Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University Program

Child Neurology Analyst Verified · Sep 15, 2026

Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University Program

Stanford Health Care-Sponsored Stanford University Program is a residency program specializing in Child Neurology, located in Palo Alto, California, directed by Cynthia J. Campen, MD, MS and coordinated by Deanna Mink. The program accepts applications through October 31, 2027 and holds an accreditation status of Continued. International Medical Graduates interested in this program may contact the program coordinator directly at [email protected] or (650) 736-0885. IMGPrep analysts have verified and compiled this program’s IMG acceptance rate, USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 score requirements, Visa Sponsorship Policy, graduation year cutoff, and ECFMG certificate requirements — available to IMGPrep subscribers.

Program Identity & Fit

This is a large, academically dominant 5-year combined pediatrics/child neurology program at Stanford, structured around early and continuous integration of child and adult neurology rather than the conventional front-loaded adult-neurology year. Clinical training draws on the full breadth of subspecialty child neurology at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (epilepsy, neuro-oncology, neurocritical care, neurogenetics, movement disorders, white matter and neuromuscular disease among others), giving residents tertiary/quaternary complex-case exposure alongside a longitudinal continuity clinic. Research is deeply embedded through the Neuroscience Scholar Track, an NINDS R25 mechanism, and an Investigator Training Pipeline for physician-scientist applicants, with dedicated research blocks, post-residency funded fellowship options, and institutional support toward K-award independence; even residents outside formal tracks must produce manuscript-level scholarship. Distinctive structural features include the "Pretending" elective for graduated attending-level autonomy, individualized mentor/coach triads, and named scholarly concentration tracks (neuroscience, medical education, quality improvement), reflecting a program that values self-directed academic development within a highly supported, relationship-driven culture.

Who it fits

An applicant with a demonstrated basic or translational neuroscience research trajectory (often MD/PhD or dual-degree background) aiming for an academic physician-scientist or subspecialist career in child neurology, who also values structured mentorship and a collegial, low-hierarchy training culture.

Research intensity

Strong - research is structurally embedded (Neuroscience Scholar Track, R25, dedicated blocks, post-residency fellowship funding) and expected of all residents, even outside formal tracks.

Career orientation

Mixed - Academic Medicine, Physician-Scientist, Fellowship

Important

International medical graduates must have completed two years of pediatric residency training prior to commencing child neurology training, and recent hands-on U.S. clinical experience is described as mandatory.

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