Infectious Diseases Fellowship

Our goals are to identify and to recruit outstanding applicants to our program, to help them learn to think critically and to acquire research skills and experience that will prepare them for careers in clinical/translational research in globally significant infectious diseases that will make a real contribution to improving health. The program is tailored to each individual trainee yet is designed to assure that all gain core competencies to be able to perform top quality clinical/translational research. The formal programs of each trainee will vary, depending on their prior training and current plans for their careers. Trainees who do not already have an advanced degree (e.g., PhD, MPH) are encouraged to enroll in either a PhD or a Master of Health Science degree program during their training. The skills that they gain through our program of focused didactic training, interactions with a diverse group of scholars in a multidisciplinary academic community and a mentored research experience with outstanding scientists who are experienced mentors will provide them with the tools to begin successful careers in academic pediatric infectious diseases.

Master of Health Science (MHS) Degree Program is offered through the School of Medicine. It requires 2 years of time dedicated to training and mentored research including course work appropriate for our fellows and either a thesis or a manuscript suitable for publication. This degree can be completed during the second and third years of fellowship, while completing an intensive mentored research project.

The Investigative Medicine Program (IMP) , inaugurated in 1999 as a Department in the Graduate School, offers a number of courses well suited to the needs of our trainees. This program also grants the PhD degree and is directed exclusively to physicians, most of whom enter the program as fellows in clinical departments. The IMP’s parallel paths of training emphasize either laboratory-based or clinically-based translational research. Students in IMP are required to meet the same rigorous standard to complete the requirements for the PhD as is any graduate student, but it is tailored to the unique circumstances of physician-scientists in training. We will support fellows who apply for the PhD in Investigative Medicine, which typically requires an additional 1-2 years of training (4-5 years total to complete both the fellowship and PhD).

For more information, please read our Fellowship Training Brochure. Applications are currently being accepted through the ERAS system. Information on our application process for this year can be found here in a letter to prospective applicants. For additional assistance, please contact our Program Coordinator, Susan Prisley.