Molecular Genetic Pathology Fellowship

Houston Methodist Hospital, an affiliate of the Weill Cornell Medical College and Texas A&M Medical College, offers an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited molecular genetic pathology fellowship for physicians who have completed pathology or medical genetics specialty training and are interested in pursuing a career in molecular genetic pathology and related research. The program has two clinical pathologists with subspecialty certification in molecular genetic pathology and three board-certified medical geneticists.

 
One one-year fellowship position is available each academic year under the directorship of Zejuan Li, MD, PhD. The Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at Houston Methodist Hospital processes more than 40,000 molecular assays per year (including infectious diseases, genetics and oncology), and the testing volume has continued to grow at a rate of more than 25% over the last three years. The laboratory has state-of-the-art instrumentation for manual and automated DNA extraction, PCR and real-time PCR assays, non-PCR molecular assays, next-generation sequencing and other molecular techniques. The laboratory oversees molecular oncology and molecular genetics send-outs, which total more than 1,500 specimens per year.

 
The fellowship has outstanding partner institutions in the Texas Medical Center. The fellow  benefits from a rotation in a well-recognized medical genetics program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, which houses first-rate genetics counseling training programs. The fellow also rotates at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, with four weeks in their molecular genetics laboratory and two weeks in their cytogenetics laboratory. The UTMDACC molecular laboratories are recognized in oncology.

 
The basic training is complemented by research opportunities and unique elective experiences in areas that are emerging as future challenges in the practice of pathology, such as advanced molecular microbiology, molecular imaging, bioinformatics and hematopathology. Fellows interested in additional translational research experiences have a wide variety of choices in the Houston Methodist Hospital Research Institute. It is anticipated that an area of research interest will be identified early in the fellowship and that one or more clinical research projects will be completed during the training. Training in laboratory management, information systems and quality assurance is included in the program. The fellow participates in weekly next generation sequencing consensus conferences as well as molecular tumor boards, and is responsible for several clinical pathology case conferences and journal clubs during the program. The fellow also has the opportunity to attend other various anatomic and/or clinical pathology conferences throughout the year.

Requirements

Candidates must be board-certified or board-eligible in Clinical Pathology, Anatomic/Clinical Pathology, or Medical Genetics. Candidates must be eligible for a Texas Physician-In-Training (PIT) Permit or hold a full Texas medical license.

Application Deadline

Our program participates in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Fellowship Match each year, with an application deadline of Jan. 1 of the previous year. Applications are accepted year round. Candidates can apply directly to our program before registering with NRMP.

Stipend

Commensurate with level of post-graduate training. For more information, visit our GME Compensation and Benefits page.