Addiction Medicine Fellowship

Fellowship Tracks

In addition to the core Addiction Medicine Fellowship, the University of Pittsburgh offers several specialized training tracks designed to align with fellows’ unique clinical and academic interests. Click here for a summary of our tracks and core rotations.

Categorical Track

The one-year Categorical Track welcomes fellows from various specialty backgrounds and provides a comprehensive addiction medicine experience across varying levels of care while offering a structured didactic curriculum, opportunities for scholarship through quality improvement and research, and engagement in advocacy. Fellows in this track complete their longitudinal clinic at the Internal Medicine Recovery Engagement and core rotations at UPMC Presbyterian and VA Pittsburgh. We accept up to 2 Categorical Fellows per year.

Perinatal Addiction Medicine Track

The one-year Perinatal Track is designed for applicants with backgrounds in Obstetrics and Gynecology or Family Medicine who wish to focus on perinatal substance use and recovery. Fellows in this track participate fully in all core fellowship activities and didactics while completing their longitudinal clinic at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC. Additional inpatient and outpatient rotations at Magee provide opportunities to refine general obstetric and gynecologic skills and gain experience managing substance use disorders in pregnant and postpartum patients. One perinatal fellow is accepted per year. Contact Dr. Liz Krans (kransee@upmc.edu) for more information.

Palliative Care Track

The joint (sequential) Hospice and Palliative Medicine-Addiction Medicine Fellowship offers specialized training for physicians interested in caring for patients with substance use disorders and advanced medical illness. Fellows typically complete the one-year Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship, a nationally recognized program also housed in the Division of General Internal Medicine, prior to the Addiction Medicine Fellowship year. For more information, please contact Dr. Julie Childers (childersjw2@upmc.edu).

Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Addiction Medicine Track

This track is dedicated to training physicians to care for adolescents and young adults with substance use disorders. Open to applicants from Pediatrics, Internal Medicine-Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Adolescent Medicine, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, and related specialties, this fellowship emphasizes care for medically underserved and rural populations. AYA fellows participate in all core rotations and didactics while completing additional experiences at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, the Center for Adolescent and Young Adult Health, and various community-based sites. Up to two AYA fellows are accepted per year through funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). For more information, contact Dr. Maggie Shang (shangm2@upmc.edu).

Opportunities for Extra Academic Training

Addiction Medicine fellows may also pursue advanced academic training through a master’s degree offered by the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Clinical Research Education (ICRE). These programs prepare fellows for successful careers in academic medicine through structured coursework, mentorship, and scholarly projects.

Clinical Research

A three-year program providing rigorous education in the design and conduct of clinical research for fellows who are interested in a career as a clinician researcher. Core courses cover research methodology, epidemiology, biostatistics, outcomes measurement, grant writing, and ethical and regulatory principles of human subjects research. Participants complete a master’s degree in clinical research and, by the end of their training, are prepared to write their first K.

Medical Education

Fellows seeking to deepen their expertise in teaching and curriculum development may enroll in the ICRE medical education master’s degree program at the beginning of their addiction medicine fellowship and complete one additional year as a faculty-fellow while completing their thesis. Coursework focuses on educational theory, instructional design, learner assessment, and scholarship in medical education.