Welcome Message

I am excited to introduce you to our outstanding adult neurology residency program on behalf of the faculty, trainees, and staff of the department of neurology. Education is one of our core missions and we are very proud that we are able to provide diverse experiences in a supportive environment that emphasizes our department’s education mission.

The success of the UK's adult neurology residency is based on clinical excellence, extensive research opportunities and diversity. We provide the comprehensive clinical training that is necessary for you to be a competent neurologist. We take pride in our one of a kind, mentor-mentee program, in which residents share and gain knowledge from their peers, while offering different avenues for developing and honing their professional and leadership skills. In addition to general career mentors, residents choose mentors for their research and quality improvement activities. Our residency program gives utmost importance to resident wellness and support at the same time it cultivates resident teaching skills.

During the course of your residency, you will have the opportunity to train at the world-class UK Albert B. Chandler Hospital, Kentucky Children’s Hospital, the Veteran’s Administration Hospital, and the Kentucky Neurosciences Institute. Our adult and child neurology residency programs are tightly knit, leading to the development of strong foundations in both and child and adult neurology. With our 50 plus faculty in the department of neurology, all of whom are dedicated to resident education, the program covers all major subspecialties of neurology including (but not limited to) epilepsy, stroke, neurointensive care, headache, cognitive neurology, movement disorders, neuro-rehabilitation, clinical neuro-physiology, neuro-oncology and provide a diverse educational experience to our residents. Our program allows you the opportunity to develop competency in advanced skills including botulinum toxin injection, pericranial nerve blocks, and neurostimulator management.  The department boasts a Joint Commission-certified Comprehensive Stroke Center, a 34-hospital Stroke Care Affiliate Network, a Level IV Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, and an ALS Treatment Center of Excellence where residents are active participants in providing state of the art clinical care to their patients. UK also has one of the original National Institute on Aging (NIA) funded Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers (ADRC).  Being the flagship university for the state, UK HealthCare serves as the major tertiary /quaternary referral center for a large part of the state as well as the neighboring parts of West Virginia, Indiana, and Tennessee, ensuring a large and diverse patient population at all times.

There is a huge breadth of basic science, translational science, clinical research, and quality improvement opportunities. We developed a novel resident research program with the goal of providing residents with training in the organization and conduct of a research project leading to a product that would be eligible for presentation and publication in appropriate venues, including national conferences and peer review reports. Our past graduates have proven themselves to be very competitive in fellowships. Our in-house fellowships include vascular neurology, movement disorders, epilepsy, headache medicine, geriatric neurology, and soon, clinical neurophysiology. We are proud that 50% of our 2020 graduates have chosen to pursue their fellowships with us at the University of Kentucky. Fifteen of our faculty are graduates from our residency program. 

We have a robust curriculum that includes dedicated lecture series in clinical and basic neurosciences, as well as conferences in applied and diagnostic neurology such as neuroimaging, clinical neurophysiology, neuropathology, advanced stroke, child neurology, movement disorders, and refractory epilepsy conferences. As a testament to the strength of our curriculum, we have had a 100% board pass rate in the last five years.

We have a novel 4:1 resident schedule in which every fifth week is a clinic week, providing balanced in-patient and ambulatory care experiences.  Our residents are exposed to a variety of sub-specialty clinics right from the beginning of neurology residency. In addition, our program increases the sub-specialty cases in resident continuity clinic with the goal is of improving the quality of the educational experience while delivering the best care for patients with complicated subspecialty conditions or those receiving high-risk therapeutics. Focusing on increasing graded responsibility commensurate with the level of training, PGY4s become team leaders and function as “junior attendings.”

Lastly, we encourage diversity within our residency program at both faculty and resident level. Our residents and faculty come from varied educational, national, and race-ethnic backgrounds which provides for an optimal educational environment.  We have a healthy mix of residents interested in academic and private practice neurology and in subspecialty versus general neurology. 

We are proud of the high quality of of dedicated faculty and the accomplishments of our residents. Thank you for your interest in our program. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at neuroeducation@uky.edu.

With warmest regards,

Zain Guduru, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology (Movement Disorders Program)
Adult Neurology Residency Program Director

Hello and welcome to the University of Kentucky (UK) Categorical Adult Neurology Residency Program. It is my pleasure to discuss our program with you, not only as the associate program director, but also as an alumnus of the program and as a faculty member with dual appointments at UK and the affiliated Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

We have had a strong foothold in resident education since the inception of our residency program in 1965 and we have grown exponentially since then, both in of number of trainees and national and international presence through research and representation.

Our residents rotate through the Albert B. Chandler Medical Center, a tertiary-level hospital that provides the highest standard of care for all complex neurological conditions. We are proud of our Comprehensive Stroke Center, Level IV Epilepsy Center, and ALS Treatment Center. Residents gain experience in epilepsy, headache medicine, movement disorders, memory disorders, neuro-immunology, neuromuscular, neuro-oncology, neuro-ophthalmology, neuropsychology, palliative medicine, child neurology, rehabilitation medicine, sleep medicine, and stroke. Residents have dedicated rotations at one of the highest ranked VA Hospitals in the region, providing care to veterans at the inpatient level and in outpatient continuity clinics. Our residents are trained on performing botulinum toxin injections, nerve blocks, EMG/nerve conduction studies, neurostimulator (VNS, RNS, DBS) interrogation/management, and more. We take pride in training our residents to review neuroimaging studies and EEG’s independently and effectively.

As a resident in our program from 2011-2015, I considered our patient volumes and dedicated didactics to be our strongest points, a perfect amalgamation of strong academics to back the excellent clinical exposure needed to succeed in residency. I have been a member of the faculty for five years now, and these remain our strength, in addition to dedicated research involvement and quality improvement projects by the residents, and a strong mentor-mentee program. Our residents consistently match or join the fellowship of their choice and represent UK nationally and internationally with their research. The program prioritizes resident wellness, diversity and inclusivity, financial wellness, and opportunities to hone leadership skills by involvement in local and national committees.

Our program is like a close-knit family, with a very involved and loving chairman leading us, excellent faculty who are invested in resident success, and wonderful administrative staff who support our residents and our department.

As the associate program director, I work closely with the chairman and program director to see our diverse group of residents learn, grow, and graduate to become confident and competent neurologists. Our residents always have a home at UK, and it has been a delight for me to showcase our home to you!