Faculty (Open Rank) | Division Chief, Epilepsy - Neurology, McGovern Medical Center

The Department of Neurology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston invites applications for the Division Chief of Epilepsy and Director of the Texas Comprehensive Epilepsy Program. This is an open-rank faculty appointment, with academic rank commensurate with the candidate's experience, accomplishments, and record of leadership. We seek an exceptional academic epileptologist with the vision, ambition, and collaborative instincts to lead one of the country's most comprehensive epilepsy programs into its next era of clinical, scientific, and educational excellence.

A Premier Environment for Epilepsy Care and Discovery

The Division of Epilepsy is the clinical and academic engine of the Texas Comprehensive Epilepsy Program (TCEP), a nationally prominent Level 4 epilepsy program jointly supported by UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. TCEP brings together adult epilepsy, neurosurgery, neuroimaging, neuropsychology, neuropathology, genetics, biomedical engineering, data science, and neurotechnology within a deeply integrated clinical and research enterprise.

The program combines exceptional clinical volume with a substantial and growing NIH-funded research footprint. Its investigators lead and participate in major national and international initiatives spanning epilepsy surgery, seizure forecasting, neuromodulation, sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, cardiorespiratory physiology, neuroimaging, computational neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and precision medicine.

• One of the nation's busiest epilepsy surgery programs.

• Advanced capabilities in stereoelectroencephalography, laser ablation, resective surgery, and neuromodulation.

• A dedicated Magnetoencephalography Center, with clinical and scientific expertise in MEG-based source localization and brain mapping.

• One of the largest epilepsy fellowship programs in the United States, with eight fellows recruited annually and a rigorous, learner-   centered curriculum.

• An epilepsy genetics and precision-medicine program, supported by a rare epilepsies position and dedicated epilepsy genetic counselors.

• The internationally recognized BrainStorm Program in collaboration with the University of Southern California and University of Montreal.

• Close, embedded collaborations with biomedical informaticians, computational scientists, engineers, and artificial-intelligence experts across UTHealth Houston.

• Access to extensive multimodal clinical datasets, advanced analytics infrastructure, intracranial electrophysiology, neuroimaging, biosignals, and high-density longitudinal patient data in the form of the NIH-funded International Seizure and SUDEP Research Repository (InSSURR) in collaboration with the Universities of Lausanne, Switzerland, and Lyon, France.

• Strong institutional partnerships with the Texas Institute for Restorative Neurotechnologies, the Vivian L. Smith Department of Neurosurgery, McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics, and Memorial Hermann Health System.
   

The Leadership Opportunity

The Division Chief will ideally be an opinion leader and expert in SEEG, with a strong background in funded research and established mentorship. They will provide strategic, clinical, academic, and operational leadership for the Division of Epilepsy. The successful candidate will articulate a compelling vision for the division, strengthen its national and international standing, recruit and develop outstanding faculty, and accelerate the translation of scientific discovery into better outcomes for patients with epilepsy.

The Chief will be expected to build upon the division's existing strengths while developing new programs at the intersection of clinical epilepsy, surgery, genetics, neurotechnology, informatics, and artificial intelligence. The position offers significant opportunity for programmatic growth, faculty recruitment, clinical expansion, and development of interdisciplinary research initiatives.

The Division Chief will report to the Chair of the Department of Neurology and will work closely with departmental, medical-school, hospital, and health-system leadership.

Principal Responsibilities

• Establish and execute an ambitious strategic vision for the continued growth of the Division of Epilepsy and TCEP.

• Promote the highest standards of compassionate, evidence-based, patient-centered epilepsy care.

• Expand access to comprehensive epilepsy services throughout Houston, Texas, and the surrounding region.

• Strengthen the evaluation and treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy, including surgical and device-based therapies.

• Recruit, retain, mentor, and develop exceptional clinical, research, and educational faculty.

• Foster a culture defined by excellence, integrity, collaboration, innovation, accountability, and professional growth.

• Advance multidisciplinary partnerships across neurology, neurosurgery, pediatrics, radiology, psychiatry, pathology, genetics, biomedical informatics, engineering, and public health.

• Grow the division's portfolio of externally funded research and support the development of collaborative, multi-investigator, and multicenter programs.

• Accelerate innovation in precision epilepsy care, neurotechnology, computational neuroscience, clinical informatics, and AI-enabled decision suppor.t

• Support and expand the division's clinical-trials infrastructure and translational-research enterprise.

• Provide oversight of the division's clinical operations, quality initiatives, faculty productivity, and responsible stewardship of resources.

• Champion excellence in medical-student, resident, fellow, and continuing medical education.

• Ensure the continued strength and national prominence of the epilepsy fellowship program.

• Represent the division within UTHealth Houston, Memorial Hermann Health System, the Texas Medical Center, and the broader national and international epilepsy community.

• Maintain an active clinical, educational, and scholarly role appropriate to the candidate's interests and expertise.

About UTHealth Houston and the Texas Medical Center

McGovern Medical School is part of UTHealth Houston, one of the nation's most comprehensive academic health centers. The institution provides an exceptionally collaborative environment spanning medicine, biomedical informatics, public health, dentistry, nursing, behavioral sciences, and graduate biomedical education.

The Department of Neurology maintains a close clinical partnership with Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, a major academic referral center serving patients with the most complex neurological disorders. Located in the Texas Medical Center - the largest medical complex in the world - UTHealth Houston offers unparalleled opportunities for interdisciplinary clinical care, scientific collaboration, and innovation.

Houston is one of the country's most diverse and dynamic cities, with a thriving cultural community, internationally recognized arts and culinary scenes, major professional sports, excellent schools, and a comparatively favorable cost of living for a major metropolitan area.

Qualifications

• MD, DO, MD/PhD, or equivalent medical degree.

• Completion of accredited fellowship training in epilepsy or clinical neurophysiology.

• Board certification or board eligibility in Neurology and Epilepsy and/or Clinical Neurophysiology, as applicable.

• Eligibility for an unrestricted Texas medical license.

• Rank of Associate Professor or Professor; exceptional candidates at other ranks may be considered under the open-rank appointment.

• Sustained record of clinical excellence in the diagnosis and management of complex epilepsy.

• Record of progressive academic and administrative leadership.

• Meaningful scholarly accomplishment and a national or international reputation in epilepsy or a closely related field.

• Strong commitment to education, mentorship, faculty development, and multidisciplinary collaboration.

• Interpersonal and organizational skills required to lead a large, complex, and rapidly growing academic clinical enterprise.

Application

Applicants should apply to the position and submit a curriculum vitae and a letter of interest describing their clinical operations experience, leadership philosophy, and record of measurable impact. Application instructions and institutionally required employment language should be added at the time of posting. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.