C. N. H. Long Professor of Medicine (Nephrology) and Professor of Cellular And Molecular Physiology
Nephrology Research Fellowship
Yale Nephrology has provided a deep pipeline of training nephrology fellows to become preeminent physician scientists around the globe, regardless of previous background research experience. Yale is a collaborative institution that fosters independent and critical thinking, while faculty members are passionate and dedicated to guide trainees for a successful research career.
The nephrology research track is comprised of one full clinical year as a first-year fellow, followed by two years of guaranteed research time. Fellows who enter as clinical fellows may apply to enter this track after their first year if their career interests change and if they discover a curiosity about research once they meet the member of the section and hear about what they do.
As a fellow in this track, you will choose a primary clinical or basic science research mentor during the spring of their first clinical year, and work with that mentor to establish a mentoring committee and a research project.
Graduates of this track typically go on to pursue research careers in the clinical or basic science fields.
Research Opportunities
The Anlyan Research Center, Michael Marsland (Photographer)
The nephrology research fellowship is comprised of one clinical year, followed by two years of guaranteed research time. In addition, fellows who originally enter Yale’s two-year clinical track have the option of applying to switch to the research track during the spring of their first or second clinical year.
As a fellow in the research program, you will choose a primary research mentor during the spring of your clinical year, and then work with that mentor to establish a mentoring committee as well as their research project. Your primary mentor is typically a faculty member of the Section of Nephrology, but can be outside the section when appropriate. Our faculty will work with you once you are enrolled in the program to help identify the best mentor for you based on your interests and skill sets.
If you wish to include specific areas of didactic training during your research time, you can choose to participate in one of several advanced degree granting programs as outlined below.
Eligibility
Fellows in the three-year research track are typically supported by our T32 training grant which requires U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status for eligibility. However for fellows who are on a visa but have interest in pursuing a research career, we have access to sectional or departmental funding to be able to do so for selected candidates.
We encourage you to apply to the track which you feel best fits your career goals, and we will evaluate possible funding sources at a later date.
Components of Research Training
As a research fellow, you will have two years of guaranteed salary support with mentoring for obtaining additional support through extramural funding, such as the American Society of Nephrology, American Heart Association, and NIH T and K awards.
You will also have access to:
- Presentations by research faculty that provide an overview of the research opportunities available to trainees
- Establishment of a Research Oversight Committee for each research fellow to ensure progress towards a successful career as a physician-scientist
- Ability to pursue research in disciplines outside of the nephrology section, such as physiology, vascular biology, immunobiology, and human genetics
- Ability to pursue a PhD degree through the Investigative Medicine Program
- Ability to pursue training in chronic disease epidemiology via obtaining a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology and Public Health
- Ability to pursue training in Health Services through the National Clinical Scholars Program at Yale
- Tuition support for approved formal classwork
Basic Science Training in Nephrology
Basic science research training in nephrology spans the spectrum from tubule transport physiology to genetic diseases of the kidney, and pathophysiology of glomerular, tubular, and vascular disorders.
During your clinical year, you will hear other fellows and faculty present their research, meet individually with all research faculty, and thus identify the lab/mentor in which you are interested.
You will then work with your mentor to design a research project. In collaboration with senior faculty in the nephrology, you can establish a Research Oversight Committee to ensure your overall success in meeting goals for research training.
Research mentors in adult and pediatric nephrology include:
C. N. H. Long Professor of Medicine (Nephrology) and Professor of Cellular And Molecular Physiology; Vice Chair, Research; Co-director of Education, Yale Center for Clinical Investigation
Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity; Chair, Department of Internal Medicine; and Paul B. Beeson Professor of Medicine; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Nephrology); Section Chief, Pediatric Nephrology; Fellowship Program Director
Professor of Medicine (Nephrology); Director, Undergraduate Summer Research Program for Nephrology; Director, Research Fellowship; Director for Educational Enrichment, George M. O'Brien Center, Nephrology
Associate Professor; Director of Research in Kidney Transplantation, Nephrology
Assistant Professor; Director, Kidney BioBank, Internal Medicine
C. N. H. Long Professor of Medicine (Nephrology) and Professor of Genetics; Chief, Section of Nephrology
Associate Professor of Medicine (Nephrology) and Public Health (Chronic Disease Epidemiology); Director, Clinical and Translational Research Accelerator (CTRA); Course Director, Interpretation of the Medical Literature; Co Director, Human Genetics and Clinical Research Core
Examples of mentors from outside of nephrology include:
C. N. H. Long Professor of Cellular And Molecular Physiology and Professor of Cell Biology; Chair, Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Sterling Professor of Immunobiology; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Sterling Professor of Immunobiology; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Bayer Professor of Translational Medicine and Professor of Immunobiology, Pathology and Dermatology; Director, Human and Translational Immunology Program; Vice-Chair, Dept. of Immunobiology for the Section of Human and Translational Immunology
Core Research Facilities
To enhance your basic science training, Yale has multiple core research facilities that provide expert training in basic science techniques, support for data acquisition and analysis, and pilot grant opportunities, including:
- George M. O'Brien Kidney Center at Yale
- Center for Polycystic Kidney Disease Research
- Clinical and Translational Research Accelerator
- Yale Center for Clinical Investigation
- Yale Transgenic Facility
- Yale Center for Genome Analysis
Translational Research Pathway
The Clinical and Translational Research Accelerator (CTRA) is dedicated to the process of applying discoveries generated in the laboratory and in preclinical experiments, to the development of clinical studies, and to the design of clinical trials.
As a critical component of this mission, CTRA develops novel translational research methodologies for assessing biomarker performance and identifies innovative strategies to treat complex clinical disorders, such as peri-operative kidney injury, post-transplantation kidney injury, and hepatorenal and cardiorenal syndromes. A large biosample repository with associated bioinformatics has been established to support all phases of translational research and biomarker development. CTRA also has a real-time analytics core that integrates prognostic and predictive models into the electronic health record. They also recruit and train students and young scientists in translational research education.
Fellows involved in our program frequently pursue additional degrees as part of their training. We have had fellows earn PhD programs through the Investigative Medicine Program, or pursue training in epidemiology by obtaining a Master of Science degree through the Yale School of Public Health.
How do I apply?
Application to Yale’s Nephrology Research Fellowship is done exclusively through ERAS.
Interested applicants should submit their application through ERAS when the application cycle opens on July 1. Complete the ERAS application early, and secure all letters of recommendation because interview slots are given out based on the timing of the receipt of the application.
Application Requirements
To be considered for the program, you must have completed a three-year internal medicine residency by start of fellowship.
Along with the application, we require:
- Three letters or recommendation
- One letter must be from your residency program director
- A personal statement
- ERAS application
- USMLE transcript
We sponsor J-1 and H1B visas for selected applicants.
Interviews are by invitation only and usually occur in September through early October.
All applicants interested in training the Yale Nephrology fellowship training program will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.