Transplant Infectious Diseases Fellowship

Welcome from the Program Director

Welcome to the Transplant Infectious Diseases (TID) Fellowship training program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center! We offer one-year subspecialty fellowship training in TID for fellows who have completed their general infectious diseases fellowship and are interested in developing expertise in managing infections in solid organ transplant recipients. Fellows also round on the hematological malignancy TID service, which is staffed by the same TID physicians.

Clinical experience

UPMC is one of the largest and oldest solid organ transplant centers in the world, and includes well-established programs in lung, heart, liver, kidney, pancreas, intestinal, and multivisceral transplantation, as well as a large ventricular assist device (VAD) service. In 2013, UPMC’s Cardiothoracic Transplant program celebrated its 3000th transplant, becoming the second transplant program in the world to achieve this milestone. UPMC is also a global leader in abdominal organ transplantation, and under the mission of the Thomas E. Starzl Transplant Institute, has performed more types of abdominal transplant procedures than any other institution. Fellows will also have the opportunity to see a wide variety of patients with hematological malignancies, including HCT and CAR-T-cell therapy recipients, on the dedicated hematological malignancy TID service. Thus, TID fellows will gain extensive clinical experience caring for a vast spectrum of immunocompromised patients.

On our TID services, fellows will take care of patients with a variety of infections, including molds, yeasts, Nocardia, cytomegalovirus (including resistant viruses), Epstein–Barr virus, complex mycobacterial infections, multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, respiratory viruses, and countless others. Many of our patients with complex or recalcitrant infections are enrolled in clinical trials or compassionate use protocols at UPMC, and our fellows will be exposed to these protocols when caring for patients who require trial referrals. Challenging cases being seen on the inpatient or outpatient services are discussed at our weekly transplant ID clinical conference, which is attended by TID fellows and faculty. Fellows will also gain hands-on experience in post-transplant prophylaxis and monitoring of infections.

To complement their inpatient experience, fellows will participate in weekly outpatient clinics, in which they will see SOT recipients and candidates as well as VAD recipients in a dedicated VAD-TID clinic. Fellows will also have the option of participating in the hematological malignancy TID clinic at UPMC’s Hillman Cancer Center.

Educational activities

In addition to bedside teaching, fellows participate in our ID Grand Rounds (case conference), journal clubs, and transplant ID core lecture series, in which our TID faculty provide didactic teaching on topics relevant to TID. We also participate in a monthly international TID tele-case-conference.

Research experience

During their 1-year fellowship, fellows will complete a scholarly project in TID in line with their research and clinical interests. Close mentorship with a faculty preceptor is a cornerstone of this experience. Fellows will typically work with a faculty mentor in TID but may also work with mentors from other departments, based on their interests.

Core TID faculty

Our TID group is one of the largest and most established in the nation.

• Rima Abdel-Massih, MD
• Tatiana Bogdanovich, MD, PhD, MSc
• Ghady Haidar, MD
• Vidya Jagadeesan, MD
• Eun Jeong Kwak, MD
• M. Hong Nguyen, MD
• Palash Samanta, MBBS, MD
• Nina Singh, MD
• Fernanda Silveira, MD, MS
• Peter Volpe, MD

How to Apply

Fellows who are interested can email their CV, personal statement, and at least 2 letters of recommendation to Dr. Ghady Haidar (haidarg@upmc.edu) and Ms. Sarah Glenn (ID fellowship coordinator, glennse@upmc.edu).

We are confident that the training our TID fellows receive at UPMC will allow them to become experts in the field of TID.

Thank you again for your interest in our program! Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Ghady Haidar, MD
Director, Transplant ID Fellowship Program