Requirements
Entrance Requirements
Board Eligible
This program is open to physicians who have completed the clinical requirements for Board eligibility in their chosen specialty/subspecialty.
Formal Application
A formal application must be submitted which should include biographical data, references, career goals, and a specific proposal for a clinical project, including the identification of the candidate’s mentor.
Fellowship Requirements
Mentor-based, Project-oriented Program
Fellows are required to devote at least 80% of their time to the program; the remaining time is allotted to commitments in their sponsoring departments.
The fellowship is mentor-based and project-oriented including:
- 24 months of laboratory and/or clinical investigation
- Weekly, seminar and case discussion series
- Opportunities to study areas of interest in more depth
- Practical experience in the processes
Primary Project - 80% of Fellowship
Accounting for 80% of the program, fellows complete 24 months of laboratory and/or clinical investigation:
- The research must be patient-oriented and involve direct measurements on patient-derived samples or the use of innovative therapeutic or diagnostic techniques with laboratory-based elements.
- There must be demonstrable clinical relevance. Use of the outpatient or inpatient facilities of the Clinical Research Center is encouraged.
- The specific investigation is designed by the fellow under the direct supervision of an established physician-scientist who wishes to apply laboratory research to clinically relevant problems.
- Where appropriate, a dual mentorship should be considered, including a basic scientist expert in the technology being used and a clinical investigator expert in the condition being studied.
Core Curriculum - 20% of Fellowship
The core curriculum stresses problem-solving and utilizing methods introduced in the seminar series. Accounting for 20% of the program, the core curriculum is a required, weekly, seminar and case discussion series covering:
- Essential elements of study design
- Biostatistics
- Biomedical ethics
- Clinical pharmacology
- Data analysis
- Specific assay methodologies
- Application of new technologies to clinical and laboratory investigation
Elective Curriculum
Trainees have the opportunity to study areas of interest in more depth under the supervision of a specific tutor.
Project Elective
Trainees may obtain practical experience in the process of drug discovery, pharmacokinetics, drug toxicity, study design, study monitoring, and regulatory issues either at Pfizer, Merck or at the Food and Drug Administration.
