The UMN Stroke Research Fellowship is a two-year program with structured clinical, research, and leadership skill development.
Fellowship Structure
- Onboarding (6-8 weeks): Understand research methods and stroke service basics and complete coordinator and scribe training
- Clinical Trials: Gain acute screening and enrollment experience under the supervision of the ACRC and stroke teams
- Research: Collaborate with senior fellows and begin research projects under faculty mentorship
- Clinical Experience: Round and engage in clinical care with the stroke team, including scribe experience
Non-salary support: J-1 Scholar visa application fee support (if needed), access to UMN institutional resources (databases, software, and email), equipment (e.g., monitors, laptops, hotspot), and stipend to attend the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting.
Requirements: Research fellows must excel during their first-year and meet all fellowship milestones to continue into the second year.
- Leadership: Oversee applicant interviews, website updates, REDCap operations, and neuroradiology reviews
- Clinical Trials: Continue to master and hone your coordination of acute care clinical trial enrollment
- Research: Submit conference abstracts to AAN/ISC and prepare manuscripts for publication
- Clinical Experience: Expected to perform at a PGY-1 level on the stroke service, including:
- CT, CTA, and MRI interpretation
- Stroke workups and TOAST classification
Fellowship Components
Clinical Experience
Each week, Stroke Research Fellows join the stroke team at the University of Minnesota Medical Center alongside attendings, residents, and medical students.
Clinical Responsibilities
- Pre-round with residents, present cases to the team, and scribe in the electronic health record.
- Screen patients for non-acute clinical trials (e.g., DISCOVERY, CAPTIVA, ASPIRE) and introduce trials in collaboration with the clinical team.
- Present stroke and neurology topics to students, residents, and faculty.
- Attend weekly stroke didactics, neurocritical care, and neuroradiology conferences.
Research Projects and Program Development
Fellows work independently under faculty mentorship and collaboratively on elements of ongoing or new investigator-initiated research. They also contribute to the operational growth of the Stroke Research Lab.
Research and Operational Responsibilities
- Lead one or more Fellowship domains (examples: REDCap, website development, conference scheduling, applicant screening).
- Present research at local and national conferences.
- Advance projects toward manuscript submission and publication.
- Collaborate with co-fellows and faculty to improve program operations.
Acute Care Research Coordination
Fellows serve as research coordinators within the Department of Emergency Medicine’s Acute Care Research Coordinator (ACRC) team. The ACRC is recognized nationally as leaders in clinical trial implementation. During onboarding, fellows gain competency in trial protocols, patient screening, informed consent, and effective coordination between research and clinical teams.
Coordinator Responsibilities
- Coordinate research in critically ill patients across multi-disciplinary clinical teams, radiology, pharmacy, and nursing.
- Develop rapport and communicate effectively with patients and families.
- Master study protocols and understand clinical trial design.
- Provide on-call coverage.