Research Opportunities

Our fellows can choose to work with our world-renowned faculty and with other researchers on the CU SOM campus and at affiliated research centers. We have strong ties with the University of Colorado Center for Global Health, a division of the School of Public Health; the Children’s Hospital Colorado Adolescent HIV program; Denver Health Medical Center; the CDC Arboviral Diseases Branch in Fort Collins, Colorado; the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment; the CU SOM section of Adult Infectious Diseases; the CU SOM Department of Microbiology; and National Jewish Health. Children's Hospital Colorado is also home to an NIH-supported CCTSI (Colorado Clinical and Translational Science Institute) that is available to fellows and faculty to assist with performance of clinical investigations.

Getting Started with Research

To get started with the research process, the Program Director meets with new fellows during the first few months of training to explain the process of choosing a research mentor and project. The director and the fellow mutually agree on an interim mentor to help guide the selection process. This selection process is to be completed by spring of the first year of fellowship training. The fellow begins the process by meeting with each faculty member, not only to learn about his/her research, but the research of others in the larger research community, based on the fellow’s interest. After choosing a prospective mentor, the fellow will discuss this choice with the Fellowship Director and interim mentor, and the Fellowship Director will in turn verify plans with the mentor and clarify the responsibilities of the research mentor with the selected faculty member.

Time Devoted to Research

The second and third years of training are primarily devoted to research training. The Fellowship Director holds at least twice-yearly individual meetings with each fellow to discuss all aspects of the fellowship training program, with special emphasis on his/her research project and the mentorship provided by the research mentor. Each fellow presents twice yearly at research in progress sessions to the fellow’s Scholarship Oversight Committee and the Fellowship Director.

Fellow Expectations

Fellows are expected to complete a primary research project by the end of fellowship. Additionally, fellows are expected to gain experience writing grants (although completion of the fellowship is not contingent on the fellows’ securing grant funding), present their research findings at scientific meetings, and publish their work in relevant journals. Fellows will complete the Department of Pediatrics Fellowship Curriculum Series as a requirement of the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

Conference Schedule

Other Educational Opportunities

Fellows can apply for funding through the Department of Pediatrics to complete the CU Anschutz Master of Science Degree in Clinical Science (MSCS) program.

If accepted into the program and for funding, fellows are able to complete the MSCS program with almost no out-of-pocket expense.

For fellows not in the MSCS program, the Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases provides educational funding that allows fellows to take additional courses to supplement their fellowship training.

Fellowship Curriculum

Objectives/ Specific Skills

1. To be thoroughly trained in the clinical practice of pediatric infectious diseases and be able to independently assess and appropriately manage infectious diseases problems commonly seen in children.
2. To develop a research project. This will involve the acquisition of skills to ask pertinent questions; independently design appropriate experiments, analyze data, and use experimental data to answer original questions.
3. To learn diagnostic microbiology and its application to pediatric infectious diseases.
4. To develop the skills to be a competent teacher of Pediatric Infectious Diseases to practitioners and trainees of all levels.
5. To fulfill the requirements for eligibility for the subspecialty board exam.

Specific skills include:

1. Competence and interpretation of stains of primary clinical material and laboratory isolates.
2. Working knowledge and interpretation of routine and specialized microbiological procedures.
3. Working knowledge and interpretation of the pathology of infectious diseases.
4. Use and interpretation of diagnostic tests and procedures.
   1. Emphasis on cost efficiency
5. Clinical competence in the diagnosis and management of infectious diseases (inpatient and outpatient).
   1. Includes access to and interpretation of medical literature.
   2. Includes consideration of clinical trials and experimental therapeutics.
6. Principles of infection control and epidemiology.
7. Principles of antimicrobial therapeutics, resistance mechanisms, adverse drug reactions, and epidemiological trends.
8. Management and use of intravenous catheters and other indwelling medical devices.
9. Primary care of HIV infection.
10. Interpretation of medical literature and basic statistical analysis.
11. Fundamentals of medical investigation, either clinical or laboratory based
    1. Study design and implementation
    2. Problem solving
    3. Collation and interpretation of results
    4. Writing and publishing experimental results
    5. Ethics in scientific research
    6. Grant writing and accessing external funding sources
12. Proficiency as a consultant
    1. Effective communication with physicians and patients
    2. Educational strategies
    3. Effective coordinator of consultants and consensus building
    4. Ethics of medical care
13. Academic skills
    1. Public speaking
    2. Design and implementation of presentations (oral and written)
    3. Educational strategies
    4. Audiovisual skills: photography, computer graphics

     

Additional Learning Opportunities:

Subspecialty Excellence in Educational Leadership & Scholarship (SEELS) Program :

• The University of Colorado Department of Pediatrics is proud to offer the Subspecialty Excellence in Educational Leadership & Scholarship (SEELS) Program for subspecialty pediatric fellows committed to an academic career in medical education.
• The SEELS program guides fellows through an 18-month program that provides research mentorship, coaching, and instruction.
• The overall  goal of SEELS is to equip these fellows with the necessary knowledge/skills/attitudes for success as future medical educators through educational scholarship and professional identity development, faculty and peer mentorship, and engaging in an educational community of practice.

Pediatric Fellowship Educational Series

This educational series has been developed by the Committee on Fellowship Education to address areas of scholarly interest common to all pediatric fellows. Nearly 100 sub-specialized physicians in training will attend 5-6 half-day seminars spread across their 3 years of fellowship.

• Attendance is mandatory and the trainee is excused from clinical responsibilities.
• In addition to providing core educational material, these sessions allow trainees in different disciplines and throughout the department to meet and interact with one another in an informal and collegial environment.
• Occurs several times per year throughout fellowship with fellows of different subspecialties

Pediatric Biostatistics for Clinicians Course:

This course is primarily intended for 2nd and 3rd year Department of Pediatrics fellows as part of the comprehensive fellowship educational program. Designed to help fellows to develop an ability to be a critical consumer of the literature and develop familiarity with many commonly used statistical methods.

• This course comprises for six  2-hour sessions
• Designed for second year fellows, but any fellow or resident an register for the course.
  

Advanced Degrees Available at CU:

Masters of Public Health

Masters of Science in Clinical Science

1st Year Fellows

Kacie Rytlewski, MD

• Medical School: Indiana University Medical School
• Residency: University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
• Email: Kacie.Rytlewski

Priya Vyas, MD

• Medical School: Eastern Virginia Medical School
• Residency: St. Christopher's Hospital for Children
• Email: Priya.Vyas

2nd Year Fellows

Joana Dimo, DO

• Medical School: Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Residency: Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals
• Email: Joana.Dimo

Erin C. Ho, MD

• Medical School: University of Chicago School of Medicine
• Residency: University of Colorado Pediatric Residency
• Email: Erin.Ho

3rd Year Fellows

Monika Jelic, MD

• Medical School: University of Washington School of Medicine
• Residency: University of California San Diego/Rady Children's Hospital
• Email: Monika.Jelic 

Karim Lalani, MD, MPH

• Medical School: Medical College of Georgia
• Residency: New York University School of Medicine
• Email: Karim.Lalani

Application Process

Fellow selection is accomplished by participation in the National Residency Matching Program Match service, which occurs in the fall each year. Applicants must be eligible for a Colorado medical license. International medical graduates must have a valid ECFMG (see below).

Please be aware of the following general application timeline:

ERAS Application Timeline

NRMP Fall Match Timeline

Our fellowship participates in the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS)

• Our application period begins every year on July 15th
• Applications submitted to ERAS will be reviewed - July 15th through October
• Interviews - August through Mid-November
• Fellowships begin one year after the match with the start date of July 8th.

While completing the ERAS online application, applicants should make certain to provide us with the following documents:

• Current curriculum vitae
• Personal Statement outlining the reasons for choosing this specialty and applicant’s career plans
• At least three (3) but no more than five (5) letters of recommendation from physicians familiar with the applicant, one of which should be from the applicant’s Residency Fellowship Director.

Please note that as an ACGME accredited program, our fellows must have passed the USMLE Step 3 examination or COMLEX Level 3. Currently, we require non-US applicants to possess a valid certificate from Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). The ACGME now requires fellows to have complete pediatric residency training in a US or Canadian ACGME certified program prior to subspecialty fellowship training.

Our pediatric fellowship will be conducting virtual interviews for this upcoming interview season.  We look forward to sharing our programs with you and getting to know more about you.  Our planned virtual interview dates are forthcoming.

Applicants selected for a personal interview will be contacted by the Fellowship Program Coordinator.

• Interviews are scheduled for one full day
• Interviews occur on Thursdays

For additional questions, please contact:

Donna J. Curtis, MD, MPH
Fellowship Director

Associate Professor
Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Children's Hospital Colorado
13123 East 16th Avenue, B055
Aurora, Colorado 80045
Tel: 720-777-8810
E-mail: Donna.Curtis