Fellowship Program

The goal of the Yale Medical Oncology-Hematology Program is to train the next generation of academic hematologists and oncologists devoted to laboratory-based or patient-oriented investigation.  Thus, the program is designed and structured to provide not only comprehensive clinical training but also a rigorous research experience to prepare fellows for careers as clinician investigators or clinician scientists in academic medicine.

In recognition of the increasing complexity of cancer therapy, particularly with respect to the interface between laboratory discovery and clinical care, the fellowship training has been organized to provide experience in the multidisciplinary care of patients with cancer, supplemented by an intensive program of didactic lectures, inter-disciplinary tumor boards, research seminars, and formal coursework. 

The outpatient clinics are structured according to specific diseases (e.g., breast cancer, lymphoma, lung cancer, benign hematologic disease, etc). Each disease-specific unit is supported by a weekly inter-disciplinary tumor board attended by specialized faculty members from other departments, where patients are discussed in depth with review of pathologic and radiological data. The disease-specific units facilitate the clinical and translation research programs at Yale and improve patient care by consolidating complex and inter-disciplinary management.

Research Opportunities and Programs

There are diverse opportunities for clinical, translational, or basic research within the Sections of Medical Oncology and Hematology and throughout the Yale School of Medicine, including Yale Center for Molecular Discovery at West Campus (http://www.yale.edu/westcampus/). Importantly, fellows may pursue cancer-related or hematologic research in other departments or sections within the School of Medicine, and thus have access to the vast array of research opportunities in clinical, outcomes, translational, and basic arenas. 

In addition, Yale Center for Clinical Investigation, funded by NIH’s Institutional Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), provides a robust infrastructure to promote collaborative clinical and translational research of post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty (http://ycci.yale.edu/index.aspx).  The YCCI provides an array of resources to support clinical and translational research efforts of post-graduate fellows, including biostatistics and study design, biomedical informatics, clinical research resources, translational core research facilities, et al.  YCCI supports several initiatives specifically focused on the educating and training of clinical fellows and junior faculty in inter-disciplinary research approaches and technologies, including the YCCI Junior Faculty Scholars Program (http://ycci.yale.edu/education/index.aspx) and the Investigative Medicine PhD Program (IMP) (http://medicine.yale.edu/investigativemedicine/index.aspx).  The IMP is a unique clinically-based or laboratory-based research training program for clinical fellows that leads to a PhD in Investigative Medicine at the completion of fellowship training.  Hematology-Oncology fellows who are interested in rigorous research experience, including a comprehensive didactic curriculum, are encouraged to apply to the IMP. 

A brief summary description of the research interests and programs of faculty members in the Sections of Medical Oncology and Hematology can be found on the Yale Cancer Center website: http://info.med.yale.edu/ycc/.  Additional information regarding research opportunities in other departments can be found on the Yale School of Medicine website: http://medicine.yale.edu/research/index.aspx medicine.