WVU Department of Medicine announces new combined infectious disease detection fellowship

The West Virginia University Infectious Disease Fellowship Program within the WVU School of Medicine was named one of eleven infectious disease programs that will offer a new joint fellowship training program between the Infectious Diseases Society of America in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The program aims to streamline a career path for those interested in infectious disease and applied epidemiology training by combining the infectious disease fellowship program with the two-year CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service training.

Fellows will learn how to investigate and control infectious disease outbreaks and receive training on how to respond to natural disasters and other threats to the public’s health.

The combined fellowship will serve as an option for infectious disease training here at WVU and was selected as a pilot program site because of a strong, demonstrated relationship with nearby state and local health departments and an in-depth focus on public health.

“The combined ID/EIS joint fellowship is in perfect alignment with the WVU Department of Medicine missions in education, clinical care and outreach to the state. These fellows will not only get excellent training by WVU faculty and CDC/public health leaders, they will provide much needed service to our state that is battling multiple public health issues including viral hepatitis, HIV, substance abuse and COVID-19,” said Rebecca Reece, M.D., FACP, associate professor and program director of the infectious disease fellowship.

Applications for the first cohort will open in spring of 2023 with one fellow selected each year. Selected fellows begin the four-year program with an ID fellowship in July 2024 and continue to the EIS fellowship in July 2026.

Funding for the pilot program is provided to IDSA under a broader cooperative agreement between the Society and CDC that began in May 2020 with a focus on responding to COVID-19. The collaboration brings numerous medical specialties together to share resources and to provide the latest information and guidance on treating those infected with COVID-19 and preventing its spread. The agreement has also funded the flourishing COVID-19 Real-Time Learning Network, an online center for frontline clinicians to learn, collaborate and share treatment best practices.

For additional information about the Department of Medicine, visit their site at medicine.wvu.edu/medicine.