Advanced IBD Fellowship

Welcome

Welcome to the Advanced Inflammatory Bowel Disease fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital!

The goal of our fellowship is to prepare trainees to achieve excellence in the multidisciplinary clinical care of patients with simple and complex inflammatory bowel diseases including ambulatory care, inpatient management, and procedures. Through exposure to a range of investigators engaged in diverse clinical, translational, and basic research in inflammatory bowel diseases, we also aim to provide our advanced trainees a strong foundation in clinical investigation to launch them into successful careers in academic medicine. Dedicated research time and resources will allow our trainees to develop and execute independent research projects with the appropriate mentorship. Through leading the multidisciplinary IBD conferences and participation in the IBD inpatient service, we will also provide our advanced trainees an opportunity to participate in education and training of other providers, to facilitate development into a comprehensive IBD clinician, educator, and investigator.

We look forward to having you spend a year with us!

Ashwin N Ananthakrishnan, MD, MPH

Program Director, Advanced IBD Fellowship

Overview

The Advanced Inflammatory Bowel Disease Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital continues a long tradition of excellence in the care of patients with inflammatory bowel disease, clinical research in IBD, and extensive investigation of intestinal epithelial biology and mucosal immunology. The goal of this fellowship is to prepare trainees for an independent academic career in clinical investigation and patient care in the inflammatory bowel diseases.

Applicants should have completed at least two years in Gastroenterology fellowship, and should be competent in all areas of general gastroenterology and routine endoscopic procedures. Advanced IBD Fellows will be expected to participate directly in the care of outpatients with IBD seen in conjunction with IBD faculty in the MGH Crohn's and Colitis Center for at least three half-day sessions weekly. An additional half to whole day will be devoted to endoscopic procedures needed for the care of these patients. The Advanced IBD Fellow will also assist in follow up of inpatient consultations and admissions to the IBD service. Approximately 50% of effort will be devoted to the design and execution of independent research projects relating to IBD.

Appropriate kinds of research will include clinical trials, observational studies, studies related to outcomes, decision analyses, and translational projects. Education in patient care relating to IBD will occur through one-to-one preceptorship with expert IBD clinicians, leading to competence in all aspects of the clinical care of patients with IBD. A highlight of this educational process is the weekly interdisciplinary IBD Forum, a venue for education focused on decision making over complex problems through the collaborative assessment of surgical, medical, pathology, and radiographic opinion.

Requirements

The appropriate candidate will have a background sufficient to capitalize on the wealth of resources available for research and education at the MGH and Harvard University. Eligible candidates will have completed at least two years of fellowship level training in Gastroenterology. Letters of recommendation will be required from the candidate's Fellowship Director or Division Chief, as well as two other individuals who are familiar with the candidate and can attest to the candidate's abilities in clinical gastroenterology, as well as the candidate's interests in IBD. The candidate must also provide documentation of credentials sufficient to attain clinical credentials at MGH as a trainee, including credentials necessary for obtaining a Massachusetts license. Candidates who will have the financial backing of their home division or grant support will have preference in the decision process, but all candidates will be considered regardless of financial resources for a stipend.

Curriculum

Training Schedule

The curriculum places emphasis both clinical practice and clinical research. The IBD fellow will be assigned time in the clinics of several IBD experts.

Our fellows are rigorously prepared for the demands of caring for patients with IBD. Fellows will receive formal teaching, through both seminars.

• 3-4 half-days outpatient IBD clinic
• 1 half-day outpatient IBD endoscopy (including training in chromoendoscopy, balloon dilation of strictures, pouchoscopy, and evaluation of stomas)
• Involvement in the management of the hospitalized IBD patient through the IBD service
• Observation of common IBD related surgeries in the OR (2-4 per year)
• Review of interpretation of MR and CT imaging studies with expert GI radiologists
• Review of pathologic slides relevant to IBD
• 50% dedicated time for clinical investigation in IBD

Conferences

The IBD fellow will be an active participant of several regularly scheduled conferences including Clinical Journal Club, Research Seminar, GI grand rounds and Medical grand rounds.

Weekly IBD Conference

A weekly lunchtime conference focused on the multidisciplinary management of patients with IBD. This includes formal case presentation and educational talks, journal club review of the recent IBD literature, board review questions.

Research Seminars

Clinical Journal Club

A weekly discussion of the research methodology and findings from both recent GI research as well as “classic” papers in GI.

Work in Progress at GI Division

Clinical Responsibilities & Descriptions

A major part of the learning experience comes from working closely with the attending faculty.

How to Apply

The application period for the 2019 academic year is now closed. We are currently accepting applications for the 2020-21 academic year on a rolling basis. Please forward your CV, personal statement and three letters of recommendation via email to:

Ashwin Ananthakrishnan, IBD Fellowship Program Director aananthakrishnan@mgh.harvard.edu

Bridget Pineda, Fellowship Coordinator, Phone: 857-238-3507, bpineda@mgh.harvard.edu

Please contact the program director with any questions regarding the Advanced IBD Fellowship program at MGH.

Faculty and Fellows

Core Program Faculty