University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

 

Institution:

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Duration of Fellowship:

1 year, potential for second year of research

Number of Available Fellowship Positions:

0

Program Director:
Program Director Email:

Paul H. Graham, MD
[email protected]

Secondary Contact Name:
Secondary Contact Title:
Secondary Contact Email:

Sarah Fisher, MD
Associate Program Director
[email protected]

Address/Phone:

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Department of Surgical Oncology, Unit 1484
Houston, TX 77030-1402

Phone: (713) 794-1345
Fax: (713) 563-5727

Objectives of the Program:

This unique, multispecialty fellowship is designed to provide a solid foundation for a career in academic endocrine surgery. The program is a collaborative effort between the Departments of Surgical Oncology and Head and Neck Surgery at an academic cancer center. The fellowship's mission is to provide training through three primary modalities:
1) Clinical exposure. The fellow will have a graded clinical experience through an apprentice model with expert faculty in the operating room and the outpatient clinic. Along with the dedicated time on the Surgical Endocrinology and Head and Neck services, the fellow will have 4 months of clinical experience in nonsurgical areas working one-on-one with faculty who are international leaders in their disciplines.
2) Formal didactics. The fellow will attend organized weekly multidisciplinary conferences that offer dialogue and education on clinical endocrinologic issues.
3) Research. The program provides for integrated research under the mentorship of one or more members of our multidisciplinary faculty.

Candidates must have completed a general surgery residency and must be board eligible.

Highlights of the Fellowship:

The fellow will spend 7 months working with the Surgical Endocrinology faculty (Dr. Sarah Fisher, Dr. Paul Graham, Dr. Elizabeth Grubbs, Dr. Jeffrey Lee, Dr. Nancy Perrier) and 1 month working with the Head and Neck Surgery faculty (Dr. Mark Zafereo and Dr. Jennifer Wang). Advanced surgical techniques, particularly retroperitoneal and laparoscopic adrenalectomy, minimally invasive parathyroidectomy, reoperative cervical procedures, and surgical treatment of advanced thyroid tumors, will be part of the surgical curriculum.

Fellows will have broad exposure to endocrine neoplasias and will participate in several separate weekly multidisciplinary case-based and research conferences with themes such as advanced thyroid cancer, general endocrine neoplasia, parathyroid and adrenal diseases, genetics, and neuroendocrine pancreas and carcinoid tumors.

The tertiary level of multidisciplinary care, the complexity of patients treated at this institution, and the expertise of multidisciplinary faculty involved in daily clinical care allows for a comprehensive clinical experience with dedicated rotations for 4 months in nonsurgical disciplines. Nonsurgical rotations include Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal Disorders, Pathology (including frozen section evaluation and immediate assessment of FNA cytology), Neuroendocrine Gastrointestinal Oncology (carcinoid and adrenocortical carcinoma), Radiology (including Nuclear Medicine and ultrasound-guided FNA), Voice Pathology, and Genetic Counseling.

Number of Cases: The fellow will perform more than 200 cases during the fellowship (anticipated 100+ thyroidectomies, 70+ parathyroidectomies, 20+ adrenalectomies, 15 lateral neck dissections, up to 5 GI/pancreas neuroendocrine).

Research: The program emphasizes training future leaders in endocrine surgery. Training in and practice constructing manuscripts, protocols, grants, and presentations will be an essential component. The fellow will have regular, independent access to research support staff in statistics, scientific publications, grant writing, and IRB preparation. Attendance at national and international endocrine surgery meetings and Endocrine Surgical University will be supported. The option for a second year focusing on further research and academic development is available.

International Medical Graduates -  our program is able to accept a fellow who:

holds an immigrant visa, J-1 visa

Fellow must be American Board of Surgery eligible or certified:

No

Fellow must obtain a full (unrestricted) state license:

No - Training license accepted - Texas

Special Considerations:

 

Program Website for More Information:

https://www.mdanderson.org/education-training/clinical-research-training/graduate-medical-education/residencies-fellowships/surgical-endocrinology.html

Program Twitter:

 

Program Facebook:

 

Previous Fellows:

Bernice Huang, M.D. (2021-2022)

Aditya Shirali, M.D. (2020-2022)

Glenda Callender, M.D. (2008-2009)

Christine Landry, M.D. (2009-2010)

Paxton Dickson, M.D. (2010-2011)

Lilah Morris, M.D. (2011-2012)

Shabir Abadin, M.D. (2012-2013)

Ashley Cayo, M.D. (2013-2014)

Ashley Stewart, M.D. (2014-2015)

Kristin Long, M.D. (2015-2016)

Minerva Romero-Arenas, M.D. (2016-2017)

Jonathan Zagzag, M.D. (2017-2018)

Sarah Fisher, M.D. (2018-2019)