Research Fellowships

The Department of Laboratory Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine offers structured post-doctoral basic research training in the broad field of Immunohematology. This NIH-funded NRSA program is designed to provide the basic science, translational, and clinical research skills needed for individuals to become successful clinician-scientists and scientists in the broad field of Immunohematology and Transfusion Medicine. 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 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.

The heart of the 2-3 year program revolves around investigative work in a Yale faculty mentor's laboratory. Faculty are drawn from a variety of basic science and clinical departments at Yale including Laboratory Medicine, Pathology, Immunobiology, Pediatrics, Genetics, Cell Biology, Internal Medicine, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacology.

In addition to direct investigative work, trainees receive formal didactic instruction in relevant basic sciences and methodologies and participate in a special seminar series providing interaction with investigators in this field from across the country.

For individuals with an MD degree, the program also has a track which includes obtaining a PhD degree during the training, either in Investigative Medicine through the Yale Investigative Medicine Program. It is also possible, for individuals who already have a MD or PhD graduate degree but desire to move their work in the direction of biomedical engineering, to obtain a Master's in Biomedical Engineering as a part of this program.

The broad areas of investigation covered include: hematopoiesis/stem cell biology, immunology/host-pathogen interactions, transplantation/vascular biology/inflammation, and immunohematology biomedical engineering.

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 Faculty
Senior Vice President and Deputy Director for Academic and Biomedical Operations
Interim Chair, Department of Immunology
St. Jude Endowed Chair in Pediatrics

Li Chai, MD

Dr. Li Chai is a physician scientist in the field of Transfusion Medicine.
Transfusion Medicine Service at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital Boston, and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Tonya Colpitts, PhD