We are committed to providing our fellows with the training and support needed for them to become future leaders in the academic infectious disease community and to stay abreast of rapid advances in medicine and research. 

Research Curriculum

Annual ID Basic/Translational Science Introduction

• Introductory lectures by ID-related basic and translational scientists and tours of their labs to better connect basic science and translational researchers to fellows and clinical ID faculty. 

• Followed by a one week lab-based research experience for fellows during orientation

Infection and Immunity Research Conference

• Bi-weekly research conference held at the Microbiology Research Facility (MRF)

• ID faculty, fellows, and allied faculty present their latest research findings

This forum:

• introduces fellows to ID research ongoing within the University

• familiarizes fellows with the vocabulary and concepts of modern biomedical research

• allows fellows to assess faculty presenters as possible research mentors

• provides fellows with a supportive setting in which to present and receive feedback on their own research

Fellows’ Journal Club

• Held twice monthly

• Fellow run journal club covering important and current ID research in the literature

Annual Fellows Course in Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control

• Sponsored by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America

Research Presentation Opportunities

Fellows are expected to present their individual research at the University’s annual Medicine Research Day, the annual meeting of the UMN/Mayo Clinic Infectious Diseases Fellows Forum, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America annual meeting.

Annual Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) meeting

• All fellows are provided membership in IDSA

• Division supports annual travel to national meeting

• Fellows are encouraged to submit/present abstracts and apply for travel grants annually

Infectious Diseases Fellows Forum

• Alternates between UMN and Mayo Clinic annually 

• Opportunity for fellows to interact with ID fellows from across the nation and present their research

University of Minnesota Research Day

• Sponsored by the Department of Medicine

• Great opportunity for fellows to present to researchers outside of ID

VA Medical Center Research Day

• Includes lectures and research presentations

• Great opportunity for fellows to present to researchers outside of ID

Research Opportunities

Because of the increased need for Infectious Diseases Clinical Investigators to address the growing crisis of emerging and re-emerging infections, the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School offers research training support for fellows interested in acquiring skills in the areas of clinical epidemiology and clinical trials research. This multidisciplinary, NIH-supported T32 Training Program "Infectious Diseases Training In Clinical Research" funds up to three years of research training during fellowship, supports both domestic and international research and draws upon a large number of University of Minnesota faculty members and colleagues at the Minnesota Department of Health. Our program supports up to five Infectious Diseases fellows each year.

Fellows entering this two year-training track will generally be second year fellows who have completed a clinical year of adult Infectious Diseases training. In addition to working closely with a primary mentor on a research project related to an Emerging Infectious Disease topic (see list of training areas and primary mentors below), fellows will have an opportunity to take relevant courses in the School of Public Health. When desirable, this course work can lead to a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree (for fellows interested primarily in epidemiology-focused research) or a Master of Science (MS) in Clinical Research degree (for fellows interested in clinical trials or other clinically based research).

Selection of a primary mentor is encouraged early in the first year of clinical training. In addition to receiving major guidance from their primary mentors regarding selection and refinement of their research projects, fellows will have the benefit of semiannual input from other faculty preceptors on the organization of their projects. This is the primary method of supporting the research years of Academic Research Track fellows. If you have specific questions regarding the T32 training program, please contact the principal investigator for this grant, Dr. David Boulware at boulw001@umn.edu.

Northern/Pacific Global Health Research Fellows Training Consortium

The Global Health Fellowship Program, supported by the Northern/Pacific Global Health Research Fellows Training Consortium and the National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center (FIC), provides fellows 11 months of international clinical research training. The Northern/Pacific Global Health Research Fellows Training Consortium is a partnership between the Universities of Minnesota, Washington, Hawaii and Michigan; with international partnerships in Kenya, Cameroon, Uganda, Ghana, Peru, Thailand and China. The program provides stipend support, modest research training costs, travel costs to and from the international collaborating country, and an orientation at NIH in July.

This is a tremendous source of research support for our Infectious Diseases fellows interested in Global Health research. Additional years of research training for Academic Research Track fellows are provided by the T32 training program. If you have specific questions regarding the Global Health Fellowship Program, please visit the site here or contact the co-principle investigator for this grant, Dr. Shailendra Prasad at pras0054@umn.edu.

VA Clinical Research Funding

VA Research rotations are available for research support of Infectious Diseases fellows interested in research projects based at the Minneapolis VA Hospital. This is the primary method of supporting the research years of Clinician Scholar Track fellows.