Gyorgy Csako, M.D.
Fellowship Program Director

Overview

The Clinical Chemistry Fellowship is a 2-year program providing in-depth training in the various aspects of clinical chemistry. The Clinical Chemistry Service at the NIH provides all the chemical diagnostic testing for the patients in the Clinical Center, as well as for outpatient clinics. The senior staff is composed of five individuals with M.D. and/or Ph.D. degrees. Approximately 260,000 tests are performed per month by a technical staff of 45 medical technologists, chemists, technicians, and medical aids.

Clinical Training Program

The first three months of the program are devoted to rotations through various Clinical Chemistry sections: general chemistry, special chemistry, immunoassays, electrophoresis, urinalysis, therapeutic drug monitoring, and STAT tests. The fellow is then expected (on a rotating basis) to handle inquiries to the Clinical Chemistry Service from patient-care physicians and is encouraged to attend working patient rounds. Throughout the training, special emphasis is placed on the correlation of laboratory data with the status of patients in the Clinical Center. After the initial training, the fellow regularly works up and presents patient cases.

Research Training Program

During the first 3 months of the program the fellow meets with and discusses the research and service responsibilities of each Senior Staff member. The fellow is encouraged to choose a research project for independent investigation under the supervision of a Senior Staff member, or to participate in an ongoing research project. The fellow is also responsible for developing one or two methods for implementation by the Clinical Chemistry Service. The project for method development is determined by the needs of the Service at the time. The Clinical Chemistry Service collaborates in clinical research of a chemical nature and conducts extensive research and development in analytical methodology, automation, and computerization. Examples of areas of investigation are the following:

• Magnesium metabolism
• Development of immunoassays
• Drug interference with clinical laboratory tests
• Application of electrophoresis to the diagnosis of disease in several disease categories
• Assessment of the clinical relevancy of laboratory test results
• Factors affecting the reference interval
• Instrument evaluation and automated assay
• Molecular biology of lipoproteins and cancer
• Assessment of thyroid function tests

Major Clinical Faculty and Research Interests

Gyorgy Csako, M.D.
Electrophoresis; isoenzymes; lipid metabolism;
thyroid function; and molecular biology

Glen L. Hortin, M.D., Ph.D.
High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC),
analytical interferences, capillary electrophoresis,
serum markers for cancer, biosynthetic processing of
proteins

Nadja N. Rehak, Ph.D.
Ionized magnesium and calcium; electrolytes;
acid-base balance; blood gases and pH

Alan Remaley, M.D., Ph.D.
Lipid metabolism; HDL; laboratory automation;
Tangier disease

Application Information

Qualified candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and must have an M.D. and/or Ph.D. Preference is given to individuals who are approximately 2 years beyond the doctoral degree, and who have obtained training in Laboratory Medicine, clinical medicine, or clinical chemistry. There is one position available each year beginning on July 1. Applications are closed on October 1 for the position that is available beginning July 1 of the following year. The expected length of the program is 2 years.

For further information, contact:

Gyorgy Csako, M.D.
Clinical Chemistry Service
Department of Laboratory Medicine
Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center
National Institutes of Health
Building 10, Room 2C-407
10 Center Drive MSC 1508
Bethesda, MD 20892-1508

phone: 301-496-3386
fax: 301-402-1885
email: gcsako@nih.gov