Scholarship

Yale University is well known for its cutting-edge research activities and offers exciting educational courses to enrich an academic career. Fellows have opportunity to enroll in a degree course, such as Master in Health Sciences. Fellows spend two years in research activities. The research opportunities include clinical, translational, laboratory and quality improvement research.

It is our belief that the acquisition of high quality research skills is fundamental to a viable long-term career in academic medicine. We have assembled a group of preceptors for research training which is broad based and represents some of the most outstanding investigators with expertise in a broad range of biomedical disciplines relevant to pediatric GI/Hepatology research.

The choice of a particular preceptor and project is the most important decision facing each fellow. It is the philosophy of the program that preceptors should be chosen by trainees rather than assigned. Each fellow is provided with extensive help in the form of information, advice and time to make a careful and deliberate selection of preceptor and project. Each January, the first-year fellow has limited clinical responsibilities and so has more time and opportunities to meet with the faculty whose research programs are of possible interest to them.

A formal Scholarship Oversight Committee (SOC) is established to mentor and guide each fellow in the first year. SOC is composed of at least 3 individuals i.e., the primary mentor supervising the fellow’s scholarly activity, a mentor for the fellow’s clinical and general career development, and a mentor with expertise in the particular area of scholarship that is being pursued by the fellow. Often there are additional mentors who are also members of SOC. The specific goals of SOC are:

• To meet with the fellow at least 2 times a year. If there are concerns with the fellow's progress, meetings are expected to occur more frequently.
• Complete evaluation/progress reports after each meeting to assess progress and detail accomplishments.
• Review and approve the proposed research plan for first year fellows.
• Attend the Thursday morning conferences to hear their fellow's presentations.
• Evaluate the fellow's written product of scholarly activity.

Our previous fellows have been very productive in research and have a high likelihood of progressing to academic careers, as exemplified by these selected publications from the last 5 years:

The name of training fellow is in bold.

1. Alper A, Pashankar DS. Bowel preparation for Colonoscopy in Children. In :Pediatric Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Manfredi Ed. Nova Publishers, Hauppauge, New York. 2015:81-90
2. Foglio EJ , Gorelick F. Abdominal Paracentesis Drainage: Which Patients With Severe Acute Pancreatitis Will Benefit?. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2015;49(9):717-719.
   
3. Patel MG, Baker K, Phatak UP, Alper A, Pashankar DS. Calcific pancreatitis in children. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2016;62(3):e28-29
   
4. Alrabadi LS, Morotti RA, Valentino PL, Rodriguez-Davalos MI, Ekong UD, Emre SH. Biliary drainage as treatment for allograft steatosis following liver transplantation for PFIC-1 disease: A single-center experience. Pediatr Transplant. 2018;22(4):e13184.
   
5. Alrabadi LS, Porto AF. Assessment of Community Pediatric Providers' Approach to a Child With Celiac Disease and Available Serological Testing Associated With a Large Tertiary Care Center. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2018;57(10):1199-1203.
   
6. DiMaggio DM, Du N, Scherer C, et al. Comparison of Imported European and US Infant Formulas: Labeling, Nutrient and Safety Concerns. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2019;69(4):480-486.
   
7. Freiberg B, Emre S, Morotti R, et al. Progressive Splenomegaly and Hypersplenism: An Unusual Case of Splenic Vein Stenosis with Histologic Findings of Hepatoportal Sclerosis. J Pediatr. 2020;218:222-227.e1.

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