Explore UAB


Why do research as a Neurology resident?

• Contribute to innovating treatments and patient care
• Be up to date on the latest ideas and principles behind therapies
• Develop critical thinking skills to improve your clinical practice
• Improve communication skills by giving presentations and writing abstracts and papers
• Authorship on publications
• Attend national and international conferences and network with Neurologists with similar interests and obtain new ideas
• Research award presented at annual resident graduation dinner, which includes money and certificate you can proudly hang on office wall


What is Neurology Resident Research? Could include:

• Collecting data, recruiting patients, or analyzing results of clinical research
• Quality improvement projects
• Case reports: documenting rare presentations or treatment responses
• Chart reviews and data analyses
• Meta-analyses
• Examining relationship of biomarkers to clinical phenotypes
• Lab research in biochemistry, cellular, animal models, or human tissue


When would I do research? Research can be performed PGY2-PGY4:

• Will have five, four-week blocks of time for electives during residency:

  • PGY2 – 1 block
  • PGY3 – 2 blocks
  • PGY4 – 2 blocks

• Most research is accomplished during PGY3
• There is the potential to create a schedule for three to six blocks for dedicated 80 percent time for research and 20 percent time for clinical duties (two half-day per week continuity clinics)


How can I start doing research?

• Contact Laura Volpicelli-Daley, Ph.D., Department of Neurology (volpicel@uab.edu)
• We have almost 50 faculty mentors within the following fields that could be a potential research mentor: Neurodegenerative disease, Cerebrovascular, Epilepsy, Neuromuscular, Neuro-oncology, Neuroimmunology. Dr. Volpicelli-Daley will help you contact mentors.