Infectious Diseases Education & Science Training Grant

The goal of the Infectious Diseases Education & Science (NuIDeas) Training Grant is to leverage the clinical and basic research expertise and resources available at Northwestern University to train MD and MD/PhD fellows in infectious disease translational research. This training program will build on the Adult & Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship Programs at Feinberg School of Medicine and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, which attract top-notch physician-scientists. The clinical expertise of the Infectious Diseases Divisions together with the long-standing basic science strengths in microbiology and immunology at Northwestern University and Lurie Children’s have created a rich environment for translational research. Each trainee will work with both a primary research mentor and a clinical co-mentor, which will foster interaction between research and clinical faculty and enhance the translational aspects of the fellow’s research experience. A training program consisting of a Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation degree, seminars, career development programs and education in the ethical conduct of research has been developed to promote excellence in research. The program is jointly funded by NIH and the Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics. It supports two highly qualified MD or MD/PhD fellows per year for a two-year intensive research experience. Together, these activities will enable trainees to obtain funding and develop into independent investigators.

Program Director of the NuIDeas Training Program

Babafemi Taiwo, MBBS

Chief of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine

Gene Stollerman Professor of Medicine

Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases)

Assistant Director of the NuIDeas Training Program

Kelly Bachta, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases)

Administrative Support

For questions, contact Marla Block and Anabel Mendez.

About the Program

Deadlines

Applications for the training program are accepted in March. Applications are reviewed by the Executive Committee, and appointed fellows begin their training period on July 1.

Eligibility

The program supports two highly qualified MD or MD/PhD fellows per year for a two-year intensive research experience. NuIDeas trainees will be selected from the Adult ID Fellowship Program at Northwestern University and the Pediatric ID Fellowship Program at Lurie Children’s, which successfully recruit highly trained medicine residents from across the country. Fellows will have completed an MD or MD/PhD degree program and internal medicine or pediatric residencies. It is expected that all ID Fellows will have passed the United States Medical Licensing Exam steps 1, 2 and 3.

How to Apply

The application will consist of a two-to-three-page research proposal stressing the translational aspects of the project, a brief description of the applicants career aspirations, a listing of the trainee’s Research Committee, the trainee’s CV (including past academic performance) and a letter of support from the research mentor. The Executive Committee will also have access to performance evaluations from the clinical year of training. The application deadline is March 15 (unless specifically extended by the Executive Committee). Applications should be submitted to the director of the training program.

Expectations

Each NuIDeas trainee will be expected to meet the following milestones:

Submit an abstract to a national meeting each year
Submit at least one first-author research manuscript
Be listed as co-author on at least one additional submitted manuscript (e.g., research, review article, book chapter)
Participate in all NuIDeas training activities
Maintain clinical skills and pass the appropriate board examinations

Trainees are also urged to submit a grant application during their time in the program.

Current Trainees

Name: Joshua Craft
Undergrad: University of California, Los Angeles
MD: Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Residency: University of Maryland Medical Center Research
Project: Targeting the intracellular regulation of APOBEC3G in human CD4+ cells to contribute to HIV cure strategies

Name: Nabgha Farhat
Undergrad: Rutgers University
MD: Rutgers University Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Residency: University of Chicago
Research Project: Genomic Characterization of Invasive and Colonizing ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae in Young Infants

Executive Committee and Diversity Committee

Meet the members of the Executive Committee and Diversity Committee.