Movement Disorders

Program Overview

The major goal of the WVU Movement Disorders Fellowship is to train future movement disorders specialists in patient care, clinical and/or basic science research, teaching and education. The WVU movement disorders fellowship program is the only movement fellowship program in the state of West Virginia. We have one fellow per year with a clinical first-year and an optional second year for a research, education, or clinical focused track, which can be tailored to the specific interests of the individual fellow. The movement disorders fellowship is housed in the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI) and is part of the West Virginia University Department of Neurology.

Clinical Exposure

Fellows will have clinical exposure including but not limited to Parkinson’s disease, cervical dystonia, essential tremor, atypical parkinsonism, Huntington’s disease, Tourette syndrome, and ataxia. Fellows will have the opportunity to have hands-on training with chemodenervation and deep brain stimulation programming. In addition, we have a comprehensive movement disorders clinic featuring a multidisciplinary treatment team composed of neurologists, neuropsychologists, neurosurgeons, and physical therapists to evaluate patients for surgical candidacy regarding deep brain stimulation (DBS) and high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). Fellows will have the opportunity to learn microelectrode recording, neurophysiology, and clinical evaluation of patients in the OR for DBS and for HIFU.

Fellow Schedule

Fellows will rotate in the movement disorders clinic Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm. There is no weekend coverage and no formal call. Fellows can choose to have additional exposure to neuropsychology, memory clinic, or psychiatry with a focus on movement disorders. An example of an “average” fellows weekly schedule is below:

Day:      Monday  AM – Admin/Research

             Monday  PM – Didactics, 3-4pm: video rounds, journal club, lecture (to rotate weekly),

             4-5pm: surgical case conference

             Tuesday AM – HIFU or DBS

             Tuesday  PM – Movement Clinic

             Wednesday  AM – HIFU or DBS

             Wednesday  PM – Botox Clinic

             Thursday AM – Movement Clinic

             Thursday PM – Movement Clinic/Independent Clinic

             Friday AM – Movement Clinic

             Friday PM – Movement Clinic

Movement Clinic encompasses new and return patient visits seen in Dr. Murray, Dr Frey, Dr. Memon, Dr. Escobar or Dr. Patton-Fee’s clinic. Patient population includes PD, ET, dystonia, HD, TS, FMD, NPH, and ataxia, amongst others. In addition, initial and follow up DBS programming visits will occur during these times. Exposure to physical therapy/rehabilitation sessions and neuropsychology sessions with movement disorders patients will also take place during these times

Fellow Didactics 

Lecture: to be given once a month by one of the movement disorder faculty on the monthly movement topic

Video Rounds: to be prepared by the fellow about patients with interesting or unusual phenomenology

Phenomenology Rounds: to be prepared by one of the movement disorder faculty to reflect typical phenomenology associated with the month’s focus topic

Journal Club: to be prepared by the fellow on a topic of their choice based on that month’s focus topic

Movement Disorders Fellows Virtual Lecture series (optional) every Thursday at 7pm with course faculty and movement experts from around the world

The prerequisites for fellowship training include successful completion of an ACGME accredited residency-training program in a relevant discipline (i.e., neurology or pediatric neurology) and board eligibility in the field.

Movement Disorders Fellowship Program Director:

Jessica Frey, MD

Assistant Professor

How to apply:

Please provide the following to David Ward, Movement Disorders Fellowship Program Manager, email: david.ward1@wvumedicine.org; Phone: (304) 418-1100, Ext. 154458.

• Cover Letter
• Curriculum Vitae
• 3 Letters of Recommendation (including one from residency program director)

For information regarding fellowship benefits, please refer to the benefits section under Neurology Residency Training.  All benefits received by residents are applicable to fellows with the exception of travel allowance which is determined by individual fellowship programs.