Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program

National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The NIH Clinical Center Infectious Diseases Clinical Fellowship Program recruits four highly qualified internists each year to train in Infectious Diseases at the NIH Clinical Center. The fellowship is a three-year program. The first year of the program is designed to meet the majority of the clinical training requirements set forth by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Clinical training in the first year consists of rotations at the NIH Clinical Center and four outside affiliated academic medical centers (Johns Hopkins Hospital, Washington Hospital Center, George Washington University Hospital, and Georgetown University Hospital), as well as a private practice and ambulatory settings. This blend of general and specialized infectious diseases experiences offers a unique and unmatched array of diverse infectious disease pathologies, allowing fellows to gain comprehensive training in the pathophysiology of infectious diseases, including microbiology, mechanisms of pathogenesis and antimicrobial resistance, host defenses, and antimicrobial treatment. In the second and third years, fellows undertake clinical and/or bench projects under the direct supervision of faculty research mentors. The goal of the research training is to produce academic infectious diseases physicians who will be prepared for careers involving clinical, basic, or translational research after the completion of their fellowship. Fellows spend a minimum of two years in research and often stay for additional years to continue work on their projects. We offer a spectrum of clinical to basic research opportunities, and fellows may choose to work in any of the NIAID research groups or laboratories. The process of selecting potential research mentors begins in the fall of the first year of fellowship, when NIAID holds a retreat for fellows to meet with researchers and senior fellows. The fellows hear about the research projects in which they could participate, ranging in scope from clinical trials to overseas studies to the most basic aspects of immunology, virology, vaccine development, and more. Following the retreat, fellows consult individually with NIAID and fellowship program leadership and then meet with potential mentors to explore potential research options. Fellows typically choose a research mentor by springtime of their first year. Selection of fellows is based on a review of academic and clinical accomplishments and promise for a career as an independent investigator and leader in the specialty. A selection committee reviews applications and interview candidates to identify promising candidates for training at the NIH. Clinical fellows are integrated into the clinical research mission of the NIAID and are active and productive contributors to the intramural research program. Graduates of the program have had productive careers as investigators and leaders in Infectious Diseases at the NIH, extramural academic centers, federal, regulatory and even in private practice.