Setting and training facilities

The primary training location will be in OHSU Adult Neurology and the OHSU Brain Institute. OHSU is Oregon’s only public academic health center, ranked as the number 1 hospital in Oregon, and ranked in the top 50 of all U.S Neurology departments according to the 2022 U.S News & World Reports. With a primary campus nestled in the West Hills of scenic Portland, Oregon, OHSU is a system of hospitals and clinics across Oregon and SW Washington focused on higher learning that includes schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, and public health.

Fellow’s primary placements are split between the Layton Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Center and the OHSU Parkinson’s Center of Oregon and Movement Disorders Program. The Layton Center is one of several dozen NIA Alzheimer’s Disease Centers in the U.S. and the only one of its kind in Oregon. The Layton Center contains multiple clinical and research cores aimed at improving care for older adults. The OHSU Parkinson’s Center of Oregon (PCO) and Movement Disorders Program has been named a Center of Excellence by the Parkinson’s Foundation, the Lewy Body Dementia Association, and the Huntington’s Disease Society of America. It is designated a CurePSP Center of Care.
 

Program structure and competencies

The program’s goal is to train fellows to an advanced level of competence with the aim of pursuing board certification in clinical neuropsychology, with a primary emphasis on the assessment of older adults and related neurodegenerative disorders. Approximately 80% of the fellow’s responsibility involves clinical activities, 10% conducting research, and 10% educational activities such as seminars and case conferences. Fellows are expected to engage in neuropsychology-related research within the OHSU Department of Neurology. Our department is involved in numerous large-scale funded projects examining healthy aging, movement disorders, and dementia in older adults. 

Clinical opportunities

Fellows are embedded with the Department of Neurology, with clinical opportunities in the outpatient Neurology, OHSU Deep Brain Stimulation Clinic, and longitudinal aging studies associated with the Layton Center. Fellows are expected to independently perform clinical interviews, test administration, scoring, interpretation, report writing, and feedback to patients, although supervision will be provided.

The Layton Center and PCO are primary rotations, and fellows will have dedicated time to work in these clinics throughout the duration of the fellowship. Fellows and core faculty work collaboratively to determine additional elective rotations. Evaluations are primarily outpatient, with possible training opportunities for intraoperative language mapping associated with the OHSU Awake Craniotomy Program, cognitive screening associated with High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound, neuropsychological evaluations within the Department of Psychiatry, and other specialty clinics.

Didactics and team meetings

Fellows have the opportunity to participate in multidisciplinary team meetings and neuropsychologyrelated didactics. Possible opportunities include:

Neuropsychology didactics
Fellows attend the VA Portland Neuropsychology Clinic seminar and OHSU Neuropsychology seminars. Examples of past seminar topics include functional neuroanatomy, assessment of aphasias, psychometrics, and multicultural factors in assessment.

Parkinson’s Center of Oregon Journal Club
Each week, a member of the OHSU Parkinson’s Center team presents on a specific clinical topic or recent research finding.

OHSU Neuropsychology Case Conference
Initially conceptualized and led by our own Dr. Murial Lezak, the monthly OHSU case conference continues to provide neuropsychologists in the community the opportunity to present clinical cases and collaborate on their conceptualization.

Neurology Grand Rounds
Offered weekly, the Neurology Grand Rounds series invites leaders within their respective fields to present on neurological conditions and related innovations in clinical care.

Deep Brain Stimulation Case Conference
The OHSU Brain Institute’s multidisciplinary DBS team meets weekly to review clinical data and discuss appropriate DBS targets for patients with Parkinson’s disease or essential tremor. Neuropsychology fellows are provided the opportunity review neuropsychological findings with the team and contribute in clinical decision making.

Parkinson’s Center of Oregon Virtual Rounds
OHSU neurology MD fellows present their recent movement disorder cases, including video of patient motor symptoms, and the team discusses diagnosis and treatment.

Layton Center Clinical Pathology Conference
Neurologists provide the clinical background for patients seen in the Layton Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Center, review the longitudinal neuropsychological findings, and the clinical pathologist reviews pathological findings and provides an autopsy-confirmed dementia diagnosis.

The Layton Center Clinical Case Conference
The OHSU neurology team reviews clinical cases on a weekly basis and provides consensus diagnosis on the patients who are treated at the Layton Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Center. 

Supervision and evaluation

Supervision will include both formal and informal components, including weekly one-on-one supervision with primary or rotation supervisor. Both primary supervisors are board-certified clinical neuropsychologists by the American Board of Professional Psychology. Fellows also have the opportunity to conduct tiered supervision with doctoral practicum students.

Fellows are evaluated by supervisors every six months or at completion of the rotation, and a final evaluation is completed at the end of fellowship.

Salary and benefits

The position is an annual full-time salary based on NIH post-doctoral fellowship guidelines, which includes health benefits, two weeks’ vacation, two weeks’ sick time, and paid holidays. The salary for first year fellows for the 2024 training year is $56,484.