Otoneurology Fellowship (for clinicians)

Head/Neck motor control fellowship (for Ph.D)

This two year research fellowship is is primarily supervised by Dr. Timothy C. Hain. The main interest of the lab is in predictive motor control (click here for more detail). However, there are presently projects ongoing related to head and neck motor control, vocal motor control, postural motor control, and various clinical projects (e.g. related to Meniere's disease, ototoxicity, discriminant analysis of posturography). This fellowship is not a clinical fellowship, although MD participants generally do spend some time seeing patients (which is optional).

Ideal fellowship candidates should have US citizenship or green card status, and will have completed a residency in either Neurology or Otolaryngology, or a Ph.D in a related field such as Neuroscience or Neurophysiology, and have a strong computer, engineering or mathematics background. Needless to say, they should be interested in performing research related to physical therapy, otolaryngology or neurology. Individuals without US citizenship do not generally qualify for NIH training funds, but funding may be available from other mechanisms (such as NIH grant funding or other sources).

Previous fellows include:

• Tanya Ramaswamy, M.D.
• Richard Hoistad, M.D.
• Janet Helminski, PT, Ph.D.
• Martin Simoneau, Ph.D
• Insoo Moon, M.D.

Curriculum:

Fellows are expected to have already mastered a considerable body of knowledge, and to be interested in either improving their skills in an area (such as perhaps writing), or learning control-systems modeling. This fellowship provides an opportunity to work in a well equiped movement lab, to interact with a large number of colleagues interested in postural research, and to some extent, to see what one can accomplish on ones own.

MD fellows have three general goals:

• Complete a clinical research project relevant to neuro-otology.
• Complete one paper per year related to clinical research (this might be a review article).
• Learn to interpret ENG and other vestibular tests (fellows read all tests of the NMH vestibular laboratory)
• Learn clinical evaluation of vestibular patients. (one half-day per week exposure in the clinic)

Ph.D. fellows have the following general goals:

• Complete a basic research project. Most projects involve use of Matlab and Simulink to model head and body movement. Ongoing projects involve predictive control of head and neck movement on a linear sled.
• Present work at major conference (at least once/year). Typically Neuroscience
• Complete and submit at least one research paper per year.
• Write and submit a grant application related to the field.

Suggested reading (for MD fellows):

1. Pender. Practical Otology. Lippincott
2. Baloh and Honrubia. Clinical Neurophysiology of the Vestibular System (F.A. Davis)
3. Leigh and Zee. The Neurology of Eye movements, 3rd edition (F. A. Davis).
4. Jacobson. Handbook of Vestibular testing. (Singular Press).

Suggested reading (books) for Ph.D. Fellows

• Feedback Control of Dynamic Systems (Addison-Wesley Series in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Control Engineering) by Gene F. Franklin, J. David Powell, Abbas Emami-Naeini, Abbas R. Emani-Naeini (Contributor)
• Control of head movement (Peterson and Richmond)
• Biomechanics and Motor Control of Human Movement by David A. Winter
• Jack M. Winters and Savio L-Y Woo Multiple Muscle systems Springer-Verlag edition
• The Ph.D thesis of Grace Peng (Northwestern).

Please direct inquiries to:

Timothy C. Hain, MD
Professor of Neurology, Otolaryngology and Physical therapy,
645 N. Michigan, Suite 1120
Chicago Il 60611

Fax: 773-373-0294, email: t-hain@northwestern.edu

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