We offer a professionally fulfilling foundation for fellows that includes:
- Clinical rotations: Fellows can craft their own individualized clinical training by selecting from 13 rotations including HIV service, clinical microbiology, ambulatory experience, and oncology and transplant, among others. Fellows can also gain experience working in a developing nation at the Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, Botswana.
- Advanced training hospitals: Fellows can train at the following four hospitals: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC), and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center (PVAMC).
- Diverse research opportunities: After completing their clinical year, fellows have the opportunity to participate in a number of research programs. These opportunities include programs in basic science laboratory research and patient-oriented clinical research, as well as training programs in epidemiology and health policy.
- Weekly conferences: Conferences are offered on various subjects as well as medical grand rounds, teaching sessions, and club meetings.
Research training opportunities
HUP General Consultation Service
This rotation provides a comprehensive consultation experience in the management of hospitalized adult patients with infectious diseases in a tertiary/quaternary setting.
HUP HIV service
Fellows acquire experience in the management of hospitalized patients with HIV and participate in the teaching curriculum for residents and students assigned to that service.
Outpatient HIV
Fellows attend supplemental HIV clinics at a community based treatment center, the Jonathan Lax Center, in Center City Philadelphia, where they have the opportunity to participate in the care of patients with HIV in a unique practice setting.
Clinical Microbiology
Fellows obtain on site exposure to the daily workings of a microbiology lab, thereby developing an understanding of the rationale, performance characteristics, selection and interpretation of diagnostic tests in the clinical microbiology laboratory. This experience is further supplemented by twice weekly plate rounds during the HUP General Consultation Service and HUP HIV rotations.
Oncology & Transplant
Fellows gain experience and expertise in the management of the infectious complications associated with solid organ (including heart, liver, lung, kidney, pancreas, composite tissue allograft, and islet cell) and oncology populations (with a focus on hematopoetic stem cell transplant patients). Fellows will also develop familiarity with infectious disease complications associated with ventricular assist devices and artificial heart systems.
Penn-Presbyterian Medical Center
Fellows participate in a comprehensive consultation experience in the management of hospitalized adult patients with infectious diseases and related conditions in a community setting.
Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Fellows provide comprehensive consultative care in the management of hospitalized adult patients with infectious diseases and related conditions in a veterans hospital.
Public Health
Fellows attend both tuberculosis and sexually transmitted disease clinics where they gain experience in the evaluation and management of ambulatory patients with core public health diseases, such as tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases, and learn the principles of public health practice.
Pennsylvania Hospital
Fellows may elect to participate in an additional consultation experience in the management of hospitalized adult patients with infectious diseases and related conditions in a community setting at the nation’s first hospital.
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Infectious Disease Inpatient Consult Service
Fellows may elect to gain consultation experience in the management of hospitalized pediatric patients with infectious diseases and related conditions.
Botswana Elective
Fellows may elect to gain experience working in a developing nation with patients in hospital, outpatient clinic, and community settings. The main teaching hospital is the Princess Marina Hospital (PMH), Gaborone, Botswana, which is the largest public hospital in Botswana, Africa.
Infectious Diseases Dermatology
Fellows may elect to spend time rounding with dermatologists focusing on infectious diseases issues in both inpatient and outpatient sites. They will also be exposed to teledermatology, reviewing diagnostic dilemmas from diverse international sites.
Ambulatory Experience (required during first and second year)
Fellows will have a half day per week of continuity clinic, focusing primarily on the care of patients with HIV at either the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Presbyterian Medical Center or the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Hospital.
Basic Science Training Program
The University of Pennsylvania has a very collaborative and integrated research program in immunology, microbiology, virology, and parasitology. ID fellows interested in basic science research can identify a laboratory from an extensive list of research topics and mentors. An NIH-funded infectious Disease-focused T32 training grant can offer two to three years of research support for basic scientists on the pathway towards sustained and independent funding.
The Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology (MSCE) Degree Program
This program provides comprehensive clinical research training. The goal of the program is to train individuals for successful careers as independent investigators. This program is directed by the faculty of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. The MSCE is a two-year program, which is typically undertaken in the second and third years of the ID fellowship. An Infectious Diseases/Epidemiology Research Training grant is available to support ID fellows accepted into the MSCE training program.
The PhD Program in Epidemiology
This program is directed by the faculty of the Graduate Group in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, which is one of seven graduate groups within Biomedical Graduate Studies. The educational mission of the program is to train individuals for successful careers as independent investigators in epidemiologic research.
The Masters of Science Program in Health Policy Research
Health policy research investigates the organization, management, financing, and delivery of health care and the social forces that shape health in the US and the world. Health policy researchers are intrinsically multidisciplinary, using tools from a wide range of scientific disciplines to gain insight into the complex challenges facing health care.
Additional Training Programs Available to ID Fellows
The University of Pennsylvania offers a wide range of training programs that are available to ID fellows, including:
- Master of Science in Translational Medicine
- Masters of Public Health
- Public Health Certificate Program (PHCP)
- Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program
- Clinical Research and Public Health Training Options Offered by the School of Medicine
The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) is the flagship of Penn Medicine. HUP was founded in 1884 and was the first university hospital in America. Penn Medicine was founded in 1993 and became one of the first academic health systems in the country during a period of transformation in health care. Both HUP and Penn Medicine have been recognized recently for the exceptional quality of their services. Since 1998, HUP was accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations with commendation, an honor reserved for the top 1% of American hospitals. Penn Medicine was the recipient of the first National Quality Award in 1998. HUP and its affiliated facilities, the Medical School and University, provide the training ground for the Infectious Diseases Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.
Ebbing Lautenbach, MD, MPH, MSCE
Chief
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC) is located four blocks from HUP. PPMC is a 300 bed, full-service community hospital which provides care to West Philadelphia and serves a as a regional referral center for its specialty units. PPMC houses a major orthopedic surgery practice, ophthalmology at the Scheie Eye Institute, cardiothoracic surgery, podiatric surgery, bariatric surgery, the Penn Family Practice program and a skilled nursing facility. The house staff of the University of Pennsylvania cover the medical and surgical services of PPMC.
Judith O'Donnell, MD
Chief
Pennsylvania Hospital
Pennsylvania Hospital (PAH) was founded in 1754 and is the oldest hospital in the United States. Pennsylvania Hospital's association with the Perelman School of Medicine extends back for more than a century and has served as a clinical training site for generations of Penn students and fellows. Pennsylvania's center city Philadelphia campus is a classic example of colonial architecture. PAH has outstanding programs in orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology, and HIV care which complement the fellow's experience in these disciplines at HUP. Fellows may choose elective rotations at Pennsylvania Hospital under the supervision of Penn Infectious Diseases faculty.
Leigh Kennedy, DO
Chief
Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center
The Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center (PVAMC) is located on the western edge of campus one block from HUP. The PVAMC is housed in a new building which has been transformed from a large inpatient facility to a 150 bed inpatient unit with a large ambulatory service and a nursing home on site. Effective July 1, 1998 the Infectious Diseases Division of Penn Medicine provides all of the consultation services as well as staffing for the Ambulatory HIV Clinic and Infection Control. The clinic serves a large population of HIV infected patients from West Philadelphia and a larger referral radius.
Zsofia Szep, MD
Chief