Vascular neurology fellows, faculty + mentors at Tufts Medical Center

The vascular neurology fellowship at Tufts Medical Center is supported by a multidisciplinary team of experts dedicated to training the next generation of stroke and cerebrovascular specialists. Our faculty provide mentorship, guidance and hands-on supervision to ensure fellows gain clinical, research and teaching skills in a high-volume academic environment.

Neurology faculty

• Emiliya Melkumova, MD — Fellowship Program Director
• David E. Thaler, MD, PhD — Fellowship Program Director
• Lester Y. Leung, MD — Fellowship Assistant Program Director, Quality and Safety Director
• Joshua Kornbluth, MD — Neurology Critical Care
• Deborah Green-LaRoche, MD — Neurology Critical Care
• Xuemei Cai, MD — Neurology Critical Care
• Bryan K. Ho, MD — Neurologist
• Suriya Jeyapalan, MD, MPH — Neurologist
• Joel Oster, MD — Neurologist
• Mithila Vullaganti, MD — Neurologist

Associated faculty

• Adel Malek, MD, PhD — Chief of Neurovascular Surgery
• Daniel Do-Dai, MD — Chief of Neuroradiology
• Harprit Bedi, MD — Neuroradiology
• Neel Madan, MD — Neuroradiology
• Zachary W. Bohart, MD — Neuro-Rehabilitation

Our people are committed to nurturing the professional growth of each fellow, helping them become skilled clinicians, researchers and educators in vascular neurology. Fellows benefit from mentorship across neurology, neurocritical care, neuroradiology, neurovascular surgery and rehabilitation, ensuring a well-rounded and high-quality training experience.

Hands-on training in vascular neurology + stroke care at Tufts Medical Center

The Vascular Neurology Fellowship at Tufts Medical Center offers comprehensive, hands-on training across all areas of stroke and cerebrovascular care. Fellows gain experience in acute care, inpatient and outpatient management, neurocritical care, and advanced imaging and procedures. The program is designed to provide exposure to a high-volume clinical environment while supporting research, teaching and professional development.

Fellows’ responsibilities include:

• Evaluation and management of stroke codes in the emergency department and inpatient wards
• Coordination and case selection for patients undergoing intra-arterial therapy for acute ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion
• Supervision of inpatient care for stroke and cerebrovascular disease patients on the Neurology Service and other inpatient services
• Vascular Neurology consultations in the Neuro-Critical Care Unit, other ICUs and inpatient medical and surgical services
• Outpatient Vascular Neurology clinics (precepted by Drs. Thaler and Leung)
• Night call from home for 3–6 months (supervised by Drs. Thaler and Leung)
• Interpretation of advanced imaging, including brain MRI and MRA, CT angiography and digital subtraction angiography
• Interpretation of neurosonology studies (transcranial Doppler ultrasound)
• Participation in Cerebrovascular Disease Conference, Stroke Journal Club, Stroke Case Conference, Neurosonology and Neuroradiology
• Teaching residents and medical students on hospital wards and in conferences
• Participation and enrollment in ongoing stroke clinical trials
• Development of clinical or translational research projects, manuscripts or educational/quality improvement initiatives
• Maintenance of the Tufts Medical Center stroke registry and longitudinal care coordination
• Electives in teleneurology, neuroradiology, neurovascular surgery and neuro-rehabilitation

This structured curriculum ensures that fellows develop the skills and knowledge needed to provide advanced stroke and cerebrovascular care, gain research experience​ and build a foundation for teaching and leadership in vascular neurology.

Academic career development

We are committed to helping fellows develop their careers as stroke neurologists in any setting. For those pursuing an academic career pathway, Tufts Medical Center provides the resources, mentorship and guidance to support your growth. Fellows have opportunities to lead research projects and receive mentorship from neurologists and colleagues in associated departments. Guidance is also available for quality improvement and educational initiatives.

Research opportunities

Our neurology team at Tufts Medical Center is always looking for ways to advance medicine. Current research focuses include neuromuscular diseases, stroke​ and fatigue in patients with high-grade glioma. Fellows are encouraged to participate in ongoing research projects and develop their own scholarly work.

About the vascular neurology fellowship at Tufts Medical Center

Our fellowship is designed to give neurologists broad and balanced training in stroke and cerebrovascular care. We believe in preparing fellows to become skilled clinicians and future leaders in vascular neurology by combining hands-on clinical experience with research, teaching and quality improvement.

Fellows gain exposure to acute stroke management, neurocritical care, young adult stroke and survivorship, teleneurology, neurosonology, secondary stroke prevention and stroke recovery and rehabilitation. With more than 300 stroke admissions each year, a busy consult service and a robust outpatient practice, fellows train in a high-volume, academically rich environment.

We offer one fellowship position per year for a 12-month training period. This program is part of the NRMP Match and provides personalized mentorship from a multidisciplinary team of faculty in neurology, neurocritical care, neuroradiology, vascular surgery and rehabilitation. Fellows also have opportunities to participate in clinical trials, lead research or quality improvement projects and teach residents and medical students.