufts Medical Center
After Graduation: ECU Physicians, North Carloina