About the Program

We'd like to welcome you to the University of Cincinnati's Epilepsy Fellowship program with this video - UC Epilepsy Fellowship welcome video!

We appreciate your interest in the Epilepsy Fellowship Training Program at the University of Cincinnati Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine.

Our program provides fellows with the skills and knowledge necessary to diagnose and treat the most complicated clinical problems in the areas of epilepsy.  We have 8 adult epilepsy faculty members who have subspecialty training in epilepsy and will provide you with the training necessary to become a skilled physician in those areas.

Many of the Epilepsy Division members are national and international leaders in the field. Dr. Privitera served as President of the American Epilepsy Society in 2016. The AES is the largest organization in the world of professionals involved in epilepsy diagnosis, treatment and research. Dr. Ficker serves as the AES’ fellowship committee director and serves as Chair-elect of the Epilepsy Foundation Professional Advisory Board. Many faculty members have lectured throughout the US and the world.

Clinical expertise

Our clinical expertise is in the evaluation and treatment of seizures, whether medication resistant, new onset, or requiring advanced video/EEG monitoring or surgery. All our faculty have advanced training in epilepsy and EEG.  

The UCGNI Epilepsy Center provides sophisticated evaluation and coordinated medical and surgical treatment of epilepsy. The center’s eight-bed adult epilepsy monitoring unit is the only one of its kind in southwestern Ohio. The unit combines expert neurological, neuropsychological and neurosurgical examination with 24-hour video recordings and EEG monitoring to discover the origin of seizures. Over 5000 patients have been evaluated in our inpatient Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. Advanced strategies like stereo-EEG, ictal SPECT, and laser ablations for surgery have improved both the effectiveness and safety of epilepsy surgery. All surgical cases are discussed in our multidisciplinary conference where experts in Neurology, Neurosurgery, Brain Imaging and Neuropsychology all collaborate to provide our patients the best outcome.

We also provide continuous video/EEG recordings in all the intensive care units of the UC Medical Center so that any patient with altered consciousness can be rapidly evaluated and monitored for the development of seizures or life threatening status epilepticus. We were one of the first centers in the country to offer this service and our early publications on the topic are recognized as seminal work in the field.

The UC Epilepsy Center's New Onset Seizure Clinic provides rapid access to epilepsy specialists for anyone with new onset of seizures or suspected seizures. Our epilepsy specialists see people within a few days to perform a comprehensive evaluation, create a treatment plan and provide education about the disorder. We believe people with a serious problem like a seizure should have access to the top specialists and the best treatments right from the start. Multiple studies in the US show that people with epilepsy wait much too long before they are seen by experts at an epilepsy center.

There are many research opportunities available to enhance your education and help fulfill your career goals. 

Current research focuses on: 

• the effects of stress on seizures and how to block those effects. These clinical studies are supplemented by active animal laboratories aiming to discover the basic mechanisms of stress and how those interact to trigger seizures.  
• the differences between brand name and generic antiepileptic drugs; 
• effects of antiepileptic drugs on women during pregnancy and effects on their babies; 
• EEG detection of seizures in the ICU;
• Development of epilepsy after traumatic brain injury
• several new antiepileptic drugs including newer cannabinoid preparations;
• identifying risk factors for sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP); 
• multiple studies on cognitive function  and epilepsy; 

Throughout the years, our program has trained many excellent fellows who are now practicing epilepsy and neurology in either academic centers or private practice settings.