The University of Chicago Neurosciences Critical Care Program faculty have distinct interests and backgrounds. Each faculty member has vital contributions to the team that complements the spectrum of each fellow’s experience. Jeffrey Frank MD is Board Certified in Psychiatry & Neurology and the sub-specialty of Vascular Neurology and the sub-specialty of NeuroCritical Care. Dr. Frank is the Director of the Neurosciences Critical Care Program, and he has built two highly respected Neurocritical Care Programs and trained many fellows, national and international. As a well-known leader in the field, Dr. Frank is involved with the shaping of the specialty of Neurocritical Care through a number of key positions at a national level. Outside of his success at establishing successful programs, Dr. Frank is known for his skills as a clinician, educator, and clinical researcher. In addition to his seminal work on brain swelling after stroke, he has focused research interests in cerebral edema, intracranial hypertension, acute stroke (ischemic and hemorrhagic), hypothermia, neurological prognostication, brain death, and neuro-ethics.
Fernando Goldenberg MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery, is a well-respected leader in the field of neurocritical care and stroke, and he brings a unique background and expertise that enriches the program at the University of Chicago. Dr. Goldenberg is internationally known for his clinical expertise in critical care and neurocritical care, and his reputation for unique clinical excellence has been an important source of pride for the Department since his arrival here. Beyond his clinical expertise, Dr. Goldenberg is an acclaimed educator and much loved by all of the students, residents, fellows, and colleagues with whom he interacts. Dr. Goldenberg is the Medical Director of the Neurosciences Critical Care Unit, Co-Director of the Stroke Center, and the Director of the Neurocritical Care Fellowship Program.
Agnieszka Ardelt MD PhD
is Board Certified in Psychiatry & Neurology, the sub-specialty of
Vascular Neurology, and the sub-specialty of Neurocritical Care. Dr.
Ardelt is the Director of the Neurocritical Care Research Laboratory,
which is focused on basic and translational research of therapies to
improve outcome from ischemic stroke.
Neurocritical care is an exciting specialty, and the demand for specialists in our field is growing rapidly. Our fellowship program reflects our group’s enthusiasm for our specialty. Neurocritical care bridges the fields of neurology, neurosurgery, 
neuroradiology, neuroanesthesiology, and critical care medicine, and our fellowship provides wide exposure to these disciplines. One unique aspect of our program is the strong collegiality across all of these specialties within our medical center, and each of our neurocritical care faculty are within the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery. In addition to the outstanding clinical experience our fellowship provides, each fellow will participate in research activities. Special efforts will be made to guide the fellow in designing and organizing his/her own projects that can be realistically accomplished during the two year fellowship. Scholarly product through publications and presentations will be fostered. At the completion of the fellowship experience, University of Chicago Medical Center trained Neurocritical Care fellows are uniquely skilled clinically, have a track record of scholarly accomplishments, and are ready to either build their own program or valuably contribute to an established program.
The fellowship will provide balanced exposure to medical and surgical intensive care with focused experience in neurocritical care, primary and consultative. Acute stroke management is also an important aspect of the fellowship program. In general, the experience will be tailored to the professional goals of each fellow, but it will focus on cultivating clinical experience in neurocritical care. In addition, critical care unit management skills, critical review of relevant literature, writing and speaking skills, and design and participation in clinical research will be nurtured. While the work is intense and rigorous, the work atmosphere is collegial and enjoyable Scholarly productivity is also important during the fellowship experience, and efforts will be made to organize interesting projects with the fellow that can be realistically accomplished during the training period.
The neurocritical care fellowship is organized in a way to assure fellow eligibility for specialty certification in Neurocritical Care through the United Council for Neurological Subspecialties (UCNS).
The first year is dedicated to the establishment of a sound foundation of knowledge and skills relevant to the clinical practice of neurocritical care. There will be a particular focus on the following acute neurological problems:
- Intracerebral hemorrhage
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage
- Cerebral edema
- Intracranial hypertension
- Bain death
- Cerebral aneurysms
- Arteriovenous malformations
- Metabolic encephalopathies
- Guillain-Barre syndrome
- The art of neurological prognostication
- Acute ischemic stroke interventions and thrombolytic therapy
- Stroke related cerebral edema (hemispheric and cerebellar)
The fellow will also develop high quality consultative skills when interfacing with patients with neurological complications in the medical, cardiac, cardiac surgical, general surgical critical care units and the emergency department. In addition, fellows will enhance their confidence with the management of airway compromise, mechanical ventilators, hemodynamic compromise, and the multi-disciplinary management of critically ill patients as well as become skilled in the performance of:
- Brain parenchymal intracranial pressure monitor insertion and use
- Ventricular drain insertion and use
- Central venous catheter insertion
- Endotracheal intubation
- Swan-Ganz catheter placement and use
- Arterial catheter insertion
- Lumbar drain insertion and use
- Controlled hypothermia
The fellows are closely supervised by the neurocritical care attendings. Learning will occur through discussions on daily rounds, independent case-related reviews, daily educational conferences, weekly literature reviews, and, of course, independent self-directed learning. An emphasis on the development of a compassionate approach to patients and families is a theme throughout the fellowship, and core neuro-ethical issues are covered through formal and bedside discussions.
Each fellow’s training experience is tailored to his/her background and fulfilling the criteria necessary for UCNS Certification. For those coming from a Neurology background this will include required rotations outside of the Neurosciences ICU including the Medical ICU, Coronary Care Unit, anesthesia (for airway management experience), and neurovascular ultrasound.
As each fellow becomes comfortable with his/her clinical role, research will become an increasing priority. Fellows will be encouraged to develop independent research projects and will be mentored in this area. We expect our fellows to participate in the writing of several publications during their fellowship as well as presenting at national/international conferences. The fellows will also be exposed to the general administrative management skills necessary to successfully “run” a Neurocritical Care Unit.
We are invested in the long-term success of each of our fellows, and we will do whatever we can to help our fellows achieve their goals.
Fellow candidates must have completed residency training in neurology, neurosurgery, internal medicine, pulmonary/critical care, or anesthesia/critical care. All candidates must have excellent clinical skills, an interest in learning and teaching, and serious scholarly goals as demonstrated in the application, recommendations, and interview process.
Click here to download an application.
Neurocritical care fellowships are highly competitive. It is ideal to begin the application process by early in your PGY-III year (for neurology residents). However, even if it is before that time in your training, we welcome contact from all those potentially interested in fellowship with us so that we can guide your preparations. While it is not required, we encourage interested candidates to do an elective rotation with us. Inquiries about our fellowship or an elective rotation during your residency should be directed to Jeffrey Frank MD and copied to our Administrative Assistant, Judith Maratea. Once we receive this initial contact, we will begin to coordinate the formal application and interview process. Personal interviews and strong recommendations are important, since we put great thought to the ideal blend of backgrounds and personalities for our program.