Impressions from the interview trail. Fellowship shopping is not like preparing for residency. The ID division is usually small and the strengths of programs in individual areas can vary considerably. The list of "top programs" for someone interested in HIV benchtop research is completely different than for one interested in international health. You don't need to know exactly what you want to do, but having a strong idea will allow you to guage whether an individual fellowship is the right vehicle to launch you where you wish to be.
Stanford - Great basic science research, can't recall much in the way of international health. Lovely location, suprisingly diverse patient population. Three different hospitals (university, community and VA). Fellows seem happy, program directors are warm and supporting. Guaranteed funding, stay as long as you wish. Some fellows do stay on as faculty. I was impressed with the quality of the research there - very creative investigators and more than a few Nobel prize winners. I really liked this program.
UCSF - Disorganized mess. Program administrators/secretaries quit/fired during this application cycle. Arranging an interview was confusing and somewhat frustrating. Once there, the PD was very personable, the location in SF was great, but the research facilities were spread out to a distant second campus "mission bay" 20 minutes away since the hospital has an agreement with the city to limit growth. There is a 2 week "boot camp" at the start of fellowship to get up to speed. I can't recall much about international programs. I couldn't find a lab to connect to, so the fit wasn't right.
MGH/Brigham - I was fully expecting to love this program and was disappointed. Only one felllow came to lunch out of a possible thirty fellows split between two hospitals (he seemed stressed) and there was a pervasive feeling of stress throughout the day from fellows/faculty. The "successful" fellow I met who had their own K08 research grant was stashed in a cubicle and seemed miserable. The program expects you to have identified potential mentors by the time you arrive for interviews, and the inteviewer will have to vouch for you in order to have a decent chance at acceptance. You have to find your own funding for the non-clinical years. You have to find your way around during the interview day itself. Interviewers kept mentioning the severity of the competition this year. Fellows rarely stay on to become faculty. No one said "I'm here because I love what I do" - it seemed they were there since it's Harvard. My home program thinks the world of MGH to the point of fetish, but in the end I couldn't see this as a good fit for me. There was one lab I connected with, but I wasn't willing to take the risk if it didn't work out.
Johns Hopkins - Great research, happy fellows, supportive faculty. Many fellows stay on as faculty (ID is the largest medicine division). Fellows are attendings on the HIV inpatient service. The hospital is in a rough part of town and Baltimore is not for everyone. There were no pretentions at all, just genuine warm fellows and faculty I wouldn't mind having a beer with. I found many basic science researchers I could connect with here, so for me this program made the most sense. For me this program offered ideal training to find an academic job afterwards.
Cornell - Fantastic international programs, they were doing this before anyone else. Division chief is stepping down. Program director is very supportive, and is increasing the size of the program. In a great part of New York City. Decent housing is provided. Limitted patient population in the sense that Columbia or NYU would see more immigrants and lower socioeconomic patients with diverse ID issues. If you are interested in Onc/ID, especially bone marrow transplant populations, the relationship with Sloan Kettering is fantastic (MSKCC has it's own ID program too). For me the basic science opportunities were there, but the clinical training wasn't the strongest.
Penn - This is my home institution, so I'm positively biased here. Very strong clinically, basic science in ID focused more on HIV/virology. Fantastic program director. Fellows are very happy. Good quality of life, Philly is an easy city to live in and a difficult one to leave.
GOOD LUCK next year!
