Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Training Program Director: Hamid Bassiri MD, PhD and Eimear Kitt, MD

Coordinator: Ms. Patrice Sport

Chief, Infectious Diseases: Audrey O. John, MD PhD

Major Features of Training Program: The mission of our program is to prepare individuals to excel as future leaders in the field of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Our 3-year fellowship is designed to provide fellows with a broad array of training opportunities in clinical infectious diseases, bench research, clinical epidemiology, antimicrobial stewardship, infection prevention and control, and global health, all in a diverse, inclusive, and collegial environment.

Title(s) of Recent Fellows’ Published Research Papers:
1. On the Shoulders of Giants — From Jenner’s Cowpox to mRNA Covid Vaccines. Angela Desmond, M.D., Ph.D. and Paul A. Offit, M.D. New England Journal of Medicine, March 2021

2. Genotypic and Phenotypic Diversity of Herpes Simplex Virus 2 within the Infected Neonatal Population. Akhtar LN, Bowen CD, Renner DW, Pandey U, Della Fera AN, Kimberlin DW, Prichard MN, Whitley RJ, Weitzman MD, Szpara ML. mSphere, February 2019

3. The Epidemiology of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in a Pediatric Healthcare Network in the United States. Otto WR, Geoghegan S, Posch LC, Bell LM, Coffin SE, Sammons JS, Harris RM, Odom John AR, Luan X, Gerber JS. JPIDS, November 2020

4. Implementation of a Mandatory Influenza Vaccine Policy: A 10-Year Experience. Kitt E, Burt S, Price SM, Satchell L, Offit PA, Sammons JS, Coffin SE. CID June 2020

5. Suppurative Intracranial Complications of Pediatric Sinusitis: A Single-Center Experience. Otto WR, Paden WZ, Connors M, Joerger T, Buzi A, Rizzi M, Huh J, Storm P, Heuer G, Kennedy B, McGuire J, Swami S, Lang SS. JPIDS September 2020

Grant Funding Received for Fellow Research Projects:
1. NIH T32 Training Grant (8 fellows)
2. PIDS-St. Jude Fellowship Award in Basic and Translational Science (1 fellow)
3. Physician Scientist Training Program (2 fellows)
4. Melissa Ketunuti Memorial Global Health Fund (3 fellows)
5. Pediatric Hospital Epidemiology and Outcomes Research Training Program (2 fellows)
6. Gail Slap Department of Pediatrics Award
7. CPCE (Center for Pediatric Clinical Effectiveness Pilot Grant Award) (2 fellows)
8. CHOP Global Health Pilot Grant Award (1 fellow)

Affiliated Hospitals: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Number of Inpatient/Outpatient Consults Per Year: 3,200

Fellows Accepted Each Year: 3

Visas Accepted: J1, H1B

Is Funding Ensured for all 3 Years?: Yes

Is Completion of Pediatric Residency Training in the U.S. or Canada a Requirement?: No

Program Provides Training, Didactic Lectures, Hands-On Experience, or Antimicrobial Stewardship Meetings/Membership in:

1. Microbiology lab on site
2. Infection control and hospital epidemiology
3. Antimicrobial stewardship
4. Immunocompromised hosts

Opportunities to Fulfill the ABP Requirements for Scholarly Activity is Available in the Following General Areas:
1. Antimicrobial agents
2. Antimicrobial stewardship
3. Bacteriology/bacterial infections
4. Bioethics
5. Clinical trials
6. Epidemiology and statistics
7. Global health
8. HIV
9. Immunizations
10. Infection control/hospital epidemiology
11. Medical education
12. Mycology/fungal infections
13. Parasitology/parasitic diseases
14. Public health
15. Quality improvement
16. Virology/viral diseases
17. Transplant medicine

Opportunities exist for research outside of the ID Division?: Yes

Program offers the opportunity to obtain a Master’s degree in a field such as Public Health, Education, Clinical Sciences, or Epidemiology: Yes