Weill Medical College of Cornell University

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• Supplemental Training Programs

Several training programs in clinical research are available to supplement our fellowship training program. The following are short descriptions of these programs with links to corresponding websites.

Masters of Science Clinical Research Program

The Graduate Program in Clinical and Translational Investigation at Weill Cornell Medical College trains patient-oriented researchers to conceive, design, and conduct independent clinical research in a well-structured cross-disciplinary team environment. The National Institutes of Health funds this program through their Clinical & Translational Science Award. The curriculum offers two tracks that are designed for rigorous training in clinical investigation. Track I is a core curriculum providing the basic skills of clinical investigation, leading to a Certificate of Clinical Investigation. It includes training in: the development of research hypotheses and methods of hypothesis testing; grant writing and manuscript preparation; data collection, construction of databases and data management systems; computer programs for data analysis; statistical analysis and the appropriate use of various statistical techniques in clinical research; basic epidemiologic principles in clinical research; ethics and human subjects protection in the conduct of patient-oriented research; regulatory requirements of clinical research; preparing protocols for the Human Rights Committee and other agencies; grants management and intellectual property; and general and specific state-of-the-art research tools and techniques. Track II, leading to a Master's in Clinical Investigation, includes the core curriculum (Track I); additional electives in the trainee's area of interest; and a clinical research project mentored by a clinical investigator in its design and implementation. Members of the Division (Drs. Glesby, Gulick, Wilkin) serve as faculty for this program.

Masters of Public Health Program

After the initial year of clinical training, our infectious diseases fellows have the opportunity to enter into the two-year Masters of Public Health program in Weill Cornell's Department of Public Health's General Preventive Medicine Residency. Upon completion, fellows receive an MPH from Columbia University's School of Public Health; they are also eligible for certification by ABIM-Infectious Diseases and the American Board of Preventive Medicine. The program emphasizes epidemiology, biostatistics, clinical and preventive medicine, medical care organization, medical sociology, and health economics and education. Fellows take classes at Columbia and participate in Weill Cornell's Public Health seminars and teaching program for undergraduate medical students. Fellows also assume responsibility in an ongoing research or service project. Each fellow will have an individual program designed to meet his/her specific professional goals. Fellows have used this program to supplement their training in hospital epidemiology and public health.

Graduate Program in Clinical Epidemiology & Health Services

The Graduate Program in Clinical Epidemiology & Health Services offers an 8 week intensive summer program or a 2-4 year Master of Science (MS) degree in Clinical Epidemiology & Health Services Research. The program is designed for those who wish to plan, implement and analyze quantitative and qualitative research studies, using appropriate research designs. The core of the curriculum includes research methodology, biostatistical techniques, data management, decision analysis, health economics and program evaluation. Graduates of the Masters program will be prepared to pursue academic careers in a variety of settings where data is required to answer complex questions. The emphasis is on training clinician researchers to teach research methods, conduct methodologically rigorous and scientifically sound studies, evaluate programs and perform cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit studies in a variety of populations.

Clinical Microbiology Fellowship Program

The Clinical Microbiology Laboratory offers a one-year ACGME-accredited fellowship in Medical Microbiology designed to train pathologists and infectious disease specialists for academic careers in Medical Microbiology, focusing on a combination of clinical research training and direction of laboratory services. Medical Microbiology fellows will primarily rotate through the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory of New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center. In addition, fellows will spend time in the infectious disease-related serology section of the Central Laboratory and in the microbiology-related section of the Molecular Pathology Laboratory. A one-month rotation on the patient care units with members of the Infectious Disease service, followed by weekly rounds with the Infectious Disease team, are also components of the scheduled curriculum. The program provides individualized training through faculty guidance, mentored research, and didactic lectures. Trainees will gain hands-on experience in all aspects of clinical microbiology including bacteriology, mycobacteriology, mycology, parasitology, virology, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, infectious disease molecular testing, and serology through structured bench rotations. The fellows will participate in test development and evaluation as well as applied clinical research. The Medical Microbiology fellow will not only provide interfaces between Clinical Microbiology, Pathology, and Infectious Diseases, but will also aid in further education to clinicians and nursing staff on the importance of laboratory medicine in patient care, as well as the most appropriate methods for collection and transport of clinical specimens for diagnosis of infectious diseases.