Clinical Neuropsychology Fellowship| Academic Programs and Training

The UC Davis Clinical Neuropsychology Training Program  provides high-quality advanced training in the practice of clinical neuropsychology.  The program’s training opportunities are structured to meet the recommendations set forth in the Houston and Minnesota Conference Guidelines for Postdoctoral Residency Training in Clinical Neuropsychology. 

Impairments in central nervous system function can cause extended and distressing changes in the quality of life for people with a neurological disorder – and to the lives of their families and loved ones as well. Our program is based on the belief that providing quality care for people experiencing these changes requires extensive specialized training in clinical and cognitive psychology, behavioral neurology, and neuroanatomy.  We also recognize that this is a rapidly growing and developing field that must be responsive to advances in scientific knowledge; hence, adherence to the scientist-practitioner model is especially crucial for rapid incorporation of new knowledge into highly competent clinical practice.

To train practitioners who are competent in all these areas, we have developed a program that incorporates the extensive resources available through a unique consortium of clinical, research, and academic services offered by the Medical Center at the University of California at Davis, various academic departments and research facilities within UC Davis, and the Northern California Veterans Administration Health Care System.

Mission:

As a comprehensive research university, the primary purpose of UC Davis is the generation, advancement, dissemination, and application of knowledge.  To this end, UC Davis is committed to developing and sustaining leading programs in the arts and humanities, biological and physical sciences, and social sciences – disciplines at the core of all universities – as well as in agricultural and environmental studies, engineering, and professional programs in education, law, management, medicine, nursing, and veterinary medicine.

In all of these programs, UC Davis strives to integrate three complementary pursuits: education and training as a partnership between faculty mentors and young scholars; the advancement of knowledge and pioneering studies through creative research and scholarship; and application of that knowledge to address the needs of our region, state, nation, and globe. UC Davis is committed to the tradition of the land-grant university, the basis of its founding. This tradition – based  on the premise that the broad purpose of a university is service to people and society – guides UC Davis’s special commitments and emphases. Collaborative studies and cooperation with state agencies and the legislature offer UC Davis both special responsibilities and unique opportunities.

Aims:

The overall goal of the UC Davis Clinical Neuropsychology Training Program is to produce highly trained, scientifically knowledgeable, clinically skillful independent practitioners of clinical neuropsychology. Our program is committed to encouraging the development of complementary clinical and scientific skills to yield professionals who are motivated to follow the progress of a developing field and to incorporate that progress into their clinical practice. We encourage further development of the basic skills of clinical psychology and the integration of these skills with advanced knowledge of neurological disease, symptoms, treatment, and associated cognitive and emotional changes to provide the most pertinent and compassionate diagnosis and care for present and future clients.

Facilities

University of California at Davis and UC Davis Medical Center

The University of California at Davis enrolls over 25,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students on its 5,200 acre main campus.  It has extensive library and computing resources that offer in-depth coverage of many academic fields. The affiliated Medical School maintains its academic resources for over 1,200 students in the Health Sciences on the Sacramento campus, along with a 528 bed teaching hospital. Our program is jointly supported by the Neurology Department and the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center.  Students in our program may also have the opportunity to work with professionals from other clinical departments (e.g. Neurologic Surgery, Pain Management) and academic centers, such as the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience.  Our residents and fellows also have access to the combined resources that support the scientific and medical communities of UC Davis, including libraries, computers, and technical and research support staff.

The UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center is part of nationwide and statewide programs. The Alzheimer's Disease Center has several important goals: to educate health professionals and the public about Alzheimer's disease and related dementias; to conduct research in clinical and community populations into the causes and potential treatments for dementia; to advocate changes in health policy and practice that will enhance the recognition, treatment and management of dementia; and to serve as an expert referral center for the diagnosis of dementia

The Alzheimer's Disease Center is funded by the State of California through the Department of Public Health and by the NIH, National Institute on Aging (NIA), and has clinical centers in Sacramento and the East Bay. The UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center conducts many different kinds of research studies. Many involve trying to describe and understand the behavioral, cognitive, and functional changes that occur with dementing illness.  Other areas of research include neuroimaging, the cerebrovascular contributions to cognitive aging, and the influences of lifestyle variables (e.g. cognitive, physical, and social activity throughout the life span) on cognitive aging and development of dementia.  Some studies involve clinical trials of potential new treatments, or ways of preventing cognitive loss. And the Alzheimer's Disease Center’s longitudinal aging cohort includes a large portion of individuals representing a variety of ethnic/racial minorities.

The UC Davis Center for Neuroscience draws from a wide variety of resources to conduct its teaching and research programs. Contributing to this interdisciplinary approach are Center faculty members, students, and collaborators who represent 13 academic departments and sections on the main campus and a number of off-campus sites. In addition, visiting faculty members from throughout the world bring outstanding talent to the Center's programs.

Research at the Center ranges from single-cell recordings and studies of neuronal populations in isolation, to studies of human perception, attention, memory, language, and the nature of consciousness.  The center places special emphasis on combining information obtained from different brain-imaging techniques, including fMRI, PET, and ERPs, to develop improved methods to treat brain injury and disease.

Populations Served

Our service is an adult neuropsychology service and we do not routinely see patients under 18.  At the Neurosciences Clinic, we see outpatients with a range of neurological disorders, including stroke, tumor, epilepsy, head injury, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, and a range of degenerative diseases.

Our residents and fellows also participate in the clinical and research activities at the NIA-funded UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Centers in Sacramento and the East Bay. At the Alzheimer's Disease Center, practicioners see a wide-range of dementing disorders with opportunities to follow patients though all stages of disease.

Each fellow will have a primary site and be responsible for the full range of clinical duties at that site.  Residents will develop their training plan in conjunction with their primary supervisors within the first month.  Diverse experiences within the system are encouraged and faculty will work with residents to facilitate them.  Each post-doc will identify a research mentor and develop a research plan within the first two months.

Generally, fellows will remain in the program for two years. However, offer of a second year is contingent upon satisfactory performance in the first year of training and available funding.  Extension beyond two years will be considered if there is external funding and/or a specific training goal.  Successful completion of contact hours and educational goals may require more than 40 hours per week.

Distribution of Time  

A. 80% Clinical

a.     3-4 days per week (approx. 20-25 patient/family contact hours)
b.     Minimum of 1 hour of face-to-face scheduled supervision; 1 hour of supervisory contact as needed (bedside, interview, consult, etc.) per supervisor
c.      2 hours of group supervision month
d.     Approx 1 hour a week general clinic management-type of activities (see below)

B. 20% Didactic/Education/Research

1. One full day of didactic training is scheduled on the 1^st Thursday of each month at UC Davis Medical Center.  Numerous other didactic opportunities are also available (see below).
2. Each fellow will identify a research mentor.  This may be a member of the NP faculty or an M.D. or Ph.D. with an appointment in the UC system.
3. Each post-doc will be expected to spend at least 4 hours a week engaged in some scholarly activity.  This may include participation in on-going research of a faculty member, preparation of a literature review, or development of an independent research project. Each project will be expected to have a product suitable for presentation at a scientific meeting or submission to a journal.
4. Efforts will be made to provide monetary support for presentation of research results at a national conference.

Remuneration

Fellows will receive a per annum stipend plus medical benefits.  The stipend is based on the NIH postdoctoral salary schedule. Second year fellows who obtain outside funding can buy out of clinical duties to participate in research activities.  Additional funds beyond those necessary to buy out clinical time can be used to supplement the base salary.  Occasionally part-time positions are available.  Paid vacation and professional leave is also provided.

First Thursday of each month: Neuropsychology Series, Sacramento UC Davis Medical Center, Ambulatory Care Center

General schedule:

9-11         ADC Clinical Pathological Conference

11-12       NP Didactics: Neuroanatomy Series/ Neuropsychological
                Syndromes (each series presented in alternate years)

1-2           Neurology Grand Rounds

2-3           NP Didactics:  Research Series

Conferences: 

• Neurovascular Multidisciplinary Case Conference
• Stroke Journal Club 
• Neuroradiology Case Conference 
• Neurology Department Grand Rounds 
• Stroke Basic Science Journal Club 
• Neurologic Residency-Neurovascular Noon Conference 
• Stroke Faculty Research Group Meeting

The Department of Neurology at the University of California, at Davis will have openings for two neuropsychology postdoctoral fellows to begin September 1, 2025. The positions will be based on the UC Davis Medical Center campus in Sacramento CA. We typically have 3-4 neuropsychology postdoctoral fellows in the program at any given time. Fellows participate in clinical, didactic and scholarly/research activities. This is primarily a clinically based postdoctoral fellowship, although we can also accommodate trainees who are seeking greater research experience and want to pursue an academic career. Clinical work focuses on conducting both comprehensive as well as more brief neuropsychological assessments. Opportunities for treatment are also available, including involvement in group-based brain health interventions for older adults. We offer an extensive didactic program, as well as numerous other training opportunities typical of a large university medical center.   Fellows will conduct evaluations on adults with a wide variety of neurological disorders including: various dementias (e.g., AD, FTD, Primary Progressive Aphasia syndromes), epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, CNS tumors, stroke, MS, TBI, etc. Participation in Wada testing and intra-operative and extra-operative cortical brain mapping is also available and fellows regularly attend case conference associated with the epilepsy and deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgical programs. These are all two-year positions with competitive salary plus benefits.

Qualifications:

Applicants must hold a doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology from an APA-accredited program and must have completed an APA-accredited predoctoral internship by the start of the post-doctoral period September 1, 2025. 

Required application materials:

Application materials should include a letter of interest/statement of career goals, CV, official graduate school transcript, two de-identified sample reports, and three letters of recommendation. 

Applications and questions should be emailed to:

Sarah Tomaszewski Farias, Ph.D., ABPP-CN, Training Director, at farias@ucdavis.edu  and

Michelle Chan, Ph.D., Assistant Training Director at mlchan@ucdavis.edu

Application deadline:  December 6, 2024