Why Choose Mount Sinai?
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Infectious Disease Fellowship provides our fellows with diverse, rich clinical and research experiences in preparation for their future careers in infectious diseases. The Mount Sinai Hospital, a tertiary care teaching hospital in Manhattan, New York, provides our fellows with comprehensive training in HIV medicine, general and emerging infectious diseases, and transplant infectious diseases. Our fellows also rotate through the Elmhurst Hospital Center, a city hospital in the most ethnically diverse neighborhood in the nation where they also gain experiences evaluating infections in immigrants and travelers. The unparalleled breadth of clinical experiences, exposure to diverse patient populations, and growing research opportunities in basic science, translational and clinical research offered by our fellowship program equip our fellows for successful careers in academic medicine, research, and clinical practice. Furthermore, the collaborative research environment at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai allows for a rapid, real-time response to current infectious disease issues such as a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV2, and monkeypox (MPX). The Infectious Disease Division has been working with multi-specialty teams on clinical trials, diagnostics, policies, practice guidelines, and expanded therapeutics in response to these emerging pathogens.
Highlights of Our Training Program
Clinical
- Inpatient HIV service – Supervised by our ID faculty, this team is run by Sinai internal medicine residents and a fellow. We care for a range of patients including those with advanced AIDS/opportunistic infections and patients medical complications of long standing HIV including cardiac, renal, and oncological issues.
- Opportunities to care for patients from a wealth of different backgrounds and cultures and management of infections in immigrants and recent travelers.
- Comprehensive training in management of immunocompromised patients including patients with organ transplants, hematologic malignancies, and biologic therapies, as well as patients with HIV
- Longitudinal HIV primary care
- Training in infection prevention/hospital epidemiology and antimicrobial stewardship at both the hospital and healthcare system level
- Opportunities to cover the NYC HIV Post-exposure prophylaxis hotline
Research
- Clinical Translational Research Center o HIV clinical trials o Influenza clinical trials o General Infectious Diseases
- COVID19 Clinical Trials Unit o Vaccine trials o Immune-modulating therapies o COVID Hyperimmune globulin (COVID-HIG) and Monoclonal Antibodies, including pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics studies, treatment in non-hospitalized and hospitalized patients, pre-exposure prophylaxis for frontline providers, post-exposure prophylaxis
- HIV basic science and translational research
- Emerging Pathogens, including COVID19, basic and translational research
- Pathogens Surveillance Program
- Center for Research on Influenza Pathogenesis
Conferences & Environment
- Weekly conferences including Ambulatory HIV Curriculum, Case Conferences, Microbiology Rounds, Global Health and Emerging Pathogens, Journal Club and Core Curriculum Lecture Series
- Monthly Quality Improvement Conference – This conference is a part of our fellows’ Case Conference series and focuses on improving care at a system level.
- Supporting and nurturing environment that includes a wellness champion for ID fellows and faculty advisors assigned to every fellow during their first year
- Opportunities to attend conferences and collaborate with ID faculty and fellows throughout the Mount Sinai Health System.
- Social events with ID fellows from the health system.
- Fellows have a half-day of protected time each week after continuity clinic to focus on didactic lectures and other scholarly activities
Location
The Mount Sinai Hospital is located at the intersection of the two distinct neighborhoods of the Upper Eastside and East Harlem in Manhattan. This provides healthcare providers with an incredibly diverse patient care experience from the surrounding community as well as referrals from the Tri-State area. In addition to the experience at Mount Sinai Hospital, our fellows care for patients at the Elmhurst Hospital Center, a public hospital in Queens, New York located in the most ethnically and culturally diverse area codes in the nation. Fellows’ continuity clinic is based either at Elmhurst Hospital Center or Harlem Health Center, a multispecialty clinic that delivers comprehensive care in the heart of Harlem.
Unique Programs
Our program has unique training avenues that provide you a breadth and depth of training that you can't get at other institutions.
Transplant ID Program
All first year fellows spend two months on the solid organ transplant ID consult service and two months on the bone marrow transplant/oncology ID consult service. These rotations provide comprehensive training in the management of immuno- compromised hosts as well as complicated surgical patients. Our transplant ID faculty work closely with the Recanati-Miller Transplant Institute (RMTI) and the Division of Hematology/Oncology on clinical protocols and research. Fellows who wish to pursue a career in transplant infectious diseases also have the option of the Transplant ID track during their second year of fellowship.
Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy (OPAT) Clinic
Dr. Madhavi Ponnapalli directs our OPAT program at Mount Sinai and provides follow up of patients who are discharged on courses IV antibiotics. Dr. Ponnapalli coordinates and monitors their care closely with pharmacy and infusions services. Fellows are able to work with Dr. Ponnapalli to gain additional experience in outpatient ID and learn about the coordination of an OPAT program.
Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC)
Dr. Judith Aberg is the Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Director of the Infectious Disease Clinical and Translational Research Center. Dr. Aberg is a national leader in infectious diseases and renowned researcher whose work including HIV-associated opportunistic infections, vaccine response, complications of HIV disease including the pathogenesis of inflammation.
Anal Dysplasia Program
Under the leadership of Dr. Michael Gaisa, the Anal Dysplasia Program at Mount Sinai serves as a large referral center for patients at risk for with anal dysplasia with the aim of preventing anal cancer. High-resolution anoscopy-guided biopsy and electrocautery ablation of suspicious, pre-cancerous lesions are the cornerstone of these efforts. Depending on their interest, fellows will have the opportunity to rotate through the program.
Travel Medicine
Dr. Daniel Caplivski is the Medical Director of the Travel Medicine Program at Mount Sinai. He provides pre-travel assessments, including immunizations and counseling, and post-travel care in the Faculty Practice Associates (FPA) clinic
Institute for Advanced Medicine (IAM)
IAM is an extensive network of outpatient clinics providing care for a number of patient groups including the LGBTQ+ community, persons with HIV, or persons at risk of HIV infection. HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) are prescribed in these clinics including injectable PrEP. Additionally, the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery is housed within this clinic network.
System Engagement
The Mount Sinai Health System includes seven distinct hospitals: Mount Sinai Hospital, West, Morningside, Queens, South Nassau, Brooklyn, and Beth Israel. While the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Infectious Disease fellowship is centered at Mount Sinai Hospital, the larger health system network does afford the opportunity for second year fellows to become involved at multiple sites while on Antibiotic Stewardship, Infection Control, Travel Medicine, or Research rotations.
Our Faculty
As a fellow in the Infectious Disease Division, you will work with an amazing group of physicians. We have one of the largest divisions nationwide and we have experts in a wide range of specialties. Regardless of what specific aspect of Infectious Diseases you are interested in pursuing, we have a faculty member who can mentor and work with you.
Recent Graduates' Successes
The academic success of the Mount Sinai Infectious Disease Fellowship Program is supported by the track record of our graduates. While a vast majority of our graduates hold full-time academic faculty positions, many have also pursued careers in clinical practice and industry. Our fellows have successfully published peer-reviewed articles and some of our recent graduates have been highly successful in competing for National Institutes of Health (NIH) mentored career physician-scientist development awards (K08 and K23).