Advanced Transplant Nephrology Fellowship

The advanced clinical training in transplant nephrology is an intensive one-year program that provides a scholarly training environment for fellows to become competent transplant nephrologists who will serve as future leaders of transplant programs and contribute academically to the field of kidney and pancreas transplantation.

The program is a collaboration between the Section of Nephrology, the Section of Transplantation and Immunology, and Yale New Haven Transplantation Center. The fellowship is structured so that the fellow will qualify as a OPTN-certified Kidney Transplant Program Medical Director.

The fellowship offers a very thorough exposure to both inpatient and outpatient management of kidney and pancreas transplantation, both before and after transplantation. As the program fellow, you are an integral part of the multidisciplinary care team during their training and actively participates in patient management and all aspects of the transplant program, including donor and recipient selection and quality and performance improvement initiatives.

You are also required to participate in meaningful clinical research and in other academic conferences sponsored by the Section of Nephrology and the Yale New Haven Transplantation Center.

You are expected to develop a small project or clinical trial in the field of transplantation during your fellowship year. Our faculty, which collectively has unique expertise in the areas of transplantation, immunology, and clinic research, are available to mentor you during this process. Naturally, many other members of the Yale community are available to provide scientific guidance as well. Opportunities are also available if you have an interest in pursuing basic laboratory research.

Our mission is to provide a scholarly training environment for fellows to become competent transplant nephrologists who will be the future leaders of transplant programs and contribute academically to the field of kidney and pancreas transplantation.

The many conferences and teaching opportunities offered through our joint departments complements a rigorous clinical experience that will prepare you to be a highly competent specialist in the field of transplant nephrology.

The Yale New Haven Transplant Center is one of the highest volume kidney transplant centers in New England. Furthermore, our center has over 600 patients registered for a kidney transplant.

Despite these high volumes, our post-transplant results remain consistently excellent. Recent Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) data for our program reports that kidney transplant recipient survival is 97% and 93% at one- and three-years post-transplant, respectively (better than expected). Furthermore, our graft survival is 94% and 91% at one and three years, respectively (also better than expected).

As the transplant nephrology fellow, you have constant exposure to the nephropathologist during your training. This includes a dedicated two-week rotation with a renal pathologist. You will also participate in performing transplant kidney biopsies on a routine basis. Our program does approximately 150-175 kidney biopsies annually (we do require a protocol biopsy for nearly all recipients six months following transplantation).

You will rotate in our on-site histocompatibility and immune evaluation laboratory for two weeks during the fellowship year. That experience, coupled with the ongoing clinical interactions consequent to the care of the transplant patients will provide you with ample opportunities to master these important areas.

Applications for the advanced transplant nephrology fellowship are reviewed and interviews are offered on a rolling – admissions basis.

Beginning annually on June 1, interested applicants should send the following materials to William Asch MD, PhD, Transplant Nephrology Program Director, via email:

• Copy of CV
• Personal statement addressing why you are interested in pursuing transplant nephrology training
• Two letters of reference
  • One letter must be from your fellowship program director

To be considered for the program, you must have completed a three-year internal medicine residency and a general nephrology in an ACGME-accredited program.

The advanced transplant fellowship program accepts one applicant annually for training.

To learn more about the Transplant Nephrology Fellowship Program, please contact us at (203) 785-4184.