Clinical Scholar Track

The Clinical Scholar Track of the UCLA Multicampus Program in Infectious Diseases is a two year program designed to prepare fellows for clinically-oriented careers in general and transplant infectious diseases, HIV medicine, viral hepatitis, public health, epidemiology, antibiotic stewardship, and infection control.

The first year consists of approximately 7-8 months of inpatient consultation rotations at all affiliated inpatient sites: Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center, West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Fellows will also rotate on clinical microbiology and hospital epidemiology rotations.

The second year consists of approximately 4-5 months of general inpatient consultation rotations with more exposure to transplant infectious diseases, neurosurgical infections and antimicrobial stewardship, with several opportunities available to tailor the second year experience to career interests and goals.

In both years, fellows will spend approximately 3-4 months on outpatient blocks that include built-in time to work on academic projects.

Areas of interest for clinical scholars

Upon arrival to UCLA, clinical scholars are exposed to a variety of areas of interest that provide opportunities for career mentorship and mentorship to pursue scholarly projects specialized to each fellow’s career goals. Each area of interest has a unique set of offerings ranging from clinical experiences to opportunities for research including, but not limited to, secondary data analysis, quality improvement projects, systematic reviews, case reports or case series, or primary data collection. All fellows are encouraged to embark on a scholarly activity early in the first year that culminates in a Grand Rounds presentation near the end of the year. This project is then expected to be presented at IDWeek and/or published during the second year. In addition to several ½ days of protected time during outpatient blocks to be utilized for this purpose, two weeks of elective in the first year and four weeks of elective in the second year are available to work on projects or explore other enrichment opportunities, including international experiences, away rotations, or focused sub-subspecialties of infectious diseases.

Current areas of interest with affiliated faculty members are listed below:

Transplant Infectious Diseases: Drs. Joanna Schaenman, Eugene Beaird, Pryce Gaynor, Ashrit Multani
Underserved Infectious Diseases: Drs. Risa Hoffman, Christopher Tymchuk, Timothy Brewer, David Goodman
HIV/STI Prevention and Treatment: Drs. Jesse Clark, Raphael Landovitz, Paul Adamson, Cherie Blair, Matthew Goetz
Hospital Epidemiology and Antibiotic Stewardship: Drs. Christopher Graber, Matthew Goetz, Kevin Ikuta, Tara Vijayan, Kavitha Prabaker, Arthur Jeng, Jonathan Grein, Michael Ben-Aderet
Viral Hepatitis: Drs. Debika Bhattacharya, Kara Chew
Medical Education: Drs. Tara Vijayan, Kevin Ikuta, Christopher Graber
Clinical Microbiology Diagnostic Testing and Antibiotic Resistance: Drs. Omai Garner, Shaun Yang, Margie Morgan

All fellows participate in weekly core didactics and interact with each other and faculty in multihospital case conferences as well as intramural case conferences, grand rounds, journal clubs, board review sessions, and research seminars.

Examples of scholarly projects completed by clinical scholar track fellows

Analysis of a COVID-19 outbreak at a VA community living center (MMWR, CID)
Leronlimab outcomes in COVID-19 (CID)
Analysis of antibiotic utilization throughout VA before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (ICHE)
Prognostic value of leukocytosis and lymphopenia in COVID-19 (EID)
Infectious disease screening lab panel implementation for homeless patients (ICHE)
Emerging technologies for rapid identification of bloodstream pathogens (CID review)
The role of beta-hemolytic streptococci in causing diffuse, nonculturable cellulitis (Medicine)
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV infection: results of a survey of HIV healthcare providers (AIDS Patient Care STDs)
Complications of HIV infection in an aging population (JAC review)
Coccidioidal meningitis: clinical presentation and management in the fluconazole era (Medicine)
Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy at a large Veterans Administration medical center (Am J Managed Care)
Limitations of antibiotic options for invasive infections caused by MRSA (JAC review)
Comparison of clinical severity score indices for Clostridium difficile infection (ICHE)
Implications for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus colonization associated with Clostridium difficile infections (AJIC)
Detection and quantification of Panton-Valentine leukocidin in Staphylococcus aureus cultures by ELISA and Western blotting (J Immunol Methods)
Capnocytophaga canimorsus sepsis with associated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (Am J Med Sci)
Human immunodeficiency virus in an aging population, a complication of success (JAGS review)
Serum ivermectin levels after enteral and subcutaneous administration for Strongyloides hyperinfection: a case report (Scand J Infect Dis)
Book chapters: Aspiration Pneumonia, Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy

Fellows graduating from the Clinical Scholar Track have been successful in obtaining clinical academic positions within the United States and overseas as well as positions within the private sector and in public health.

Clinical Scholar Track