Course Leaders

• Julie Roth, MD
• Kara Stavros, MD
• John Donahue, MD
• Glenn Tung, MD
• Vincent LaBarbera, MD

Course Description: Brain Sciences is an inter-disciplinary course that includes neurobiology, neuropathophysiology, neuropathology, psychiatry, and neuropharmacology. The course material is presented in an integrated fashion across three blocks of the 2nd semester of the first year of medical school. Course leaders from each of these disciplines have worked closely together to present the material in a logical and cohesive manner. Course material is aligned with the head and neck portion of Anatomy II, as well as the Doctoring course, in which students learn the neurologic and otolaryngologic exams. The course format includes lectures, small group case-based sessions, patient presentations, a simulation experience, and an online asynchronous component.

Student Enrollment: MS1

Course Leaders

• Student Leader(s): Rainy Wortelboer, Esha Karayi 
• Faculty Advisor: Julie Roth, MD 

Course Description/Expectations: This PCE invites students to learn about the intersection between music and neuro-related fields. Specifically, we look at how the brain is understood by physicians and musicians. This will be achieved by inviting leading experts from both neuro subspecialties and musicians from the Rhode Island and greater Boston area to journal club discussions of important literature in the field and application to how music therapy can aid in interventions for patients with neurological diseases. Additionally, this course will encourage students to expand their thinking by engaging in music-based volunteering activities in an assisted living facility, Hattie Ide Chaffee Home. Through this elective, students will gain a deeper understanding of how the arts can play an adjunctive role in medical care and how patients can benefit from music physically, emotionally, and socially. Students will demonstrate their knowledge and continued interest through final presentations at the end of the course. 

Number of Required Hours: 16 

Student Enrollment: First-year medical students, Second-year medical students, PLME undergraduate students, Gateways Program students 

Max Enrollment: 20 

Semester Offered: Fall Semester Only 

Location: On campus, Zoom, or community site (Hattie Ide Chaffee Home)

 Dates & Times: Wednesdays, 5:30pm-7:30pm 

Service Learning Opportunity: Yes.  Part of the final presentation asks students to engage in music-based activities and exercises with residents at the Hattie Ide Chaffee Home in East Providence, RI applying the knowledge and skills they have learned from class lectures and discussions that comprises the bulk of the Preclinical Elective. At their final class, students will directly serve community residents of Hattie Ide in movement exercises to music, musical performances, and/or therapeutic art activities. Students will work with course leaders to determine how they will engage with the nursing home residents and will be asked to reflect on their experiences serving this population as part of their final presentation.

Clinical Neuroscience Clerkship (CNS): MS3 Medical Students

Neurology Clerkship Director: Saima T. Chaudhry, MD

Neurology Assistant Clerkship Director: Vincent Labarbera, MD

The Clinical Neuroscience Clerkship is an 8-week core rotation in neurology and psychiatry, designed to immerse third-year medical students in the evaluation and management of psychiatric, neurologic, and neuropsychiatric illness. The clerkship emphasizes both diagnosis and treatment, providing a broad and integrated foundation in the neurosciences.

Clinical Experience

• Psychiatry (4 weeks): Students rotate through child and adult psychiatry settings, with opportunities to learn in diverse environments including inpatient units, outpatient clinics, partial hospital programs, emergency psychiatry, and medical–surgical consultation services.
• Neurology (4 weeks): Clinical experiences include stroke and vascular neurology, neuro-critical care, neurosurgery, inpatient and outpatient general neurology, and consultation services.

Students switch disciplines at the 4-week midpoint, allowing for balanced exposure to both specialties.

Didactics

A structured didactic series is held for a half-day each week across the 8 weeks. Sessions cover core topics in psychiatry and neurology, as well as conditions at the interface of the two fields, such as:

• Epilepsy and functional neurologic disorder
• Psychosis, antipsychotics, and movement disorders
• Delirium and dementia

Additional Resources

• Recorded lectures are available via Panopto (access with Brown credentials).

A comprehensive description of neurology rotations can be found in the Brown Neurology Resident Handbook.

Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC): MS3 Medical Students

Inpatient Neurology Clerkship Director: Saima T. Chaudhry, MD

Inpatient Neurology Assistant Clerkship Director: Saud Alhusaini, MD

The Warren Alpert Medical School students enrolled in the Primary Care–Population Medicine Program (PC-PM) participate in an innovative curriculum that combines rigorous clinical training with a strong foundation in population health.

In the third year, PC-PM students complete a Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC), in which all core clerkships are woven together across a 30-week span. Rather than rotating through traditional block clerkships, students develop continuity with patients, preceptors, and clinical settings.

• Outpatient Experience: Each week, students spend half a day in family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics & gynecology, pediatrics, and surgery. An additional half-day is devoted to psychiatry or neurology, allowing students to build ongoing relationships with mentors in the neurosciences and to experience how neurological and psychiatric conditions unfold over time.
• Inpatient Experience: To complement this continuity model, students also complete focused inpatient rotations: internal medicine (4 weeks), surgery (2 weeks), pediatrics (2 weeks), obstetrics & gynecology (2 weeks), neurology (2 weeks), and psychiatry (2 weeks).

This hybrid structure gives students a unique opportunity to appreciate how neurologic illness is encountered both in longitudinal outpatient settings and during concentrated inpatient experiences. The result is a broad and integrated understanding of neurology, framed within the context of whole-person care and population health.

Neurology Sub-I Clerkship Director: Saima T. Chaudhry, MD

This 4-week sub-internship at Rhode Island Hospital is offered to current MS4 students enrolled at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. The rotation is designed to provide students with an immersive, resident-level experience in inpatient neurology.

Role and Responsibilities

Students function in the role of a first-year neurology resident, assuming primary responsibility for the care of their assigned ward patients. Core responsibilities include:

• Delivering daily patient presentations and writing progress notes
• Entering and managing orders
• Following up on laboratory and imaging results
• Performing lumbar punctures (when applicable)
• Initiating consults and coordinating with other services
• Communicating with and updating families
• Preparing and completing discharge documentation

Call and Weekend Coverage
Students take one weeknight call per week (5:00–9:00 PM) and are expected to pre-round and round on their patients on two Saturdays during the rotation.

Clinical Structure

This rotation provides students with an authentic introduction to the responsibilities and expectations of a neurology intern, while strengthening clinical, procedural, and communication skills in the inpatient setting.

• 2 weeks on the General Neurology Inpatient Service
• 2 weeks on the Vascular Neurology Inpatient Service

Neurology Clerkship Director: Saima T. Chaudhry, MD

This 2-week elective at Rhode Island Hospital and affiliated sites is available to current MS4 students enrolled at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. The rotation offers students the opportunity to explore a range of neurology subspecialties tailored to their individual interests.

Subspecialty Options

Students may rotate in one or more of the following areas:

• General Neurology
• Autoimmune Neurology
• Vascular Neurology
• Movement Disorders
• Dementia and Cognitive Neurology
• Epilepsy
• Neuromuscular Neurology

Educational Focus

This elective is designed for fourth-year medical students who are:

• Planning to pursue a career in the neurosciences, or
• Seeking to deepen their knowledge and gain broader expertise in neurology prior to residency.

The experience emphasizes advanced clinical exposure, subspecialty mentorship, and the opportunity to refine diagnostic and management skills in both inpatient and outpatient neurology settings.

Clerkship Director: Thanujaa Subramaniam, MD

Students will spend 4 weeks rotating on one of the 2 services in the Neurocritical Care Unit (NCCU) where they will help to care for critically ill patients, including those with cerebrovascular disease, traumatic brain injury, and status epilepticus as well as neurosurgical post-operative patients. Students will be responsible for pre-rounding, collecting data, presenting on rounds, following up on labs and tests, updating patients and family members, placing orders (as able) and performing procedures, including intubation, central line placement and arterial line placement.

Clerkship Director: Jason Richards, MD

 Students will spend four weeks learning the basics of clinical neurophysiology studies.   Students will spend two weeks in the electroencephalogram (EEG) laboratory, learning EEG interpretation, as well as participating in epilepsy clinics.  Students will then spend two weeks in the electromyography (EMG) laboratory, learning how to perform nerve conduction studies (NCS), EMGs and participate in the neuromuscular clinics.  At the end of the elective, students should be familiar with the indications to order neurophysiology testing and the normal and abnormal features of these studies.

Neurology Clerkship Director: Saima T. Chaudhry, MD

Neurology Assistant Clerkship Director: Saud Alhusaini, MD

This 2-week outpatient elective at Rhode Island Hospital and affiliated sites is open to current MS4 students enrolled at accredited medical schools across the United States. The rotation provides students with the opportunity to gain focused experience in neurology subspecialties within the outpatient setting, tailored to their individual interests and career goals.

Subspecialty Options

Students may choose to rotate in one or more of the following areas:

• General Neurology
• Autoimmune Neurology
• Vascular Neurology
• Movement Disorders
• Dementia and Cognitive Neurology
• Epilepsy
• Neuromuscular Neurology

Educational Focus

This elective is designed for fourth-year medical students who are:

• Preparing for a career in the neurosciences
• Seeking to broaden their knowledge of outpatient neurology prior to residency
• Interested in gaining firsthand exposure to Brown’s outpatient neurology residency training environment 

The experience emphasizes advanced outpatient clinical exposure, one-on-one subspecialty mentorship, and skill development in diagnosis and longitudinal management of neurologic disease. Students gain practical insights into the evaluation, treatment, and follow-up of patients with a wide spectrum of neurological disorders.

Neurology Departmental Liaisons: Saima T. Chaudhry MD, Elizabeth Perelstein MD

The Department of Neurology at The Warren Alpert Medical School collaborates with the Johnson & Wales University Physician Assistant (PA) Program to offer specialized training in clinical neurology for second-year PA students.

In the second year of training, neurology is not among the seven required rotations; however, PA students may select a neurology-focused elective as one of their two optional rotations. This 5-week elective provides exposure to a broad spectrum of neurologic conditions across both inpatient and outpatient settings. Rotations are hosted at Rhode Island Hospital (RIH), The Miriam Hospital, or other affiliated clinical sites, allowing students to develop practical skills under the guidance of neurology faculty and clinicians.