Fellowship
The Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI) Fellowship Program is a three-year program designed to prepare fellows for a career in academic medicine. It is approved by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) for a total of five fellows.
The REI Fellowship at UT Southwestern Medical Center has been in existence since 1974, and Dr. Bruce Carr has been Fellowship Director since 1986.
The program is well-rounded and includes extensive clinical experience as well as opportunities for basic and clinical research. Six consecutive months are devoted to clinical care and six to research in each year of the fellowship.
Program Structure
Rotations are scheduled to provide a diverse clinical and research experience.
Fellows will become proficient in the diagnosis and treatment of reproductive endocrinology disorders, learn such infertility treatment procedures as in vitro fertilization, embryo transfer and ART, participate in all aspects of REI surgery, and receive training in andrology.
Fellows will also gain experience in writing manuscripts and grants, and will participate in resident and student teaching.
A large clinic and referral base of endocrine and infertility patients is available for study, while laboratory research is directed toward molecular biology.
Laboratories in the Department include those of the Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences as well as the laboratories of Lisa Halvorson, MD; W. Lee Kraus, PhD, Mala Mahendroo, PhD; and Ruth Ann Word, MD.
Fellows are encouraged to produce manuscripts for publication each year of the fellowship program. Graduating fellows have all published at least one peer-reviewed manuscript and have numerous presentations at major meetings.
REI Fellows Presentations and Publications
Program Strengths
The Division has one PhD faculty member and eight Reproductive Endocinology and Infertility Faculty with MD degrees. The MDs are all OB/Gyn board-certified; seven of them are also certified in reproductive endocrinology and infertility, and one is certified as a high complexity laboratory director.
All the fellows who have trained in our fellowship program since 1986 have successfully passed their written REI board examinations the first time, and 98 percent have also passed their oral boards on the first try.
Clinical Facilities
Clinical experience is enhanced with rotations in UT Southwestern’s Fertility and Advanced Reproductive Medicine Program, Parkland Health and Hospital System, and the Center for Assisted Reproduction at Embryo.net in Bedford, Texas.
Outpatient surgery is available at UT Southwestern’s Outpatient Building and the Simmons Ambulatory Surgery Center at Parkland. In patient care is provided at UT Southwestern University Hospitals and Parkland Memorial Hospital.
Conferences and Lectures
The REI Division has an active conference schedule in which all fellows are encouraged to participate. A variety of conferences, boards, journal clubs, grand rounds, and lectures specific to the Division are available. Daily lectures and grand rounds are also given by different departments of the medical school and are published on a monthly calendar.
A full complement of graduate level courses is available for REI fellows. Some are mandatory for an ABOG-approved fellowship program. Others are optional and enhance the educational experience.
Schedule of Conferences and Courses
Fellows are funded to attend the SGI and ASRM meetings and are encouraged to present their work. Fellows are expected to attend the full conference. Attendance at other functions may also be funded at the discretion of the program director and division chief, particularly if research is being presented.