West Coast Hematology/Oncology Programs

[FROG541]

Hi,

I'm new to SDN and I am from the East Coast but my girlfriend resides in California and I hope to apply to heme/onc programs out west. Can any body give me advice of what they like and dislike from there programs from California, Oregon, and Washington state? Obviously they are big names but is the teaching in balance with the research and work load? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

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[AuroraK]

Hi,

I'm new to SDN and I am from the East Coast but my girlfriend resides in California and I hope to apply to heme/onc programs out west. Can any body give me advice of what they like and dislike from there programs from California, Oregon, and Washington state? Obviously they are big names but is the teaching in balance with the research and work load? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

The big ones out west are: Fred Hutchinson, Stanford, UCSF, UCLA. The next tier is probably UCSD/City of Hope.

UCLA probably has a very good balance of solids/liquids/clinical/basic research as far as Ive heard. UCSF is very basic science oriented, and Stanford is very much geared towards malignant heme. Hutchinson/UW is the best BMT place on the planet, and is trying to grow its solid program. They are all peer programs, and I would consider myself lucky to be at any of those places.

UCSD and City of Hope are up-and-coming programs not yet on par with the above, UCSD is very basic science oriented, and CoH is another big time transplant program.

It does seem interesting that so many of the strong malignant heme/BMT places are on the west coast, wonder if anyone has any good theories on that?

 

[FROG541]

Thanks AuroaK,

That was helpful. I don't know why the strong malignant Heme/BMT are localized on the West but they do have strong basic research departments, which could be because most train fellows for academic careers. The West Coast programs are definitely top-notch.

Do you know anything about the interview process of those schools you mentioned?

 

[AuroraK]

Thanks AuroaK,

That was helpful. I don't know why the strong malignant Heme/BMT are localized on the West but they do have strong basic research departments, which could be because most train fellows for academic careers. The West Coast programs are definitely top-notch.

Do you know anything about the interview process of those schools you mentioned?

All I know is that theyre all very competitive and having a PhD is helpful (though not a necessity). Also, after rereading my post I think I might have made it sound like UW/Stanford only do malignant heme, and UCSF only does basic science research, which isnt the case at all. Stanford and UCSF both have very strong solid tumor depts as well, and UW has a very large research base. It's just their malignant heme is of the highest caliber so it gets more notice, even though these places are all extremely strong through and through. And Id definitely consider myself lucky if I were to interview at any of those places.

 

[carrigallen]

I think one of the reasons the West Coast programs are so successful is that they have such a large referral base for research protocols - for example, the Hutch absorbs patients from Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, etc.
Also the Seattle VA is one of only 3 VAs in the country that does BMTs.