Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center Post-Doctoral Neuropsychology Fellowship

Application deadline is November 1st

The Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center seeks applicants for a two-year clinical neuropsychology fellowship, commencing mid-July - September 1. The fellowship opportunity provides specialized clinical and research training in geriatric neuropsychology.

Required Didactics:

• Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Case Conference: The Division sponsors a monthly 60-minute Consensus Conference in which clinical, neurological and neuropsychological data are reviewed for clinic patients.  An interdisciplinary team, including neurologists, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, and advanced practice providers, review these data to achieve a consensus diagnosis, such as mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease.  Fellows regularly present clinical patients.
• Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Interdisciplinary Diagnostic Case Conferences: Fellows will participate in bi-weekly 60-minute diagnostic case conference for the ADRC clinical cohort participants. Case conference focuses on reviewing clinical, cognitive, and neuroimaging information to provide a clinical diagnosis and biological etiology in collaboration with neurology, neuropsychology, psychiatry, nursing, radiology, and neuroscience.
• Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center Biostatistical Team Meetings: This weekly 60-minute meeting is attended by all trainees and includes the Center’s biostatistical team. The meeting format includes (a) reviewing and discussing new research proposals, (b) reviewing preliminary descriptives, and (c) discussing hypothesis testing results. The group format provides trainees exposure to a diverse range of methodological and statistical approaches (e.g., to date, we have projects using logistic regression, general estimating equations, general linear mixed models, meta-analysis, factor analysis, and item-response theory). Trainees gain knowledge from discussions in selection and application of statistical methodologies.
• Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center Clinico-Pathological Conference: This monthly 60-minute interdisciplinary conference includes neurology, neurosurgery, radiology, neuroscience, psychiatry, and pathology. Cases are presented from clinical or research participants throughout the entire Center who have undergone autopsy through the Vanderbilt Medical Center brain banks. Fellows will present clinical data and have the opportunity to review pathological information for diagnostic confirmation.
• Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center Guest Lecture Series: The Center hosts a lecture series for a distinguished national or international guest lecturer to visit for 2 days during the academic year. During each visit, trainees interact with the guest lecturer in a 2-hour private round-table discussion where trainees present their research ideas and receive feedback from the distinguished guest. Interaction with these nationally and internationally recognized experts in AD and cognitive aging offers trainees the opportunity to network with leaders in the field and receive feedback on their ideas from experts external to our campus.
• Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center Interdisciplinary Alzheimer’s Disease Journal Club: This 90-minute monthly journal club critically reviews cutting-edge research on topics spanning basic, translational, and clinical science related to neurodegeneration and dementia. Trainees take turns presenting articles with primary and affiliate faculty facilitating the meeting discussion around a selected topic within their area of expertise. The fellow will lead a journal club annually.
• Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center Works-in-Progress Workshops: This 60-minute weekly meeting offers an informal venue for interdisciplinary trainees and faculty across Vanderbilt to share ideas and foster new collaborations to promote interdepartmental and transdisciplinary relationships. The format involves reviewing and critiquing grant ideas, hypotheses, and content. Periodically, new faculty will present their expertise and ongoing research activities, followed by a group discussion.
• Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Association Annual Symposium: Postdoctoral fellows will present their research annually at the Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Association symposium. This event offers excellent networking opportunities with local scientists and potential research collaborators as well as opportunities to hone research presentation skills and receive feedback on research activities.

Optional Didactics:

• Department of Neurology Grand Rounds: The Department of Neurology Grand Rounds consists of conferences, lectures, and seminars that cover a range of topics in both basic and clinical neuroscience and provide opportunity to interact formally and informally with faculty, fellows, and senior residents. Grand Rounds occurs weekly, on Friday morning. Once a month, Grand Rounds is combined with Neurosurgery, Neuropathology, and Neuroradiology.
• Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds: Psychiatry Grand Rounds are intended for students, residents, faculty, and community physicians. Psychiatry Grand Rounds are held weekly on Thursday morning.
• Brain Cuttings: The Department of Pathology holds brain cutting seminars for residents and other trainees. These seminars include review of gross pathology, anatomy, and preparation of tissue for histopathology. Cases are varied in age and pathology. Seminars occur weekly on Wednesday mornings.
• Department of Neurology Educational Conferences: Dedicated educational conferences are held at noon each Tuesday (basic sciences), Wednesday (clinical neurophysiology), and Thursday (clinical neurology). A Chairman’s conference is also held on Thursday morning, just prior to the noon session. There is a Stroke conference each Wednesday morning, and various subspecialty conferences are scheduled intermittently. Journal Club meets twice monthly, and research dinners are held quarterly for informal discussion of basic and clinical sciences.
• Vanderbilt Augmenting Scholar Preparation and Integration with Research-related Endeavors (ASPIRE) Program Coursework: The Vanderbilt ASPIRE program, established from a prestigious 5-year, $1.2 million NIH Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Award (DP7-OD018423), offers outstanding training resources to biomedical postdoctoral scholars. Offerings include a 5-month course, Introduction to the Principles & Practice of Clinical Research, directed by NIH’s Clinical Center, which highlights epidemiologic methods, study design, protocol preparation, patient monitoring, and quality assurance; as well as a Practical Strategies for Strong Writing course that focuses on enhancing scientific writing and communication skills.
• Center of Science Communication: The Center for Science Communication at Vanderbilt aims both to help authors of basic biomedical research publish better papers in better journals and to help potential editors gain experience and improve their skills.  The Center offers manuscript studios, one-on-one consulting, workshops and lectures, and customized help to potential editors.
• VUIIS Scientific Communication Seminars: In this seminar series, we explore scientific communication, a key component of the scientific process linking an idea to a published result: from formulating, describing, and defending a research plan; to communicating results in talks, posters, and journal articles.
• Clinical and Translational Scientist Development: Continued medical discovery and its translation into improved patient care depend on the continued development of well-trained physician and PhD-scientists. Over the last few years, the number of young scientists with career development funding at Vanderbilt and nationally has grown exponentially due to the success of institutionally- and NIH-funded career development programs. The Office for Clinical and Translational Scientist Development provides an integrated career development program for all physician-scientists, regardless of their scope of research, and for PhD-scientists engaged in translational or clinical research.
• VUIIS Career Development Series: The aim of this class series is to provide education in non-academic topics that are critical to success in the sciences and engineering. The seminars occur on an approximately quarterly basis and will include a variety of formats (e.g., lecture, panel discussion). Future topics will include “Finding a Job in Academia”, “Finding a Job in Industry”, “Gender Issues”, “Grant Writing”, and “Making a Successful Transition to Faculty Rank.”