We offer a Flexible Neurology Residency Program ("FlexRes") with areas of concentration in laboratory research, clinical research, physician educator, public health, master clinician, or global health. The flexible residency allows adult neurology and child neurology residents to dedicate up to six months during their R4 year to research or other scholarly pursuits, which can provide an excellent stepping-stone to potential research fellowships after residency and establishing a thriving career in academic neurology or neuroscience. Many flexible residency projects have been awarded NINDS-sponsored R25 laboratory research training grants. The research training has prepared residents to successfully apply for K08 or K23 grants early in their academic career. A separate endowment, the Shupin fund, enables residents with an interest in clinical research, or other scholarly interests, to also have 6 months in the R4 year to pursue a project germane to their career interests. Residents begin to apply for the Flexible Neurology Residency during their R2 year of training. Funding is available for all eligible residents to participate.
Intradepartmental clinical and laboratory research committees assist residents in developing clinical or laboratory research projects with a focus on training residents to preform research including selection of a mentor, research project, and developing a fundable research application. Physician-educator, master clinician and global health tracks all have academic physician champions to provide guidance in project development. As part of a Global Health flexible residency experience, residents will be able to leverage the wealth of resources available through the UCSF global health community, including the UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences.