Overview
The University of Chicago Medicine Digestive Diseases Center is internationally recognized for delivering state of the art care and performing research across the entire spectrum of complex gastrointestinal diseases. The University of Chicago Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Fellowship training program offers broad, practical and scholarly exposure to all facets of the specialty. Our program has a long and consistent history of graduating physicians who are scholarly clinicians, national thought leaders, and prominent laboratory clinical investigators. Approximately 75 percent of our graduates obtain full time academic positions at universities or medical schools and many have become leaders of academic departments across the United States and beyond as well as serving in leadership positions in national or international societies. Our goal is to train the next generation of gastroenterologists to become leaders in academic medicine. To this end, our mission statement has been created to inform the design of our program and is as follows:
To train outstanding gastroenterologists who contribute to the care of patients and to the advancement of our specialty in the following areas:
- Academic Medicine
- Teaching
- Research
- National, regional and local leadership
Direct and continuous contact with our full-time faculty offers a personalized approach to the trainee’s educational, clinical and scientific development. The training program utilizes the extensive clinical and laboratory facilities found at the University of Chicago Medicine and at our affiliate hospitals. Regardless of the individual fellow’s career trajectory, strong clinical and research training are the fundamental priorities for the program. Because of the University of Chicago’s reputation as a top rated referral center and our location in the heart of the city of Chicago, we are able to provide broad exposure to common gastrointestinal conditions, as well as rare and difficult to manage clinical cases. Our fellows receive a robust endoscopic training experience throughout their three years and are facile in all general endoscopic procedures by the end of training.
The three-year fellowship in general gastroenterology is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for the Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and received a maximum 5-year accreditation in our last accreditation cycle. Our fellowship is divided into a clinical scholars track and a research scholars track with both tracks receiving both clinical and research training. The program has considerable flexibility to meet individual learner’s needs, though all clinical and research fellows must complete 18 months of clinical training in the three-year training period per ACGME requirements We participate in the National Resident Matching Program and receive approximately 400 applications per cycle. We interview 25-30 applicants per year and match 3-5 new fellows per year with a total complement 12.
For those interested in a research-focused career (research scholars track), we have the longest running NIH T32 training grant in the United States and are able to offer focused research training in basic, translational or clinical sciences, with a goal of developing grant-supported independent investigators. Masters training programs are available in a variety of areas (Health Studies, Analytics, Biomedical Informatics ) for motivated trainees interested in a career dedicated to intellectual creativity. In general, research track fellows will require additional training time beyond 3 years and are funded through various means of support including our NIH T32 grants, individual F32 training grants or career development awards from GI societies. The clinical scholars track is geared toward trainees interested in a career in clinical research and scholarly practice. Our clinical scholars may choose to participate in other scholarly pursuits including the Clinical Medical Ethics Fellowship at the MacLean Center or Transplant Hepatology Pilot Fellowship (allows participating in a Transplant Hepatology Fellowship in lieu of a traditional 4th year of transplant focused training). Pursuant to our goal of training academic gastroenterologists, all fellows (clinical and research track fellows) will pursue mentored research in an area of their choosing and are expected to present their work at national meetings and publish in peer-reviewed journals.
Additionally, we have 4-8 advanced clinical training positions including an ACGME sanctioned Transplant Hepatology Fellowship position and non-ACGME fellowships positions in Clinical Nutrition , Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and Advanced Endoscopy. Research fellowships are also available to internal fellows on a case-by-case basis. Our educational framework is designed for advanced fellowship positions to enhance our general GI fellowship and not to interfere with the learning process of any individual. Applications for advanced positions are accepted on a rolling basis.
Prerequisite Training/Selection Criteria
Applicants must have received their M.D. or equivalent degree
- Successful completion of an ACGME-certified internal medicine residency program sponsored by a major university
- U.S. citizen, Canadian citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. Due to NIH requirements, individuals who do not meet this requirement cannot be considered for our research track.
- For graduates of medical schools outside the U.S. and Canada, appropriate certification by the USMLE/FLEX
- The University of Chicago Section of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Fellowship Program will be participating in the GI Match administered by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) for Clinical Investigator Research Track ACGME fellowship positions.
The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer and applications are encouraged from minority groups and physically disadvantaged individuals.
Andrew Aronsohn, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Program Director, GI Fellowship
Sushila Dalal, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Associate Program Director, GI Fellowship
Sonia Kupfer, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Associate Section Chief of Education
David Rubin, MD
Professor of Medicine
Chief, Section of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, & Nutrition