Functional Neurosurgery Fellowship

The Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery (SFNS) Fellowship at the University of Virginia is a one-year, CAST-accredited program that provides advanced subspecialty training in the diagnosis, evaluation, and surgical management of neurological disorders through stereotactic and functional techniques. This fellowship is directed by Dr. W. Jeffrey Elias and Dr. Shayan Moosa.

SFNS is devoted to the application of stereotactic and physiological methods—including framed and frameless navigation systems, electrophysiological recording, and electrical stimulation—for both localization and treatment of targets within the central and peripheral nervous systems. Functional neurosurgery encompasses surgical strategies that alter nervous system activity—either via ablation or neuromodulation—to treat complex neurological diseases such as movement disorders, epilepsy, chronic pain, spasticity, neurodegenerative diseases, traumatic injuries, and psychiatric conditions.

Educational Goals and Experience
This fellowship is designed to complement foundational neurosurgical training and foster advanced clinical and technical expertise in SFNS. Fellows will engage in a structured, full-time educational experience that includes:
• Comprehensive inpatient and outpatient patient care
• Advanced diagnostic and imaging modalities
• Integration of operative and non-operative therapies
• Hands-on surgical training with progressive clinical responsibility
Fellows are expected to demonstrate competence in patient selection, preoperative planning, intraoperative execution, and postoperative management.

Clinical Exposure and Surgical Training
Fellows will participate in the operative care of a broad spectrum of conditions and will gain significant experience in:
• Deep Brain Stimulation (for movement disorders, epilepsy, pain, etc.)
• Neuromodulation for Pain (spinal cord stimulation, peripheral nerve stimulation, intrathecal drug delivery)
• Epilepsy Surgery (including invasive monitoring and resection)
• Surgical Management of Trigeminal Neuralgia and Hemifacial Spasm (microvascular decompression, percutaneous rhizotomy, neurectomy)
• Surgical Management of Spasticity
• Intracranial Ablation Procedures
-MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound (HiFU)
-Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LiTT)
-Radiofrequency (RF) Ablation
• Peripheral Nerve Surgery

By the end of the fellowship, trainees are expected to demonstrate proficiency and autonomy in each of these domains.

Research and Scholarly Expectations
The program offers robust opportunities for research and academic development. Fellows are expected to engage in scholarly activity and must submit a minimum of two peer-reviewed manuscripts per year during the fellowship year. Opportunities exist for collaboration in clinical trials, device innovation, and translational neuroscience projects through UVA’s well-established functional neurosurgery research infrastructure.

Fellowship Coordinator: Karen Saulle, kes4a@virginia.edu, 434-982-3244