Department of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh
Gastroenterology Career Tracks
- GI Fellowships: Physician Scientist Track
- GI Fellowships: Clinical Investigation/Research Track
- GI Fellowships: Informatics and Clinican Educator Track
- GI Fellowships: Review of Year I, II & III Requirements
- Fellowship Research Opportunities and T-32 Grant
GI Fellowships: Physician Scientist Track
CAREER GOALS: To establish a career as a physician scientist in an academic center and become an independent principal investigator.
FELLOWSHIP OBJECTIVES: Under faculty mentor supervision, the fellow will encounter 18 mos. of bench research.
FACULTY RESPONSIBILITIES: To serve as research mentor for the physician scientiest track fellow.
EXPECTATION AT END OF 3 YEAR FELLOWSHIP: To continue research as a post-doctoral fellow or junior faculty in an academic institution and establish independent funding as a career scientist.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Although this career track is geared toward fellows with prior research experience and interest, there will be ample opportunity for fellows with little research background to enter this track. It is anticipated that fellows on this track will be supported by the T32 Digestive Disease Research Training Grant. Fellows entering this track are encouraged to apply for grant support in the third year and continue their research as junior faculty.
EXAMPLE: A fellow entering the program with extensive research experience (e.g., MD, PhD) identifies a faculty mentor. By the end of th efirst lcinical year, there is a definied research project and mentor. Eighteen months of the second and third years are spent in the lab under the supervision of the faculty mentor.
Contact Information
Helen Gibson
Fellowship Coordinator - University of Pittsburgh, Div. of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
Phone: (412) 648-9241
E-mail:gibsonh@msx.upmc.edu
PUH, M2, C Wing - 200 Lothrop St. - Pittsburgh, PA 15213
GI Fellowships: Clinical Investigation/Research Track
CAREER GOALS: To establish a career as a clinical researcher in an acadmic medical center.
FELLOWSHIP OBJECTIVES: To define a niche specialty within gastroenterology, hepatology or nutrition and identify an area of research that would continue to be pursued as a faculty member in an academic medical center.
FACULTY RESPONSIBILITIES: In the fist six months of fellowship, select faculty will present an overview of their research. These presentations will serve as an introduction of ongoing research within the division and will identify potential faculty mentors for fellows.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: By the end of the first clinical year, there is a defined clinical research project and mentor. During the summer of the second year, the fellow will participate in didactic course work that is directed by the Division of Genteral Internal Medicine. The second and third years will be spent completing the clinical research project and identifying a subspecialty niche.
EXPECTATION AT THE END OF 3 YEAR FELLOWSHIP: To join a clinical academic faculty and continue clinical research within the chosen clinical subspecialty.
EXAMPLE: A fellow with an interest in GI oncology will participate in a research project in GI oncology and will devote clinical time to this area.
Contact Information
Helen Gibson
Fellowship Coordinator - University of Pittsburgh, Div. of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
Phone: (412) 648-9241
E-mail: gibsonh@msx.upmc.edu
PUH, M2, C Wing - 200 Lothrop St. - Pittsburgh, PA 15213
GI Fellowships: Informatics and Clinican Educator Track
CAREER GOALS: To establish a career as a clinician educator with expertise in the field of medical informatics.
FELLOWSHIP OBJECTIVES: To learn how to become an effective clinician educator with an emphasis on learning informatics as an educational tool.
FACULTY RESPONSIBILITIES: At the beginning of the fellowship, introduce the field of medical informatics and its role in clinical education
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: At the completion of the first year, there is an identified project within the field of medical informatics. Fellows choosing this path will participate in didactic courses designed by the School of Medicine for clinician educators. In the second and third years, the fellow will define an education/informatics project that would be integrated with a subspecialty niche.
EXPECTATION AT THE END OF 3 YEAR FELLOWSHIP: To join an academic medical center as clinical faculty dedicated to clinical education and informatics.
EXAMPLE: A fellow with a clinical interest in hepatology may design an informatics project that focuses on clinician education of Hepatitis C.
Contact Information
Helen Gibson
Fellowship Coordinator - University of Pittsburgh, Div. of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
Phone: (412) 648-9241
E-mail: gibsonh@msx.upmc.edu
PUH, M2, C Wing - 200 Lothrop St. - Pittsburgh, PA 15213
GI Fellowships: Review of Year I, II & III Requirements
Twenty-six faculty members interact with 13 fellows at the University of Pittsburgh Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition's GI Fellowship Program. The University Health Systems of Pittsburgh is a major academic center which consists of many tertiary and specialty hospitals. The overall program responsibilities may be summarized as follows:
Year I: Fellows will have twelve months of clinical responsibilities which will be spent on the Consultative GI and Hepatology Services at the University Hospitals and at the Veterans Administration Medical Center. In addition, they will be scheduled for one month of Nutritional Support. During this first year, fellows will be expected to provide consultations in Gastroenterology and Hepatology on in-patients under the supervision of full-time faculty members. They will perform procedures under direct supervision by faculty members and will learn the indications, techniques and interpretation of same. They will be responsible for guiding the working team which often consists of medical residents and medical students.
Year II & III: Fellows will assume increasing responsibilities and will conduct sophisticated procedures requiring greater technical expertise. They will engage in research under the supervision of full-time faculty members. They will be expected to prepare and present at medical conferences and coordinate and supervise these presentations. This will all be done under the supervision of the full-time faculty with increasingly graded responsibilities. Opportunities exist for specialized training as physician-scientists, clinical researchers, clinician educator with emphasis on informatics and clinician administrators.
Fellowship Completion: Fellows will be expected to be Board Eligible in Gastroenterology and Hepatology due to their experience in providing consultative services, performing appropriate procedures for their specialty, and interpreting these services/procedures. During the three years of their training, fellows will be exposed to a wide variety of out-patients and will attend a longitudinal out-patient clinic which will be supervised by a full-time faculty member.
Contact Information
Helen Gibson
Fellowship Coordinator - University of Pittsburgh, Div. of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
Phone: (412) 648-9241
E-mail: gibsonh@msx.upmc.edu
PUH, M2, C Wing - 200 Lothrop St. - Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Physician Education Program - GI Rounds Online - Case #1
The Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition is currently offering an interactive physician online education course entitled GI Rounds Online. Visit the GI Rounds Online website, or follow the above link to view the program informational brochure.
We gratefully acknowledge an education gran from Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals to support this program.
Contact Information
Joy Jenko Merusi
Dir., Digestive Health Programs - Div. of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition - Univ. of Pittsb
Phone: (412) 648-3232
E-mail: merusij@msx.dept-med.pitt.edu
PUH, Mezz. 2, C Wing - 200 Lothrop St. - Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Fellowship Research Opportunities and T-32 Grant
The University of Pittsburgh Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition currently operates a T-32 grant from the National Institutes of Health. All fellows with an interest in GI research opportunities in a top-rate program are strongly encouraged to consider the University of Pittsburgh.
Physician-scientist trainees, especially those with both M.D. and Ph.D. training, are highly encouraged to contact Helen Gibson, GI fellowship program coordinator, at (412) 648-9241 for T-32 information targeted to your special interests.
To apply for any University of Pittsburgh GI Fellowship, please complete the application materials and directions found in the Educational Section of this website.
The goals of this T-32 training program include preparing physicians and pre-/post-doctoral trainees for biomedical research careers in digestive diseases. The course of research study is concentrated, in-depth, structured and well-mentored. This program is designed to provide a rigorous approach to scientific inquiry in basic science and clinical investigations with an emphasis on translational research. The program offers opportunities in four basic research training units:
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease;
- Neurogastroenterology and Motility;
- Pancreas, Biliary and Liver Diseases; and
- GI Cancers.
Transecting these units are the scientific disciplines of genetics, immunology, neuroscience, moleculr and cleeular biology and epidemiology. A fifth training unit, Epidemiology and Outcomes Research, prepares the trainee to apply scientific rigor to a variety of clinically-based problems within and beyond the focus of the Division. Key physician and scientist mentors have already committed their time to this initiative, and these collaborative researchers are available at any time to discuss fellow research interests and options at the University of Pittsburgh.
Accepted fellows will receive dedicated research time and will develop their research project under the close supervision of a faculty trainer. Didactic lectures, research seminars, journal clubs, formal course work and attendance at scientific meetings will supplement this intensively structured research experience. Postdoctoral graduates of this comprehensive training experience will be equipped to compete for individual training support and faculty positions in academic medicine.
Contact Information
Helen Gibson
Dir., Digestive Health Programs
Phone: (412) 648-3232
E-mail: gibsonh@msx.upmc.edu
Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
PUH, Mezz. 2, C Wing - 200 Lothrop St. - Pittsburgh, PA 15213