Fellowship Program Information

The UCSF Hematology Oncology Fellowship Training Program

Mission

The Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Training Program at UCSF is devoted to the rigorous training and development of physician scientists to become future leaders in clinical and/or laboratory investigation.

Goals

The UCSF Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Training Program will provide rigorous and comprehensive training in:

1. The prevention, detection, evaluation and care of cancer patients, and in the evaluation and treatment of patients with benign hematologic disorders, leading to board eligibility in medical oncology and/or hematology.
2. Clinical and translational research including trial design and methodology, biostatistics and ethics.
3. Laboratory-based research to develop highly productive investigators.

Overview

The development of leaders in clinical and laboratory investigation is undertaken in the context of providing comprehensive clinical training in oncology and hematology. The first phase of training is clinical in nature, and is designed to provide the fundamental knowledge base required for understanding the prevention, detection, evaluation and care of cancer patients, and in the evaluation and treatment of patients with benign hematologic disorders. This knowledge base is viewed as a platform upon which clinical, translational, and laboratory research programs can be built during the second, research phase of training. Clinical training includes regular inpatient rotations as well as outpatient clinical rotations, and also includes the fundamentals of clinical research methodology. For individuals seeking board-eligibility in oncology, the clinical phase of fellowship training is one year in duration, whereas for individuals also seeking board-eligibility in hematology, an additional 6 months of clinical training is required.

Clinical Training

Inpatient Rotations

During the first phase of training, fellows participate in inpatient rotations, undertaken on three separate campuses that take advantage of the tremendous diversity in patient populations seen at San Francisco. These campuses are:

1. UCSF-Moffitt/Long Hospitals: A 688 bed tertiary care hospital. Fellows rotate through the leukemia/lymphoma/transplant service, and an inpatient hematology and oncology consult service.
2. San Francisco General Hospital: A 686 bed county hospital serving a large multi-ethnic population. Fellows rotate through a hematology and oncology consult service.
3. Veterans Administration Medical Center: A 112 bed hospital serving northern California. Fellows rotate through a hematology and oncology consult service.

Outpatient Rotations

Fellows participate in three outpatient clinic sessions per week. Fellows will generally have a rotational outpatient clinic at the institution where they are having their inpatient rotation, a continuity clinic, and a specialty clinic. Outpatient clinic rotations are undertaken at UCSF Medical Center, the Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Francisco General Hospital and at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center at Mount Zion, a new 50,000 square foot facility which was opened in 2000. San Francisco General Hospital and Veterans Administration Medical Center clinics are general oncology and/or hematology clinics whereas clinics at the Mt Zion Comprehensive Cancer Center are disease-oriented and multi-disciplinary, allowing fellows close interactions with medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, and radiologists. Tumor boards and teaching conferences are held regularly for major tumor types.

Current oncology/malignant hematology clinics include:

• AIDS oncology
• Breast oncology
• Genitourinary oncology
• Gastrointestinal oncology
• Gynecologic oncology
• Head and Neck oncology
• Leukemia/Lymphoma/Transplantation
• Melanoma and Cutaneous Malignancies
• Thoracic oncology

Each clinical program stresses the integration of clinical and laboratory research with clinical care. Presentations of both clinical and laboratory research are emphasized at divisional and clinical program conferences.

Core Curriculum and Didactics

The core curriculum has been developed to provide comprehensive training in cancer biology, clinical oncology and hematology, and fundamentals of clinical research, including:

• Epidemiology, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all major malignancies
• Biology and treatment of benign hematologic conditions
• Cancer Medicine: pharmacology, supportive care, general care, ethics of caring for cancer patients
• Clinical Research Methods: clinical research methodology, biostatistics, ethics of clinical research
• Cancer Biology: pathophysiology, molecular biology
• Career Development: workshops in grant writing, manuscript preparation, CV preparation, and developing a career in clinical and laboratory research.

Research Training

Fellows may perform laboratory or clinical research. In the first year of fellowship, each fellow is assigned an advisor who helps the fellow focus research interests and assists in the selection of mentors for the research phase of training. Faculty mentors are independent clinical and/or laboratory investigators with proven records of accomplishment. By the end of the first year, each fellow and mentor are expected to prepare a research proposal outlining either a laboratory research project and training program, or a clinical research project outlining the design and conduct of a clinical trial. During the research phase of the training, fellow funding is derived from contract and grant revenue that is supplemented by institutional sources as necessary. Fellows are strongly encouraged to secure their own funding to support all or part of their research activity. Fellows will work with their mentors to develop funding opportunities developed by the end of the first 6 months of the training program. The ability to secure funding is an integral part of successful academic career development and fellows should consider the development of independent funding to be an important part of program accomplishment.

Clinical Research Training

During the research training period, the mentor will be responsible for meeting regularly with the fellow to insure that a focused and testable hypothesis is developed. A Cancer Center Statistician will work with the fellow in the development of a protocol. The mentor is responsible for oversight of trial design and conduct, regulatory requirements, data collection analysis and interpretation, culminating in the presentation of research and manuscript preparation. Collaboration with multi-disciplinary research teams including basic scientists, statisticians and other clinician-scientists are an integral part of this process. During this period, the fellow will maintain focused clinical activity in the appropriate subspecialty clinic(s), receiving ongoing clinical training as well as training in protocol maintenance and accrual, regulatory, and ethical issues in research. This practical experience will be complemented with formal coursework in clinical research methodology.

Laboratory Research Training

All laboratory research fellows continue to attend one half-day outpatient session per week related to patient care. This allows the fellow to devote the required time to laboratory investigation while maintaining clinical skills. Fellows attend selected conferences to interact with other fellows, investigators, and distinguished scientists from other institutions. Informal presentations of research occur regularly.

Research Opportunities

Research opportunities are extensive, and are available in both laboratory and clinical sciences. While these opportunities extend throughout the entire UCSF community, many are found on the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center web page (http://cc.ucsf.edu).

Eligibility and Application

Candidates must be board eligible or certified in Internal Medicine. The UCSF Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program is dedicated to training future academicians. Candidate selection is based on evidence of outstanding clinical ability, a strong interest in a research career, and evidence of potential for independent research. The Program accepts ABIM Research Pathway Track (i.e., "Short Trackers") applications; preference in these applications are given to MD/PhD candidates. Due to NIH Funding restrictions, Applicants must be U.S. Citizens, U.S. Permanent Residents or have a J1 Visa (H1B Visas are not accepted).

Positions Available

Of over two hundred anticipated applications, we expect to invite forty candidates to interview and will Match between six (6) to eight (8) Fellows, depending on the number of Single and Double Boarders.

Application Deadline

January 15, 2010
(Only Applications with at least (3) three Letters of Recommendation will be considered and reviewed by the Fellowship Selection Committee)

How to Apply

The Division of Hematology / Oncology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) uses the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) Program for application to its Fellowship Program. The Deadline for submission of completed ERAS applications is January 15th, 2010 for Fellowship starting July 1, 2011.

We require the following supporting documents to be submitted via the ERAS program:

Required ERAS Supporting Documents UCSF Hematology/ Oncology Fellowship
*	Due to NIH Funding restrictions, Applicants must be U.S. Citizens, U.S. Permanent Residents or have a J1 Visa (H1B Visas are not accepted)
*	Complete ERAS Application (please fill out completely, including cell phone and e-mail addresses)
*	Curriculum Vitae
*	Personal Statement, specifically addressing your academic goals and research interests as well as intent to single board in Hematology or Oncology or double board in Hematology and Oncology.
*	Three to Four (3-4) Letters of Recommendation: One letter should be from your current Program Director, Department Chair or Residency Training Program Director; at least two letter should address your clinical abilities and medical knowledge.
*	For applicants with prior research experience, one letter should be from your research advisor. (The research advisor should mention the background and interest in academic Hematology and Medical Oncology as a career and a view of your competence to engage in scientific research)
*	Examination Requirements: US Medical School Graduates &ndash USMLE Parts I, II and, if completed, Part III or FLEX and be board eligible or certified in Internal Medicine; International Medical Graduates &ndash ECFMG Certificate, FMGEMS, and, if not a Citizen or Permanent Resident, a copy of a current Visa, documentation of successful completion of the language skills exam and be board eligible or certified in Internal Medicine.
*	Photos are appreciated (and can only be viewed if an Applicant is invited to Interview)
*	Women and Minority Recruitment: The Fellowship Program actively recruits both women and minority candidates.

Inquiries regarding the Program can be directed to:

Helen Shui
Education Manager
UCSF – Hematology / Oncology
Mailbox 1770
San Francisco, CA 94143-1770
E-M: hshui@medicine.ucsf.edu

Please contact Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) to apply to the UCSF Hematology / Oncology Fellowship Program  beginning in July 2010.

ERAS Fellowships Document Office
P.O. Box 13687
Philadelphia, PA. 19101-0687
Tel: 215.966.3940
Website: http://www.aamc.org/students/erasfellow/

We participate in the National Resident Matching Program for our Fellowship Program. Please contact the NRMP for information on how to sign up for their services:

National Resident Matching Program
2501 M Street, NW, Suite 1
Washington, DC 20037-1307
Tel: 202.828.0676
Website: http://www.nrmp.org

To learn more about the Oncology and Hematology Societies, please visit their Websites:

ASCO / American Society of Clinical Oncology
Alexandria, VA
Tel: 703.519.1446
Website: http://www.asco.org

ASH / American Society of Hematology
Washington, DC
Tel: 202.766.0544
Website: http://www.hematology.org