Combined Maternal-Fetal Medicine/Medical Genetics Fellowship
The goal of the Fellowship is to train individuals to provide specialized patient care in Maternal-Fetal Medicine, as well as to prepare candidates for a career in academic medicine as physician scientists. It is a three-year training program. There is the possibility of completing a combined Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Human Genetics Fellowship, and candidates can opt to complete a Ph.D. in the Department of Physiology at Wayne State University.
The 18–month clinical rotations include maternal-fetal medicine or high-risk obstetric service, obstetrical ultrasound, labor and delivery, intensive care unit, and elective rotations. The program is housed at Hutzel Women’s Hospital, Detroit, and Faculty Members are Wayne State University appointees as well as Attendings of the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) in Detroit, MI. The program is approved for seven positions, two of which are funded by the Perinatology Research Branch (PRB), which is also housed at the DMC, and the remainder by the DMC itself. The Fellowship emphasizes clinical, translational, and basic science research (18 months are dedicated to research). Ideal candidates for the Program are well trained individuals from a university program who wish to pursue a career in academic medicine, thrive in a rigorous and challenging environment, and are goal-oriented and self-motivated.
The Fellowship stresses a multidisciplinary approach to the complications of pregnancy. There is a strong emphasis on prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies with ultrasound, and graduates are expected to be proficient in two-dimensional and three-dimensional ultrasound, fetal echocardiography, and advanced imaging techniques such as Doppler velocimetry, as well as ultrasound-guided invasive procedures such as amniocentesis. Opportunities for laboratory-based research and training are available at the PRB in the fields of parturition, reproductive immunology, placental pathology and biology, biomarker discovery, and systems biology in reproduction. Alternative opportunities are available at the C.S. Mott Center of Wayne State University.
The PRB’s primary areas of interest are the mechanisms responsible for obstetrical disease, prediction and prevention of preterm birth, prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies, the role of infection and inflammation in perinatal disease, fetal growth and development, placental pathology, and the use of high-dimensional biology techniques to identify biomarkers for preterm labor, preterm PROM (premature rupture of membranes), preeclampsia, fetal death, and IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction).
Detailed information about the training program is available at http://mfmfellowship.org. The website also contains information about the faculty and their publications and awards. The Director of the Fellowship Program is Dr. Tinnakorn Chaiworapongsa. The Program is sponsored by the PRB, the DMC, and Wayne State University. Fellows are employees of the DMC, and program oversight is with the Office of Graduate Medical Education of the DMC.
Contact
For more information, email romeror@mail.nih.gov.
