Train with national leaders in stroke care and research

The Vascular Neurology (Stroke) Fellowship program offers immersive training in advanced cerebrovascular medicine. You’ll train with national leaders in stroke care while contributing to research that shapes the field.

You’ll work alongside vascular neurologists, neurointerventional surgeons and neurosurgeons in the acclaimed Oregon Stroke Center. Training includes experience with diagnostic tools, reperfusion therapies and research.

Our center has provided stroke care and prevention day and night since 1979. The Oregon Stroke Center is also:

• Recognized by the American Heart Association as a Gold Star Plus hospital
• The first stroke telemedicine provider in the region
• A Comprehensive Stroke Center since 2011

Fellowship objectives

Our fellowship is accredited by ACGME and will prepare you for board certification in vascular neurology. We’ll help you build the clinical and research skills you need to advance your career in stroke care.

You will gain clinical experience across care settings:

• We provide medical and interventional therapies at OHSU hospitals and clinics r a major regional referral center, and the Portland VA Medical Center.
• We support 16 hospitals across Oregon and southwest Washington with telemedicine services.

You will learn through:

• Laboratory-based research
• Clinical trials
• Research to improve stroke prevention, rehabilitation and neurointerventional techniques
• National meetings, where you may present your own research

Research

Our research is nationally recognized for advancing stroke treatment and prevention. We enroll more patients in studies than almost any U.S. center. We work with interventional and surgical teams developing and testing devices, drugs and care pathways.

Recent and ongoing research includes:

• Comparing intensive medical management and carotid revascularization for asymptomatic carotid stenosis (CREST-2 trial)
• Evaluating anticoagulant asundexian for secondary prevention after non-cardioembolic stroke or transient ischemic attack (OCEANIC-Stroke trial)
• Studying milvexian to reduce recurrence after ischemic stroke or high-risk transient ischemic attack (LIBREXIA-Stroke trial)
• Testing the safety and neuroprotective potential of SCP776 during thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke (ARPEGGIO trial)
• Comparing RNS60 infusion to placebo as a neuroprotective agent during thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke (RESCUE trial)

Curriculum

We offer 2 fellowship positions each year. Our fellowship is accredited by ACGME and includes 10 blocks for patient care and research and three blocks for electives.

Fellowship rotation blocks

Blocks 1-10

• Sites 1, 2
• Rotations: Inpatient stroke wards and ICU
• Outpatient: 20%
• Research: 10%

Blocks 11-13
These blocks include time for vacation and electives:

• 4 weeks of vacation
• 1 week of carotid ultrasound
• 2 weeks of neurology rehabilitation
• 6 weeks of electives you choose:
  • Adult EEG
  • Cardiology Consults
  • Diagnostic Neuroradiology
  • Interventional Neuroradiology
  • Neurocritical Care ICU
  • Neurohospitalist
  • Outpatient: 20%
  • Research: 10%

How to apply

Apply through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). The position will be filled through the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP).

To qualify, you must first complete an accredited residency program in neurology.

Follow the application requirements on ERAS, which include:

• ERAS application and CV
• A personal statement
• Medical school transcript
• Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE)
• Three or four letters of recommendation
• Certified USMLE/COMLEX scores
• Photo (required before an interview)

International medical graduates must also submit:

• Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) certificate
• Documentation of U.S. Clinical Experience (USCE)

Important dates

We select candidates a year before the fellowship starts. Please check back in fall 2026 for information about 2028 placements.

• 2028 fellowship application deadline is Jan. 31, 2027.
• 2028 fellowship interviews are held January and February 2027.
• 2028 fellowship training starts July 1, 2028.

Interview process

All interviews are virtual and conducted on Thalamus on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. You’ll meet with stroke faculty, the current fellow, a neurointensivist, a neuro-interventionalist and a research coordinator.

Fellowship leader

Helmi Lutsep, M.D. , leads the Vascular Neurology (Stroke) Fellowship. She is a professor of neurology in the department’s stroke and vascular neurology division. As a clinician, Dr. Lutsep focuses on stroke prevention and acute stroke treatment. As a researcher, she focuses on the use of devices in stroke treatment. She has headed safety and publication committees for multicenter clinical trials and has contributed to many peer-reviewed journal articles.