Four types of fellows
will be chosen on a competitive basis for one-year fellowships. In addition,
an outstanding graduate student will be chosen each year.
Postdoctoral Fellows. Two to three will be chosen each year; one will be recruited from an application/interview process after national advertising, and the other(s) will be awarded to postdoctoral fellows already doing infectious disease-related research (broadly defined) at Washington University in St. Louis.
Predoctoral Fellows. Two will be chosen each year from students finishing their second year (fellowship to begin September 1 of the third year).
Infectious Diseases Fellows. One to two will be chosen each year from either the Department of Medicine or Department of Pediatrics infectious diseases fellowship programs.
Faculty Fellows. Nominations for Faculty Fellows will be invited from faculty, postdoctoral fellows and students. The nominees will be ranked by the advisory board. There will be approximately three per semester (six per year), timed approximately one per month. They will give the standard Tuesday noon seminar, but will stay to participate in a session of the IDSP course (Wednesday morning) followed by lunch with the current IDSP Fellows.
Outstanding Graduate Student. Nominations for Outstanding Graduate Student will be invited from the faculty and will be awarded to a student who has graduated within the past year. The award will be based on the quality of the thesis in the broadly defined area of infectious diseases, as well as contribution to the scientific community during the student’s time at Washington University in St. Louis. In recognition of this award, the student will receive $500.
All IDSP fellows will be expected to participate in the IDSP course titled Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Infectious Disease. In addition, IDSP predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows will gain additional insights into the clinical side of infectious disease by interactions with a clinical mentor. The IDSP infectious disease fellows (depending on his/her background) may want to audit the special topics course offered in the fall semester titled Special Topics in Microbial Pathogenesis as an alternative. Postdoctoral fellows who do not have much background in microbial pathogenesis also may want to audit this course.
Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Infectious Disease. The course will meet approximately six times per semester (12 times/year). Six of these course meetings (approximately three per semester) will be coordinated with IDSP faculty fellow visits. Students are expected to read research and review articles selected by the IDSP faculty fellow in advance of the course meeting. The faculty fellow will present an informal 30-minute talk (on a topic either not covered in the Tuesday seminar, or deeper analysis of the same work). The class will then be open for discussion of this work and related issues covered in the papers selected by the IDSP faculty fellow, as well as future directions. Participants will be expected to have read the material in advance of the class and to have prepared several questions/comments for discussion. The remaining six meetings of the course will be similar in format, but will be presented by Washington University in St. Louis faculty and will include investigators active in the clinical sciences as well as established basic scientists.
Clinical Mentor: Fellows will be matched with faculty from the infectious diseases divisions of medicine and pediatrics at the beginning of their fellowships. At times (mutually arranged) throughout the year, the mentor and fellow will meet to attend rounds on infectious disease or infectious diseases clinic (four to six times during the year). In addition, the mentor and fellow will attend one of the infectious diseases conferences together on a regular basis (approximately once per month).
