Our 3-year training program aims to prepare fellows for careers in academic medicine and is separated into two tracks. Those applicants interested in basic research are assigned to the Physician Scientist Track, and those primarily interested in clinical practice and investigation are assigned to the Clinical Scholar Track. An average of five fellows are appointed each year.

Fellows from both the Research and Clinical tracks will spend the entire first year on the clinical gastroenterology services of the University (approximately 8 months) and VA Hospitals (approximately 4 months) acquiring basic endoscopic skills and a firm clinical foundation in gastroenterology. In the second and third years, the clinical fellows will assume a more supervisory role in the clinical services of the two hospitals, while also learning some of the more advanced diagnostic and therapeutic techniques. They are also provided time that they are expected to use in the conduct of clinical research projects. The research fellows will spend their second and third years primarily involved in research efforts under the supervision of a member of the faculty. Their salaries will be mainly supported by an NIH Training Grant, thus only limited participation in clinical activities is expected.

In addition to our 3-year training program, we have a fourth-year training fellowship position in transplant hepatology, and in July 2007, we started a fourth-year training position in interventional endoscopy.