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Research Training in Immunohematology & Transfusion Medicine

The Department of Laboratory Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine offers 2-3 years of structured post-doctoral research training in the broad field of Immunohematology to MDs, MD/PhDs, and PhDs interested in long term investigative careers in academia or elsewhere. This NIH-funded NRSA (T32) program is designed to provide the basic science, translational, and clinical research skills needed for individuals to become successful clinician-scientists and scientists.

The major areas of focus are:

  • Stem Cells/Hematopoiesis
  • Transfusion Medicine
  • Immunology
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions
  • Vascular Biology/Transplantation
  • Biomedical Engineering.
The core of the program is work in the research laboratory of one of over 30 Yale faculty members, drawn from 8 different Departments.

The program also offers the possibility of obtaining an additional advanced degree: a PhD in Investigative Medicine or a Masters in Health Sciences for trainees with an MD degree, or a Masters in Biomedical Engineering for any trainees. Individuals aiming for clinician-scientist careers, including MDs and MD/PhDs interested in any relevant clinical field, as well as PhD pathology and genetics clinician-scientists find the program especially well designed for their aspirations, as do academically oriented PhDs.

Applicants should have a graduate degree in Medicine or the Biological Sciences (MD, PhD, DVM, PharmD, DCLS). Most MD or MD/PhD applicants to the program will have been trained in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and its subspecialties or in Medicine or Pediatric Hematology, although trainees throughout the years have also come from Cardiology, Anesthesiology, and many other disciplines. Most PhD applicants to the training will have done their graduate work in the biological sciences or in bioengineering, although trainees have also come through less traditional pathways such as Computer Sciences. Many of the clinician-scientist trainees will have come through one of the Yale Laboratory Medicine residencies or fellowships (Transfusion Medicine, Hematopathology, Microbiology, Molecular Genetic Pathology or Clinical Chemistry) on the physician-scientist track pathway; however, we very much welcome MDs and MD/PhDs who have already obtained their clinical training elsewhere and now wish to pursue a research career.

Trainees must meet the criteria for support on an NIH NRSA: a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment.

Applications are accepted throughout the year. For applications and inquiries, please follow the instructions under “Apply”.

Our Graduates

We are very proud of the graduates of our physician-scientist and scientist training programs in the Department. Below we list just a few of these individuals:

  • Terrence Geiger, MD, PhD - Member, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital; Director Clinical Pathology; Senior Vice President and Deputy Director for Academic and Biomedical Operations
  • Li Chai, MD - Associate Professor of Pathology, Brigham & Women's Hospital/Harvard; Associate Director of Transfusion Medicine
  • Erica Herzog, MD, PhD - Associate Professor of Internal Medicine (Pulmonary); Director, Translational Lung Research Program, Yale
  • Joseph P. Mathew, MD - Professor and Chair of Anesthesiology, Duke University
  • Tonya Colpitts, PhD - Associate Director of Virology, Moderna
  • David Persing, MD, PhD - Executive Vice President, Chief Medical & Technology Officer, Cepheid Corporation
  • David Leitenberg, MD, PhD-Associate Professor Pathology, George Washington University
  • Mark Velleca, MD, PhD - Chief Executive Officer, StrideBio
  • Jonathan Genzen, MD, PhD - Associate Professor of Pathology, University of Utah
  • Mandar Kulkarni, PhD - Chief Technical Officer, Cancer Genetics
  • Michael Hodsdon, MD, PhD - Medical Fellow, Eli Lilly
  • Stephanie Eisenbarth, MD, PhD - Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Immunobiology, Yale University
  • Kevin Nickerson, PhD - Research Assistant Professor of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh
  • Tore Eid, MD, PhD - Assistant Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Cellular & Molecular Physiology, Yale University
  • Richard Torres, MD, MSc - Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine, Yale University
  • Susan Fink, MD, PhD - Assistant Professor of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington
  • Daniel Jane-Wit, MD, PhD - Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine (Cardiology), Yale
  • Alex Ryder, MD, PhD - Medical Director at Spectra Laboratories, Inc.
  • Ellen Foxman, MD, PhD - Assistant Professor of Laboratory Medicine, Yale
  • Maudry Laurent-Rolle, MD, PhD - Assistant Professor, Infectious Diseases, Yale University
  • Cheyne Kurokawa, PhD - Senior Scientist, AstraZeneca
  • Susanna Curtis, MD, PhD - Assistant Professor, Montefiore Medical Center Assistant Director, Sickle Cell Program for Adults, Montefiore
  • Nadia Ayala-Lopez, PhD - Fellow, Clinical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University
  • Vanessa Scanlon, PhD - Instructor, Dept. of Laboratory Medicine, Yale University
  • Raisa Balbuena-Merle, MD - Assistant Professor, Dept. of Laboratory Medicine, Yale University
  • James Zachary Porterfield, MD, PhD - Assistant Professor, Microbiology Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of Kentucky
  • Manuel K. Rausch, PhD - Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
  • David R. Gibb, MD, PhD - Associate Pathologist, Cedars-Sinai, Los Angeles, CA.