Fellowship Program

The University of Texas Medical School and the UT Health Science Center are located in the Texas Medical Center, which is home to multiple academic institutions, including UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, UT School of Public Health and Memorial Hermann Hospital.

The University of Texas, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, offers an ACGME approved two-year clinical fellowship, which is designed to provide comprehensive training within all of the subdivisions of endocrinology. The program includes a broad clinical exposure, a structured curriculum, and varied research opportunities under faculty supervision. The program is designed to fulfill the needs of those trainees who intend to pursue academic careers in clinical and /or basic endocrine research, as well as those who anticipate their future activities to be the clinical practice of the specialty.

The two years of training encompasses several different kinds of clinical experiences. Inpatient consultative services are provided at Memorial Hermann, LBJ County Hospital, and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Each of these facilities services a different patient population. Memorial Hermann Hospital is a non-profit major University affiliate. The fellow will be exposed to advanced endocrine disorders and management of patients with diabetes in varied intensive care units. The LBJ Hospital is a component of the Harris County Hospital District. The fellow will be exposed to acute endocrine emergencies. The MD Anderson Cancer Center is a specialized cancer hospital. The fellow will be exposed to endocrine neoplasia, paraneoplastic disorders, and familial syndromes such as MEN. Ambulatory services are provided at the University of Texas Physicians clinics, LBJ clinics, and M.D. Anderson Cancer clinics. In addition, there is training in thyroid ultrasound techniques and ultrasound guided thyroid fine needle aspirations through a weekly FNA clinic.

The structured curriculum includes a weekly core curriculum, a weekly multidisciplinary clinical conference that includes pediatric endocrinology and reproductive endocrinology, a weekly city-wide Endocrine Grand Rounds, monthly research conference, monthly journal club, and monthly multidisciplinary thyroid conference with surgery, radiology and pathology. Our fellows are supported to go to several national meetings yearly.

Approximately 10 months of the fellowship are spent on one of the several in-patient consult services. These facilities include Memorial Hermann Hospital, LBJ General Hospital, and for oncologic endocrinology, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. In addition, rotations in pediatric endocrinology, reproductive endocrinology, care of the pregnant diabetic patients, wound care, nuclear medicine and ophthalmology are all included in the fellowship program. Adequate time is allotted for research activities. All fellows have two continuity clinics weekly, at LBJ and the UT Professional Building.

The first-year fellow will typically spend approximately five months on inpatient consults, one month in pediatric endocrinology, one month in reproductive endocrinology, one months in oncologic endocrinology, three months in research activities, and 1 month in a mixed rotation that includes wound care, nuclear medicine and subspecialty endocrine clinics.

The second-year fellow will typically spend approximately four months in inpatient consults, six months in research activities, and the remainder of the time in electives. Fellows are mentored to help them complete a research project of their choice.

One of the most important principles of the fellowship training is that the fellow has progressively increasing degrees of responsibility for the care of patients over time. With the concurrence of the attending physician, the plan of management will be undertaken by the house staff. The fellows receive monthly evaluations on their progress by their respective attendings and twice annually they receive feedback on their continuity clinics and overall progress by the program director. They also complete a self-evaluation twice yearly. The fellows are actively involved in the development of the curriculum and give monthly feedback on their rotations and the faculty.

All fellows are expected to engage in research activities. A clinical research center is available on site. Opportunities exist in basic science investigation, clinical research, and epidemiology. The Center for Clinical Research and Evidence Based Medicine provides a clinical research curriculum, which is funded by the NIH and administered jointly by the UT Medical School, School of Public Health, and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. The program is designed to promote clinical research expertise among clinical research investigators at the fellow and junior faculty level. Additional courses are available at the UT School of Public Health.

The University of Texas Medical School at Houston
Department of Internal Medicine
Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
6431 Fannin, MSB 5.104
Houston, Texas 77030
713.500.6646 Phone

Fellowship Program Contact Information

Program Director

Kelly Wirfel, MD
Assistant Professor
The University of Texas Medical School at Houston
6431 Fannin, MSB 5.104
Houston, TX  77030
Telephone: 713.500.6533
Fax: 713.500.6647

Associate Program Director

Neel Shah, MD
Assistant Professor
The University of Texas Medical School at Houston
6431 Fannin, MSB 5.105
Houston, TX  77030
Telephone: 713.500.6533
Fax: 713.500.6647

Fellowship Coordinator

Caroline S. Warner
The University of Texas Medical School at Houston
6431 Fannin, MSB 5.102
Houston, TX  77030
Telephone: 713.500.6533
Fax: 713.500.6647