Introduction

The Clinic of the A-I Division is an active tertiary referral center that receives a large number of patients with rare or challenging diseases as well as a large number of patients with common complaints.  As a result, Fellows in A-I have an outstanding opportunity to gain clinical management skills for both routine and unusual diseases.

The specialty of allergy-immunology involves the investigation, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with allergic, immunologic, and immunodeficiency diseases. Commonly treated conditions in the Division of Allergy-Immunology include asthma, rhinitis, sinusitis, anaphylaxis, urticaria, occupational respiratory diseases, and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. In addition to rotations at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation, the A-I fellows rotate to Children's Memorial Hospital for four months of consultative inpatient ambulatory training.

Fellowship Support

Financial support for fellows in allergy-immunology presently comes from divisional funds. Collective efforts to obtain an NIH Fellowship Training grant and individual efforts to obtain fellowship grants are planned.  Fellows are supervised and supported in scholarly activities by the full-time faculty. Clinical teaching support comes from both full-time and part-time faculty. Formal teaching programs include a weekly journal club in which a fellow and an attending physician critique pertinent articles on a rotating basis,  a weekly didactic lecture on clinical or investigative aspects of allergic and immunologic disorders and a weekly Divisional research conference in which research which is ongoing in the division is discussed.

Computer support for online searches and word processing are available for fellows as is the division library or Medical School library. For laboratory-based investigations, the fellows are taught and supported by the full-time faculty.

Fellows receive career guidance from all faculty as indicated but especially from the Training Program Director, Dr. Pedro Avila.  Fellows benefit from a supportive environment in the Division toward accumulating clinical expertise and in scholarship that results in publication of new knowledge.

Program Goals For Fellows and Expectations

The Allergy-Immunology Fellowship at the Feinberg School of Medicine is of two years duration, leading to certification in Allergy-Immunology, with an optional additional year, for fellows hoping to pursue an academic career.  In the first two years 50-75 percent of the trainee’s time is spent in clinical activities, and the remainder is for investigative projects. Some of the major areas of investigation include suppression of IgE antibodies, hypersensitivity lung diseases, potentially fatal asthma, occupational asthma, and idiopathic anaphylaxis.

Goals of this program are to train:  1) future investigators who will be leaders in academic medicine and; 2) outstanding clinicians who will be adept at managing complicated cases of asthma, idiopathic anaphylaxis, and other disorders. It is expected that fellows will work diligently, thoughtfully, and honestly, both in investigative and clinical activities so that they will be prepared to take the American Board of Allergy and Immunology certification examination.

The fellows demonstrate clinical expertise by discussing their findings with attending physicians on a daily basis, and by reviewing their research data with senior research technicians/division administrators, or faculty mentors as appropriate. The fellows demonstrate their scholarly efforts by presenting research findings orally once or twice a year to the division, by preparation of manuscripts for publication, by presentation of and defending their work at national and local professional meetings, and by presenting didactic lectures on selected topics.

Fellows are expected to teach and participate in evaluating residents in internal medicine and pediatrics, and medical students.

Any questions about program goals, expectations of fellows, fellow’s responsibilities, or other matters, should be directed to Dr. Avila.

Educational Seminars

Allergy-Immunology fellows, residents, and students participate in various educational seminars that include the following:

• Allergy-Immunology Conference
• Journal Club*
• Basic Science Research Presentations*
• Abstract Presentations*
• Immunology Club*

 *Fellow Presentations

Application

Requirements for our program:

• CV
• Personal Statement
• 3 letters of recommendation - including one from the program director.
• School transcripts

Also, you must be able to secure a State of Illinois license as of the beginning of the fellowship.

Because of intense competition for slots, we advise applicants to apply to a sufficient number of programs.