Neurocritical Care

The Emory University School of Medicine Section of Neurocritical Care is directed by Dr. Owen Samuels. The Neurocritical Care fellowship is directed by Dr. David Pearce.

Applications are currently being accepted for positions starting July 1, 2025. There are four fellowship positions offered each year. This is a two-year position through Emory University Hospital and Emory Healthcare.

The Emory Neurocritical Care Fellowship is dedicated to training the next generation of hands on, compassionate, inquisitive, diverse neurointensivists. Our core values involved fostering interpersonal communication, embrace grit and determination and create strong clinicians who will be prepared to practice Neurocritical Care in any situation.

• Cultivating proficient intensivists with a specialization in Neurocritical Care through immersive experiences in high yield multidisciplinary critical care units and organ specific specialties.
• Developing mastery in Neurocritical care through graded responsibility, procedural competency and modeled compassion in the management of patients in multiple high acuity, high complexity and high volume neurointensive care units.
• Solidifying knowledge and skills through carefully designed didactic conferences, simulation experiences, case discussions, medical education and scholarly activity

Emory’s Neurocritical care program is ACGME and UCNS accredited. During this 24-month fellowship program, the first year focuses on multidisciplinary critical care skills and competencies and the second year focuses on Neurocritical Care competencies and skills. The following breakdown of program rotations is geared toward fellows who have completed a Neurology residency. Rotations will vary significantly for fellows from Neurosurgery, Emergency Medicine, Critical Care Medicine, Anesthesia and Internal Medicine backgrounds and will be tailored to specific needs and compliant with UCNS and ACGME certification requirements.

The first year of the fellowship is carefully designed to cultivate a foundation of critical care medicine with a graded introduction to various intensive care units within the Emory and Grady healthcare system.  Fellows are required to participate as integral members of the team with direct patient care involvement when rotating in the Surgical/Transplant ICU, Cardiovascular ICU, Grady Surgical Trauma ICU and Emory St. Joseph Medical ICU. As an introduction to Neurocritical Care, fellows will also spend three months between Emory University Hospital and Grady Memorial Hospital Neuroscience ICUs. Our fellows have continued to find that consultatory rotations in Infectious Diseases and Nephrology are integral to enriching their comprehension and appreciation for related problems that are so prevalent in critical care units. As a commitment to proficient and safe airway management, fellows spend two consecutive months guided by our Neuro-Anesthesiologist, Dr. Alexander Papangelou to learn the fundamental skills of intubation and airway management. During these two months, fellows will also spend time learning ultrasound through multiple modalities, including: Emergency Medicine ultrasound lecture series with hands on training and hands POCUS training with Dr. Erika Sigman, who has developed a Neurocritical care specific curriculum for our fellows.

During the second year, fellows are expected to co-manage the Neurocritical service with the attending to prepare them for independent practice following fellowship. Fellows will learn to collaboratively lead a team of experienced Neurocritical care affiliate providers, Neurocritical care PharmD and learners at varying levels. They will also participate in joint decision making with Neurosurgical and Neurological teams. The team approach to critical care is highly valued in our program and hence honing team leadership skills is crucial to the success of our fellows as future leaders in this field. Fellows will be expected to lead goals of care discussions with families with guidance and feedback from faculty. The clinical responsibilities of the fellow extend beyond the ICU to participation in the Neurocritical care consultation service and patient care triage from outside hospitals. Teaching neurosurgery and neurology residents, affiliate provider trainees and medical students in the NeuroICU is valued and vital to the maturation of our fellows. With early planning, electives in ICU EEG, Bronchoscopy and Stroke are available to fellows during the second year.

Patient care responsibilities include daily critical care management of neurology and neurosurgery patients with a broad spectrum of diseases including high risk post-operative neurosurgical patients, subarachnoid hemorrhage, cerebral aneurysms, ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, brain tumors, subdural hematoma, status epilepticus, neuroimmunologic and neuroinfectious diseases, neuromuscular failure and numerous other diseases. Averaging at about 250 to 300 subarachnoid hemorrhage patients per year, Emory Neurocritical care is one of the largest referral centers for subarachnoid hemorrhage in the country with one of the largest subarachnoid hemorrhage research databases in the country. General critical care management responsibilities including airway management, respiratory failure and ventilator management, prone ventilation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, shock, fluid and electrolyte acid base management fall under the purview of the Neurocritical care fellow guided by our faculty.

• Procedural requirements for the fellows will include:
• Arterial line placement
• Central venous line placement
• Lumbar puncture/lumbar drain
• Airway Management Procedures
• Bronchoscopy
• Administration of moderate sedation
• Interpretation of Transcranial Doppler
• OPTIONAL: Ventriculostomy/ICP monitoring bolt placement, Performing Transcranial Doppler, Paracentesis, Thoracentesis, Placement of Thoracostomy tubes

• Emory University Hospital
• Grady Memorial Hospital
• Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital

The Neurocritical Care Lecture Series is a CME accredited weekly session and required for fellows to attend. These lectures are given by attendings throughout the Emory system, as well as external speakers and intended to provide a comprehensive series on neurocritical care. The series runs over a two-year period. These are held every Thursday from 1:30-2:30pm. During this time we have traditional lectures, but also our monthly M&M. 

There is a complimentary multi-disciplinary critical care lecture series that follows on Thursdays from 3:00-5:00pm. This is also CME accredited and covers broad critical care topics applicable to all critical care specialties. 

During the first quarter of the year we have expanded didactics to include Tuesday sessions serving as a “Bootcamp” to prepare for the year. Once the Bootcamp is over, on Tuesdays we have a developing professional development series throughout the year.

In 2022, Casey Albin and David Pearce founded the Southeastern Regional Journal Club, which is a fellow-led journal club across multiple institutions throughout the region. This is every second Tuesday throughout the year and all second-year Emory fellows present once.

Morbidity and Mortality conferences are held the 4th week of every month embedded within the Neurocritical Care Lecture Series. M&M conferences are intended to be multi-disciplinary and developed by second year fellows with the assistance of David Pearce and Jackie Kraft to help fellows learn to develop appropriate academic lectures prior to independent practice.  

Fellows have the opportunity to attend weekly stroke, vascular neurosurgery, neurosurgery and neurology conferences, as well to enhance their learning experience.

Prerequisite training/selection criteria for successful candidates are as follows:

• Board-eligible and board-certified neurologists/neurosurgeons, anesthesiologists, emergency medicine physicians, surgical intensivists and medical intensivists
• Completion of accredited training program
• Related research, teaching, quality measures and publication history pertaining to Neurocritical care

• 2023
  • Eric Lawson: Assistant Professor, Emory University
  • Caroline Maness: Assistant Professor, Emory University
  • Jay Kinariwala: Pursing an additional fellowship opportunity at Emory University
•  2022
  • Anita Mallya: Private Practice, Northeast Georgia Medical Center
  • Stephen Phillips: Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska
  • Erika Sigman: Assistant Professor, Emory University
  • Jimmy Suh: Assistant Professor, Medical University of South Carolina 
• 2021
  • Casey Albin: Assistant Professor, Emory University
  • Sumaiya Khondker: Private Practice, Hamilton Health, GA
  • Emory Kuo: Private Practice, CAMC Intensivists, West Virginia
  • John Pham: Private Practice, Piedmont Healthcare
• 2020
  • Feras Akbik: Assistant Professor, Emory University
  • Pouya Ameli: Assistant Professor, University of Florida
  • Subin Mathew: Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska
  • Alexis Taylor: Private Practice, Blue Sky Neurology, Colorado
• 2019
  • Tushar Patil: Private Practice, India
  • David Pearce: Assistant Professor, Emory University
• 2018
  • Jackie Kraft: Assistant Professor, Emory University
  • Joao McOneil Plancher: Private Practice, Wellstar Kennestone
• 2017
  • Deepak Baksharan: Private Practice, Wellstar Kennestone
  • David Campbell: Private Practice, Wellstar Kennestone
  • Michael Mendoza: Private Practice, Wellstar Kennestone
• 2016
  • Cederic Pimentel: Assistant Professor, Emory University
  • Scott Saucedo: Private Practice, North Carolina
  • Ofer Sadan: Assistant Professor, Emory University
• 2015
  • Gilbert Mbeo, Wamda Ahmed
• 2014
  • Dustin Rochestie, Lilith Judd
• 2013
  • Arun Sharma, Casey Hall, Vijay Johnson
• 2012
  • Adam Edwards, Subashini Ramesh, Rehan Sajjad, Prem Kandiah
• 2011
  • Arash Afshinnik
• 2010
  • Susan Samuel
• 2008
  • Sam Tsappidi
• 2007
  • Adam Webb
• 2005
  • As’ad Ehtisham  

Tiffany Smith, MA
Neurocritical Care Fellowship Program Coordinator
404-778-3813
Email