In addition to our standard curriculum that prepares fellows to be excellent ID consultants, this track promotes more in-depth clinical experience in specialized niches of ID or through elective rotations outside of ID, such as Allergy-Immunology, Ortho Infectious Disease or Addiction Medicine. It also trains fellows to be educators in academic environments. Lastly, beyond their principal role as a consultant, many ID physicians in community practice will lead health care teams in their medical centers, such as Antimicrobial Stewardship or Hospital Epidemiology programs. Experiences offered in this track promote acquiring skills in these areas but without the strong emphasis on these topics that occur with the Health Service/Health Care Quality Track. Specific opportunities include:

• Elective rotations: Allergy/Immunology, Global/Tropical Medicine (overseas experiences), Dermatology, Addiction Medicine, Mycobacterial Pulmonary Clinic, Pediatric ID, Rheumatology, Ortho ID
• Elective weeks embedded with Antimicrobial Stewardship, Hospital Epidemiology and Microbiology beyond Year 1 rotations
• Participation in University of Iowa Health Care Quality Leadership Academy
• Participation in Department of Medicine Fellows as Clinician Educators (FACE) Program
• Facilitate pre-clinical medical student small groups
• Facilitate case-based educational modules for rotating residents
• SHEA membership
• Scholarly projects such as writing case reports/case series or topical reviews with faculty or developing a QI or Infection Prevention initiative
• Develop education initiatives with faculty mentorship
• Chalk talk preparation to share with the teaching ID consult service

Clinical fellows who are making satisfactory progress on milestones may select the HS/HQ track. The HS/HQ Track includes 6 to 7 months mostly dedicated to one or two of the following disciplines determined by the career aspiration of the fellow: 1) Hospital Epidemiology/Infection Prevention (HE/IP); 2) Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS); 3) Health Services Research; and 4) Data Science. Fellows who select this track are typically interested in an academic career. Recognizing that fellows may want to cross-train in disciplines that prepare them broadly for career opportunities, one option combines experience in both AMS and HE/IP and is outlined in detail below. A mentoring committee will help oversee progress along these tracks. An overview and features of the different tracks listed above include the following:

Hospital Epidemiology/Infection Prevention and AMS Sub-track

Under the guidance of ID faculty who direct the AMS and Hospital Epidemiology Programs, this rotation includes time embedded with both AMS and Hospital Epi teams, didactics, mentored scholarly work and involvement with QI/research projects. The goal is to equip the fellow with the knowledge and experience to join an academic HE or AMS team after graduation.

See details about HE/AMS opportunities and activities in this sub-track.

Healthcare Services Sub-track

Under mentorship from faculty with expertise in Healthcare Services Research, fellows will conduct research and/or develop and implement Quality Improvement Projects for 6 to 7 months of year 2. Rotations embedded with the AMS or Hospital Epi programs can be arranged to complement the scholarly work of fellows on this track. 

Data Science/Epidemiology of Infections Sub-Track

Phil Polgreen and Ryan Peterson join their expertise in health-related epidemiology, modeling and analysis of large data sets to that of faculty from the Departments of Biostatistics and Computer Science. Loreen Herwaldt is the principal investigator of a CDC EpiCenter Grant which is dedicated to health care epidemiology research projects; multiple other faculty members contribute to these projects. 

See the CompEpi site (pisa.cs.uiowa.edu/compepi/)  for more information about the Computational Epidemiology Program.

Advanced Fellowships after HS/HQ Track

Graduating clinical fellows who have been on the HS/HQ track may be eligible for an advanced fellowship that is predominantly dedicated to research. Support for 3^rd and 4^th years for advanced fellowship is possible through one of 3 mechanisms listed below. A mentoring committee will be assigned to the fellow. Advanced fellowship years allow time for pertinent graduate coursework toward a Master’s of Science in Clinical Investigation or a Master’s of Public Health. 

• VA Quality Scholars Program (note: VA cannot accept visa holders in this program)
• VA Health Services Research Fellowship (note: VA cannot accept visa holders in this fellowship)
• T32 Training Grant (note: Information about renewal of the NIH T32 training grant is expected in June or July 2026.)

Clinical fellows who are making satisfactory progress on milestones may select the HS/HQ track which provides 6 to 7 months mostly dedicated to research. This track prepares fellows for careers in academic research, with emphasis on the following areas: 1) bench research in inflammation/immunity/host-pathogen interactions; and 2) bench or clinical-translational research in virology/immunocompromised hosts. Mentors/projects are available from within the ID Division or other divisions/departments (e.g., Department of Microbiology and Immunology). Information about ID faculty and related areas for mentored research opportunities is listed below. More information about an individual faculty member’s work can be found at this link: Faculty | Department of Internal Medicine.

• Virology and infections of immunocompromised hosts (basic science and clinical/translational projects): Sabrina Tan, Jeffrey Meier, Jack Stapleton
• Inflammation and Immunity and Host-Pathogen Interactions: Priya Issuree, Prajwal Gurung, Mary Wilson, Selma Jeronimo (Adjunct Professor from Natal, Brazil)
• University of Iowa Faculty Members in the Microbiology and Immunology Department

Advanced Fellowships after PI Track

Graduating clinical fellows on the PI track may be eligible for an advanced fellowship that is predominantly dedicated to research.  Support for 3^rd and 4^th years of advanced fellowship is possible through the T32 grant (see below). Advanced fellowship years often allow time for graduate course work which advances a trainees’ development as a researcher. A mentoring committee will be assigned to the trainee. 

T32 Training Grant (note: Information about renewal of the NIH T32 training grant is expected in June or July 2026.)