Education

The Neonatal Neurology and Neurocritical Care Fellowship at UCSF has existed since July 2000. The program was accredited by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties (UCNS) in 2023.  

The UCSF Neonatal Neurology and Neurocritical Care Fellowship is a 1-year clinical program with funding available every other year. Fellows may seek external funding to extend their training to a total duration of 3 years to conduct relevant research in neonatal neurology. 

To qualify for the Neonatal Neurology and Neurocritical Care Fellowship, the applicant must have completed the equivalent of a Neurology Residency with Special Qualification in Child Neurology or a Pediatrics Residency and Fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. Foreign medical graduates must hold an ECFMG certificate, and all applicants must be eligible for a CA state license.  

To apply, applicants must provide a CV, three letters of recommendation (including one from the applicant’s Program Director), and a statement of interest. The applications will be judged by the program training committee and the applicant will be invited to interview either in person or by video conference.  

Please direct all inquiries to the Program Director Hannah Glass and Program Manager Kaitlin Zazueta.  

The overarching goal of the program is to develop leaders in academic medicine that specialize in Neonatal Neurology and Neurocritical Care. The program instructs trainees in the fundamental principles of neonatal neurology, fetal neurology and neonatal neurocritical care, and to help prepare them to pursue a productive academic career in clinical subspecialty leadership, research, or education.  

The training program includes two main components: a required clinical program and an optional research program. Both components are supported by didactic sessions that provide a theoretical basis for the practical work required to achieve these goals. 

Clinical Program

The required clinical program is based upon supervised experience in (1) inpatient neonatal neurocritical care including Intensive Care Nursery and Cardiac ICU, (2) outpatient follow-up of children with perinatal brain injury or congenital onset neurological disorders, (3) fetal neurology, (4) electroencephalogram interpretation, and (5) MRI interpretation.  

The clinical program is designed to train fellows to diagnose and manage neurological problems arising during fetal development and/or the neonatal period, as well as their sequelae.  

Through the clinical program, fellows achieve the following core competencies:  

• Perform age-appropriate neurological examinations.  

• Diagnose and manage common and rare neonatal neurological disorders. 

• Understand the pathophysiology of common conditions and mechanism of action of neuroprotective therapies. 

• Understand proper use of ancillary neurodiagnostic and neuroimaging tools to improve assessment, management, and prognostication. 

• Synthesize available clinical information to predict neurological outcomes. 

• Understand evidence-based medicine as it applies to fetal and neonatal neurology, including current guidelines and practice parameters. 

• Be sensitive to ethical issues that arise in fetal-neonatal neurology. 

• Communicate effectively with families and other health care providers. 

Research Program

The optional research program consists of two paths: (1) structured research time in a laboratory setting, or (2) clinical research including participation in the UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute courses on the principles of clinical research. 

Fellows can extend their training to a total duration of 3 years by securing external funding to conduct relevant research in neonatal neurology.  

Program Director

Hannah Glass, MDCM, MAS 
Professor of Neurology 
[email protected]

Core Faculty

Natalie Chan, MD, MPH 
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 
[email protected]

Dawn Gano, MD, MAS 
Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology 
[email protected] 

Program Manager

Kaitlin Zazueta, MHA 
Fellowship Program Manager 
[email protected] 

  

Francesca Garcia, MD 

Training period:  07/07/2023-07/06/2024 
Medical School: University of New Mexico 
Residency: University of New Mexico, Combined Pediatrics-Child Neurology Residency Program