The Center for Brain/Mind Medicine (CBMM) offers a fellowship program that provides intensive training in both classical and newly developing approaches to cognitive/behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry.  Fellows learn how to comprehensively evaluate and treat patients with complex neurobehavioral problems associated with a range of disorders.  A major emphasis is on neuropsychological and biological aspects of dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease.  Fellows are trained in neurobiological bases and treatment of cognitive, behavioral, and neuropsychiatric manifestations of neurodegenerative diseases, MS, epilepsy, stroke, brain tumors, inflammatory and infectious diseases of the central nervous system, functional neurologic disorders, developmental disorders, traumatic brain injury, and other disorders.

Our fellowship program was one of the first to be accredited by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties (UCNS).

Fellows are closely supervised by senior behavioral neurologists and neuropsychiatrists.  They participate in clinical teaching rounds, journal club, behavioral neuroscience seminars, numerous didactic sessions, one-on-one tutorials, and laboratory meetings.  They are expected to engage in research with members of the Center.  Major areas of ongoing investigations include aging and dementia, executive functions, attention, and memory using the tools of basic neurobiology, electrophysiology, fMRI, PET/SPECT, neuropsychiatry, neuropsychology, and cognitive neuroscience.

Our Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment (CART) offers patients the chance to take part in promising new treatment protocols for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or observational imaging studies of aging and AD.  Researchers at CART are also leading prevention trials for cognitively normal adults with biomarker evidence of AD.  We have recently created additional fellowship positions for individuals interested in a joint training program between CBMM and CART that emphasizes the development of expertise in both clinical care and clinical translational research.

Members of our Center have a wide range of expertise. See the list below for some examples: 

• Age-related cognitive/emotional changes (e.g., Dr. Rentz, Dr. Daffner, Dr. Donovan) 
• Attention/executive functions (e.g., Dr. Daffner, Dr. Fogel) 
• Basic biology of AD (e.g., Dr. Selkoe) 
• Clinical trials in dementia and prodromal AD (e.g., Dr. Sperling, Dr. Marshall, Dr. McGinnis, Dr. Gale) 
• Cognitive rehabilitation (e.g., Dr. Willment, Dr. O’Connor, Dr. Reynolds) 
• Dementia with Lewy Bodies (e.g., Dr. Boot) 
• Early diagnosis of AD (e.g., Dr. Sperling, Dr. Rentz, Dr. Amariglio) 
• Electrophysiology/ERPs (e.g., Dr. Daffner) 
• FTLD/Taupathies (e.g., Dr. McGinnis, Dr. Acar) 
• Functional neurological disorders (including psychogenic nonepileptic seizures) (e.g., Dr. Baslet) 
• Geriatric psychiatry (e.g., Dr. Donovan, Dr. Urizar) 
• Healthy cognitive aging (e.g., Dr. Gale, Dr. Daffner) 
• Memory (e.g., Dr. Sperling, Dr. Marshall, Dr. O’Connor) 
• Neuroimaging (e.g., Dr. Silbersweig, Dr. Sperling, Dr. Johnson) 
• Neuropsychiatric/neuropsychological effects of epilepsy (e.g., Dr. Baslet, Dr. Willment, Dr. Bolden) 
• Neuropsychiatric/neuropsychological effects of MS (e.g., ????) 
• Neuropsychiatric effects of inflammatory and infectious diseases (e.g., Dr. Harder) 
• Neuropsychological effects of cancer (e.g., Dr. Meadows, Dr. Green) 
• Promoting healthy cognitive aging (e.g., Dr. Gale, Dr. Daffner, Dr. Willment) 
• Tourette Syndrome (e.g., Dr. Scharf) 
• Traumatic Brain Injury (e.g., Dr. Polich) 

We have also established strong collaborative relationships with our colleagues in neurosurgery, neuroradiology, epilepsy, MS, and medicine, which have enhanced the education of our fellows. 

Kirk R. Daffner MD  – Program Director
Gaston Baslet MD – Program Co-Director

Application Information 

Requirements: Candidates must have an MD with residency training in neurology or psychiatry.  U.S. license and board eligibility/board certification are required. 

Application process: Please send CV, personal statement, and three letters of reference to the director of the fellowship program.  The application can be mailed or emailed. 

Kirk R. Daffner MD (kdaffner@bwh.harvard.edu) 
Center for Brain/Mind Medicine
Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology
Department of Neurology
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
60 Fenwood Road, Floor 9
Boston, MA 02115 

Applications are due by April 15th, 2020 for the 2021 fellowship year.  However, we strongly encourage applicants to submit materials as early as possible.  Fellows will be selected by September 15th, 2020 for a start date of July 1st, 2021. 

For additional information, please visit us in the UCNS/AAN online Fellowship Directory.