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INFORMATION FOR

Neurocritical Care Fellowship

Welcome to the Yale New Haven Hospital Fellowship Training Program in Neurocritical Care, accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). We are honored to attract your interest in one of the nation's premier training programs. Our faculty are nationally and internationally recognized for their leadership in advancing research and clinical care in patients with acute neurological injury. During training, you will be exposed to a culture that fosters clinical innovation and nurtures cutting-edge research. You will enjoy learning and practicing in a highly specialized and collaborative setting with close partnerships with Neurosurgery, Emergency Medicine, Trauma Surgery, Pulmonary Critical Care Medicine, Anesthesia, and Neuroradiology. We are privileged to have dedicated neuroscience nurses, respiratory therapists, speech and language pathologists, and advanced practice providers.

A distinctive feature of our fellowship is the rapid but progressive stepwise autonomy that occurs during the two years of training. Fellows will gain proficiency in medical management of general critical care patients, as well as the nuances of advance neuromonitoring for patients with acute brain injury. We offer core rotations in vascular neurology, critical care EEG, neuroanesthesia, medical critical care, surgical critical care, and point-of-care ultrasonography. Fellows have considerable elective time to pursue interests in procedural skills, including additional ultrasound skills, clinical innovation, international work, quality improvement, or independently mentored research projects. Our state-of-the-art, advanced neuromonitoring program offers precision medicine to the spectrum of critically brain-injured patients. In addition to being certified in all procedural skills outlined by the UCNS Fellowship training guidelines, our fellows have an opportunity to place external ventricular drains or quadruple-lumen bolts with our Neurosurgery colleagues. Fellows are an important part of the clinical and research environment at Yale, and we hope to attract fellows who pursue excellence. It is our mission to provide a collaborative, supportive, and invigorating environment, essential for achieving success.

Sincerely,

Rachel Beekman, MD

Fellowship Program Director

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Our Curriculum

The Yale NeuroICU is a 19-bed ICU. Fellows rotate on teams during day and night to provide 24/7 coverage and management to the spectrum of neurology and neurosurgical patients.

  • Team 1 : This fellow rounds on the 14 dedicated NICU beds in SP6-2 with one neurointensivist, 1-2 advanced practice providers, and 1-2 neurology or neurosurgery residents.
  • Team 2: This fellow is typically from vascular neurology, pulmonary critical care medicine, or surgical ICU and provides an opportunity for cross-pollination between specialties. The team 2 fellow manages the five dedicated NICU beds on SP7-1 and all outliers, including consults.
  • Day Float: This fellow primarily handles triage of new patients in the emergency room or decompensating patients on the floor teams who need escalation to the NICU. This fellow works closely with the Team 2 fellow and attending and primarily manages cardiac arrest consults.
  • Night Float: This fellow covers all NICU patients with the support of two advanced practice providers.

The core neurocritical care rotations provide comprehensive training in management of patients with a wide spectrum of severe brain, spine, and peripheral nervous system injuries and diseases. These include traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular diseases, status epilepticus, neuromuscular emergencies, brain tumors, and infectious autoimmune diseases.

Core Rotations

Vascular Neurology (2-4 weeks/year):

During this rotation, the fellow works closely with the acute stroke attending physicians and residents for acute stroke cases that need to be evaluated for acute intervention. Fellows also receive training in telestroke and telemedicine.


Neuroanesthesia and Airway Management (4 weeks/year):

Fellows rotate through the Yale New Haven Hospital Anesthesia Department under the supervision of a dedicated neuroanesthesiologist. Skills include bag-mask ventilation, endotracheal intubation, laryngeal mask airway placement and airway management.


Medical Intensive Care (2-4 weeks):

Our fellows serve as the primary Medical ICU fellows for a team of two residents and one APP. They are supervised by a Pulmonary Critical Care attending physician.


Surgical Intensive Care (2 weeks):

Fellows rotate through the Trauma Surgical ICU, supervised by the Surgical Critical Care or Anesthesia attending physician.


Point-of-Care Ultrasound Education:

Fellows rotate in the Emergency Department, scanning patients under the direct supervision of our ED faculty trained in ultrasonography.


Independent Elective/Selective Time (10-14 weeks):

  • Independent research with faculty mentorship
  • Additional selective experience rotations
    • Critical Care EEG monitoring
    • Interventional Pulmonary Medicine
    • Interventional Neuroradiology
    • Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU)
    • Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit (CTICU)
    • Transcranial doppler ultrasonography
    • Echocardiography

Formal Training

  • Longitudinal general ultrasound training with hands-on workshops and didactics
  • Arterial and venous access training, including use of advanced hemodynamic monitoring
  • Simulation training for code management, brain death assessment and airway skills
  • Hands-on workshops and didactics in emergency airway management
  • Advanced invasive and noninvasive neuromonitoring training, including placement of quadruple lumen bolt monitoring to assess ICP, brain tissue oxygen, cerebral microdialysis and intracranial electrocorticography
  • EVD management across a wide spectrum of disease states, including use of IT-tPA and IT-nicardipine
  • ENLS and ATLS certification

Application

In order to apply to the fellowship, applicants must be eligible for and possess a U.S. State Medical License on the start date of the fellowship (July 1). Due to this requirement, applicants who have attended a non-U.S. medical school must have completed at least one year of training in internal medicine or surgery in an ACGME-approved residency training program in the United States. Additionally, residency training in neurology, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, general surgery, emergency medicine, or internal medicine is required. For a 1-year position, depending on residency training, other requirements may apply.

Fellowship applicants must apply through SF Match. Deadlines are posted on the SF Match website. You must submit a CV, personal statement, three letters of recommendation, USMLE Scores Steps 1, 2, and 3, ECFMG certificate. Please email all inquiries to Sharon DeGenaro.

Conferences

  • Neuro ICU M&M
  • Fellows' Lecture Series
  • Journal Club
  • Research Conference
  • Grand Rounds
  • NSICU Case Conference (monthly)
  • Neurovascular Conference (weekly)
  • Stroke Case Conference (weekly)
  • CC EEG Conference
  • Interesting EEG conference


Faculty

  • Rachel Beekman, MD

    Assistant Professor; Director, Neurocritical Care Fellowship Program, Neurology

    Rachel Beekman began her medical training in her home state of New York at Stony Brook University School of Medicine but has since relocated to New Haven, where she completed her neurology residency and neurocritical care fellowship at Yale New Haven Hospital. Rachel is the first Yale alumni to continue as faculty in the department of neurocritical care. Rachel has a passion for treating survivors of cardiac arrest and is building a multi-disciplinary cardiac arrest program. In her spare time Rachel loves being mom to her two young boys and spending family time at all the beautiful Connecticut parks.
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  • Guido J. Falcone, MD, ScD, MPH

    Associate Professor of Neurology; Academic Chief, Division of Neurocritical Care, Neurology; Director of Clinical Research in Neurocritical Care, Neurology; Training Director, Yale/AHA Bugher Center for Intracerebral Hemorrhage Research, Neurology; Staff Neurointensivist, Neurology

    I am a Neurologist with subspecialty training in Neurocritical Care and Stroke, and an Epidemiologist with expertise in Population Genetics and Big Data. While on clinical duties, I treat critically ill patients that have sustained a significant neurological injury due to ischemic stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage, intraparenchymal hemorrhage, traumatic brain injury, seizures, recent neurosurgery, decompensated neuromuscular diseases, and several others. My research lies at the interphase of clinical neurology, neuroimaging, population genetics and genomic medicine. I am interested in understanding how common and rare genetic variation influences the occurrence, severity, functional outcome and recurrence of stroke, both hemorrhagic and ischemic. Genetic variants influencing these phenotypes can be used for numerous applications, including: (1) identification of novel biological mechanisms involved in causing stroke and determining its severity and outcome, (2) answering non-genetic epidemiological questions using gene mutations as instruments (in the statistical sense of the word), and (3) risk stratification of patients according to their genetic profile. Through the International Stroke Genetics Consortium, I work in close collaboration with numerous investigators interested in stroke genomics from around the world.
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  • Emily J. Gilmore, MD, FNCS, FACNS

    Associate Professor; Clinical Chief, Division of Neurocritical Care and Emergency Neurology, Neurology; Co-director, Critical Care EEG Program, Neurology; Director, Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit, Neurology; Co-director, Neuorotrauma, Neurology & Neurosurgery

    Emily J. Gilmore, MD has been a member of the Division of Neurocritical Care and Emergency Neurology at the Yale School of Medicine and a neurointensivist and critical care EEG attending at Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut since 2012. Dr. Gilmore completed her neurology residency and 3-year combined fellowship at Columbia University where she fostered a clinical and research interest in neuromonitoring. She was one of the first neurointensivists to become board certified in critical care EEG monitoring and was recruited to Yale to help build a state-of-the art Neuro-ICU where technology could be deployed to deliver cutting edge care for patients with acute brain injury. Marrying her clinical and research interests was natural; she was an early recipient of the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI) Clinical Scholars program and the American Brain Foundation Clinical Research Training Fellowship. She currently serves as the site-PI for several national neurotrauma trials and was recently awarded her first RO1 with colleagues from MGH and UTSW to link the relationship between biomarkers of secondary brain injury, treatment, and outcomes in patients with severe TBI. Her overarching research interests center on understanding and translating physiologic biomarkers obtained from invasive and noninvasive multimodal brain monitoring to individualize care that will improve outcomes for patients with acute brain injury. Administratively, in addition to her role as Director of the Neuro-ICU and Director of Neuromonitoring, Dr. Gilmore is the co-Director of Neurotrauma. With colleagues in Neurosurgery, she is building a comprehensive multidisciplinary program that addresses the continuum of care needs, from the acute setting though rehabilitation and recovery, for patients with TBI. Additionally, she co-directs the Critical Care EEG program fellowship and program with Dr. Lawrence Hirsch, serves as the past-chair of the Critical Care EEG Monitoring Research Consortium (CCEMRC) and sits on the scientific advisory board for the NORSE institute.
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  • Jennifer Ahjin Kim, MD/PhD

    Assistant Professor

    Dr. Kim is a critical care neurologist with expertise in quantitative analysis of critical care electroencephalography and neuroimaging.  Dr. Kim graduated from Brown University for her undergraduate and M.D.-Ph.D. degrees. She completed her residency in Neurology followed by a neurocritical care fellowship at Massachusetts General and Brigham & Women's Hospitals. Dr. Kim is dedicated to advancing the early diagnosis and treatment of patients with devastating neurologic injury who are at highest risk for short and long-term complications.  Dr. Kim is applying novel computational methods to the data gathered within the neurologic intensive care unit to predict patients who are at high risk for further injury. Her ultimate goal is to use these predictions to optimize treatment strategies which prevent these complications.
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  • Jessica Magid-Bernstein, MD, PhD

    Assistant Professor of Neurology

    Dr. Magid-Bernstein completed her MD and PhD with a focus in immunology at Rutgers University – New Jersey Medical School in Newark, NJ in 2015. She then went on to complete her medical internship and residency training in Neurology at New York Presbyterian – Columbia University Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in Neurocritical Care at New York Presbyterian – Columbia University Medical Center & Weill Cornell Medicine before joining the Yale Department of Neurology Division of Neurocritical Care and Emergency Neurology in 2021. Dr. Magid-Bernstein is dedicated to taking care of complex neurocritically ill patients during her clinical time in the NeuroICU at Yale. When she is not on clinical service, she is developing a research career focused on understanding the role that inflammation plays in outcomes following intracerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage.
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  • Lena O'Keefe

    Instructor

    Dr. O’Keefe completed her Master of Science in neuroscience with a focus in translational stroke research before going on to medical school at the University of Connecticut. She completed her residency training in neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA followed by fellowship training in neurocritical care at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston. Dr. O’Keefe is dedicated to caring for neurocritically ill patients and their families with the goal of helping them both through devastating times. Her research interests include translational proteomics in stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage. She has a passion for global health that was fostered during her clinical time in Zambia. She is a Connecticut native and enjoys spending time with her family and riding horses.
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  • Nils Petersen, MD/PhD, MSc

    Associate Professor Term; Staff Neurointensivist, Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit

    Nils Petersen obtained his medical degree and a doctorate in neuroscience from Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany. He completed his residency in Neurology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, NY, where he also served as chief resident in his final year. He then pursued fellowship training in Vascular Neurology at Columbia University and simultaneously completed a Master's degree in Patient-Oriented Research at the Mailman School of Public Health. He next completed a fellowship in Neurocritical Care at Massachusetts General Hospital and also obtained certification in Neurovascular Ultrasound from the American Society of Neuroimaging. He is the director of the Yale Cerebral Blood Flow Laboratory, which provides the infrastructure for advanced monitoring of brain physiology. His clinical and research interests are in using ultrasound and novel neuromonitoring modalities to better understand brain blood flow regulation. His ongoing clinical care of patients in the Neurologic Intensive Care Unit and Stroke Service continues to inspire his research pursuits, with the goal of improving patient outcomes and preventing neurologic worsening after acute ischemic stroke.
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  • Morgan Lippitt Prust, MD

    Assistant Professor of Neurology; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health

    Dr. Prust received his MD from Harvard Medical School. He completed residency training in neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham & Women's Hospital, where he served as chief resident in his final year, and completed fellowship training in neurocritical care at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Prust is dedicated to providing the best care to patients and their families who are suffering from acute neurologic illnesses such as brain hemorrhage, stroke, seizure, and traumatic brain injury. His research interests lie at the intersection of neurology, critical care, and global health, and he is passionate about finding ways to improve outcomes from neurologic emergencies in resource-limited settings.
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  • Kevin Sheth, MD

    Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery; Executive Director of the NNCTU and Vice Chair for Clinical and Translational Research in the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery. Director, Yale Center for Brain & Mind Health.

    Dr. Kevin Sheth is a founding Director of the Yale Center for Brain & Mind Health and the Vice Chair for Clinical and Translational Research for the departments of Neurology. and Neurosurgery. He leads prevention efforts in neurologically vulnerable populations and works towards advancing therapies for acute brain injury such as stroke and brain hemorrhage. In pioneering the development of new strategies to treat brain swelling, his work has changed the fundamental approach to brain injury in the ICU and spurred the creation of new technologies in drug delivery and neuroimaging. Highly collaborative, interdisciplinary efforts from the lab have culminated in the first phase III trial to prevent brain swelling in stroke, the first phase III NIH funded prevention trial in brain hemorrhage, and the deployment of the first portable bedside MRI for brain injury in the world. His team at Yale has served as a national model for academic critical care neurology units. In recent years his group has also turned their attention to public health prevention efforts, focusing on cardiometabolic risk factors that can prevent decline in brain health resulting from stroke, dementia, and depression. He is currently a principal investigator for two NIH neuroscience networks, StrokeNet, and SIREN. He is a multi-PI for four additional RO1/UO1 awards from the NIH. Dr. Sheth has served as PI or co-PI for 8 multicenter clinical trials in stroke. He is a winner of the prestigious Robert Siekert Award from the American Heart Association (AHA), the Derek Denny Brown Award from the American Neurological Association and an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI). Most recently, he was the recipient of the Stroke Research Mentorship Award from the American Heart Association. Dr. Sheth is the author of over 300 publications. His work has been showcased in The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, NPR, and CNN. Finally, Dr. Sheth has formed exciting partnerships with entrepreneurs, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device start-ups to bring forward highly innovative solutions. These efforts have resulted in extensive knowledge of FDA pathways, development of phase I-III drug programs, and implementation of new technology into the clinical workspace. The principal theme of his efforts are towards collaboration and an improved understanding of neurological disease.
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Staff

Neurocritical Care