Welcome to the Baylor College of Medicine Child Neurology and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Residency Programs! We thank you for your interest in our programs, which are composed of four pathways: Categorical Child Neurology, Foundational Child Neurology, Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, and Basic Neuroscience Research. As the 2024-2025 Child Neurology Chief Residents, we are excited to share with you the strengths and opportunities that drew us here several years ago, as well as upcoming innovations we are implementing as we embark in the next era of child neurology!
Our residency is officially administered by Baylor College of Medicine, though our home base for most of our clinical time is Texas Children’s Hospital (down the street from Baylor in the incredible Texas Medical Center in Houston). U.S News and World Report ranks Texas Children's as the #1 children’s hospital in Texas and #3 in the nation. In addition, we are nationally ranked #2 for Pediatric Neurology and Neurosurgery for 2023-2024. Every day, we have the opportunity to work with and learn from faculty at the forefront of their respective fields in an enormous quaternary care center with a vast catchment area located in one of the most diverse cities in the nation. This means you can expect to see just about everything there is in the field of pediatric neurology over the course of your five-six years here!
During our adult neurology training, we rotate through the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Baylor St Luke’s Medical Center, and Ben Taub General Hospital (our county hospital), allowing us to see a diverse patient population with a broad spectrum of pathologies. We place a strong emphasis on education and ensure residents have protected time set aside daily for lectures, during which we are free from clinical responsibilities.
While the academic opportunities drew us to this program, our favorite part is most certainly the sense of community among our residents and within our entire division! We currently have up to seven residents per class (three CN, two NDD, and two BNS), though we are very excited to be expanding to 9 residents per class starting with this upcoming application cycle! We share a close-knit and strong support system, supplemented by dinners out, running, painting, playing music, trivia nights, and other activities together. Some of us have significant others and children while some of us do not; either way we love coming together both in and outside of work! We can guarantee you will make lifelong friends during your time here.
This sense of community extends to the faculty. Our attendings are always willing to help and love to teach. In particular, our Program Directors, Drs. Lotze (Child Neurology) and Risen (Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) as well as Associate Program Directors, Drs. Shukla, Davila-Williams, and Chao (Child Neurology) and Drs. Fisher and Lazar (Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) are strong advocates for the residents. They are consistently implementing changes based on our feedback.
While the COVID pandemic has changed interviews to a virtual experience, we are hopeful that this site will help you get a feel for and an understanding of the program. It is difficult to substitute virtual for in person visits, but please feel free to reach out to either of us with any questions, be it about academic opportunities or the best places to eat in Houston (we’ve got a long list of great takeout places). Thanks for taking the time to get to know us. We greatly look forward to meeting you!
Sincerely,
Douglas Wells, M.D. and Abhijit Das, M.D.
Co-Chief Residents, Child Neurology
