Infectious Diseases Training Program
John E. Bennett, M.D., Program Director
Tara N. Palmore, M.D., Associate Program Director
Juan Gea-Banacloche, M.D., Chief, NIH Infectious Disease Consultation Service
Steven M. Holland, M.D., Chief, Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases
Overview
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) offers an intensive, 3-year clinical and research training program in infectious diseases. The first year of the program is spent exclusively in clinical rotations, while in the second and third years trainees pursue their individual research interests under the direction of a faculty research mentor. Fellows attend a weekly continuity clinic during the first two years of the program. The purpose of the training program is to develop clinical and research skills in physicians who are already well grounded in clinical medicine, and who intend to pursue academic careers in infectious diseases.
Structure of the Clinical Training Program
Rotations
Clinical training in the first year of the Infectious Diseases Training Program consists of rotations within the NIH Clinical Center and at four outside affiliated institutions. Rotations are designed to provide comprehensive and well-rounded training in the pathophysiology of infectious diseases, including microbiology, mechanisms of pathogenesis, mechanisms of susceptibility, host response, and treatment.
The rotations at the NIH Clinical Center afford the opportunity to see patients with a range of inherited, acquired, and iatrogenic defects in immunity leading to infection susceptibility.
The NIAID Infectious Diseases Consultation Service oversees the infection management of patients undergoing stem cell transplantation, intensive chemotherapy, or immunomodulatory treatment for cancer, autoimmunity, or immunodeficiency. In addition, there is a large surgical service with patients undergoing intensive experimental chemotherapeutic, surgical, and immune therapies. Daily microbiology rounds in the NIH Clinical Center's outstanding research and diagnostic laboratory with the senior microbiology staff enhance patient care and improve the fellows' knowledge of microbiology.
The NIAID inpatient ward admits patients enrolled in infectious diseases and allergy/immunology clinical research protocols. These patients have a wide variety of disorders including rare and novel infections; mycobacterial infections; genetic and acquired immunodeficiencies; disorders of neutrophil and monocyte function; severe acute or chronic viral infections, including Epstein-Barr and HIV infections; parasitic diseases; and mycoses. The fellow on the ward service supervises four internal medicine residents who have patient care and night call responsibilities.
The rotations at four outside hospitals provide complementary experiences, enabling fellows to see a broad spectrum of infectious diseases cases, including advanced HIV. Each hospital has a distinct patient population and different range of essential ID cases, giving fellows an exceptionally balanced ID training experience.
| Duration |
Rotation |
Typical Case Distribution |
| NIAID Consult Service |
~2 months |
Infections related to stem cell transplantation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, immunomodulatory drugs, post-surgical infections, pneumonia, UTIs |
| NIAID Inpatient Ward |
~2 months |
Infections related to primary immunodeficiency syndromes; mycobacterial disease; parasitic diseases; opportunistic infections in advanced HIV/AIDS; allergic diseases; mycoses; clinical trials |
| Washington Hospital Center ID Consult Service |
1-2 months |
Burn infections, cardiovascular infections, opportunistic infections in advanced HIV/AIDS, solid organ transplantation, osteomyelitis, diabetic foot infections, pneumonia, UTIs |
| Johns Hopkins Hospital ID Consult Service |
~2 months |
Opportunistic infections in advanced HIV/AIDS and cancer chemotherapy, post-surgical infections, cardiovascular infections, solid organ transplantation, pneumonia, UTIs |
| Georgetown University Hospital ID Consult Service |
1-2 months |
Solid organ transplantation, travel medicine, post-surgical infections, pneumonia, UTIs |
| George Washington University Hospital ID Consult Service |
1-2 months |
Opportunistic infections in advanced HIV/AIDS, travel medicine, endovascular infections, osteomyelitis, post-surgical infections, pneumonia, UTIs |
| Elective month |
Optional |
Examples include, but not limited to, pediatric ID and transplant ID |
Didactic and practical training are also provided in the NIH Clinical Center Microbiology Laboratory and the NIH Clinical Center Hospital Epidemiology Service.
Continuity Clinic
All fellows are required to participate in 24 months of HIV continuity clinic held at the NIH. This clinic is staffed by experts in HIV management and pathogenesis and each week is accompanied by a didactic session. In the second year, fellows also see parasitology patients and outpatient ID consultations in clinic.
Rounds and Conferences
There are three infectious diseases training program conferences each week, including didactic talks, journal clubs, outside speakers, and case discussions. There are also weekly teaching conferences centered on activities of the NIAID research ward, HIV clinic, and parasitology service. Additional talks include NIAID Medical Grand Rounds, Clinical Center Grand Rounds, and the monthly meeting of the Greater Washington Infectious Disease Society. Numerous conferences and didactic lectures are offered on a wide range of research and clinical subjects on a daily basis at the NIH.
Research Training
The goal of the training program is to produce investigators, whether they focus on clinical, basic, or translational research, with excellent clinical training. Fellows spend a minimum of two years in research, and often stay for additional years to work on their projects. We offer both basic and clinical research opportunities, with a strong emphasis on translational research. Fellows typically decide what kind of research they will be conducting by the middle of the first year. Those who elect to do clinical research will be encouraged to apply for the Training Program in Clinical Research (TPCR) offered at NIH in collaboration with Duke University.
Graduate-level courses are offered on site by the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences. Coursework leading to an MPH is available through Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In the second and third years, fellows undertake clinical, bench, or combined clinical and bench research projects under the direct supervision of senior staff members. Fellows may choose to work in any of the laboratories of the NIH. Laboratories in the NIAID are involved in investigations of all aspects of infectious diseases and immunology. Research projects range in scope from clinical trials to overseas research projects to the most basic aspects of cell and molecular biology.
International Research
The NIAID has clinical investigators engaged in collaborative research projects in Mali, Peru, Thailand, South Korea, Nigeria, South Africa, and India. Several fellows are currently principal investigators on their own international research projects at some of these sites (see below).
Research Mentors
ID fellows have a broad array of research mentors from which to choose for their research years.
Career Mentors
Each fellow selects a career mentor from among the ID faculty, someone who is not involved with the fellow’s research area. The fellow and mentor meet quarterly and discuss the fellow’s career trajectory, including grant-writing possibilities and future job options.
 |
| Left to right: Drs. Mican and Bennett and ID fellows Drs. Lopatin, Yin, Grubb, Lane and Greenberg. |
Examples of Current and Recent ID Fellow Research Projects
- B-cell immunity to malaria in Malian children
- Genetic polymorphisms leading to susceptibility to mycobacterial infection
- Genetics of influenza
- Pulmonary hypertension in Malian children with severe malaria
- Filarial and HIV co-infection in Indian adults
- Host factors in susceptibility to pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial infection
- T-cell immunity to TB in Malian adults with and without HIV infection
- Effects of immunomodulatory drug in patients with HIV infection
- Adult immune response to vaccinia virus infection
- MDR- and XDR-TB clinical study
- Varicella-zoster virus latency
Program Graduates
The pass rate for the Infectious Diseases Board Exam over the past 5 years has been 100%, and over 10 years has been 96%. Among our former infectious disease fellows graduating since 1979, approximately 60% are currently employed in academia (engaged in translational or clinical research), about 20% are in the pharmaceutical industry or government administration, and 15% in private practice.
Loan Repayment
Most ID fellows with significant school debt have been able to receive substantial loan repayment under the NIH loan repayment program (http://www.lrp.nih.gov). Fellows may apply for one of several categories of loan repayment through this program, the amount most recently ranging from $20,000 to $35,000 per year. Because NIH clinical fellow salaries are well above the national mean for ID fellows, fellowship has not required assumption of additional debt.
Application Information
The NIH Infectious Diseases Training Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). After successful completion of the second year, fellows are eligible to take the examination for the subspecialty Board of Infectious Diseases given by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM).
There are up to four positions available per year. Candidates should apply through ERAS and are selected through the National Residency Matching Program. The length of the fellowship program is 3 years; however, many fellows continue their research activities for 1 or more additional years. Fellows in the ABIM Research Pathway require 4 years of fellowship and this can usually be accommodated in our program.
Eligibility Criteria
Qualified candidates must have completed 3 years of residency training in internal medicine in the United States or Canada prior to entering the fellowship program. Residents will be accepted after only 2 years of internal medicine residency if they are accepted in the ABIM Research Pathway.
Please read our requirements below:
- We ONLY accept applications via ERAS (non-government).
- Through ERAS, applicants will be asked to supply USMLE scores for Steps 1 and 2, a personal statement of career goals, medical school transcripts, and three letters of recommendation, one of which should be from the internal medicine program director. We appreciate but do not require photographs because photos help us remember applicants after the interview during the discussions of the candidates.
- We accept applications up to 3 weeks before the deadline for the National Residency Matching Program.
- We do not accept J1 applicants. We accept U.S. permanent residents and citizens.
- Applicants must have passed USMLE Step 3 in order to begin fellowship training here.
Upon receipt of the required materials, we will notify you as to whether an interview will be scheduled. If financial or other constraints prohibit you from attending an interview, you should notify Dr. Bennett as soon as possible. You may also contact Dr. Bennett's office to verify receipt of your application, via phone, e-mail, or fax.
John E. Bennett, M.D.
Director, Infectious Diseases Training Program
or Kala Viswanathan
Training Program Coordinator
NIAID Clinical Center, Bldg. 10, Rm. 12C103B
10 Center Drive, MSC 1888
Bethesda, MD, USA 20892-1888
Phone: 301-496-3461
Fax: 301-480-0050
E-mail: jbennett@niaid.nih.gov or kvish@niaid.nih.gov
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