General ID Fellow Education

The Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center provides world-class, comprehensive training in the clinical management of infectious diseases and research. Since its inception in 1957, the program has maintained a rich tradition of training clinical and scientific thought leaders in the field of ID.

2024-2025 Infectious Diseases Fellows

Program by the Numbers

2

Year Program

4

Major Training Sites

4

Clinical Training Tracks

Program Aims

• Train fellows for excellence in the clinical knowledge
• Develop a diverse workforce of future leaders in academics, community practice, or industry
• Advance scientific knowledge and practice
• Prvide the opportunity to see an unsurpassed breadth and variety of clinical cases
• Promote individualized training pathways
• Access to faculty with excellence in clinical and translational research

• Application Process

  Fellowship positions are filled through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). Applications are handled electronically through the American Medical Colleges’ Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). The due date for ERAS applications is October 15 of each year. Applications are closed for the 2025 fellowship position. We are currently considering applicants for positions starting in July 2026.

  Application Requirements

  • Passing score on all USMLE steps
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Completion of an ACGME-approved Internal Medicine Residency

  Additional Information

  Please visit Parkland Hospital Graduate Medical Education for requirements for appointment.

  International Applicants

  Recognizing that some of our most talented applicants are not permanent residents, we are committed to recruiting qualified international trainees. UT Southwestern accepts permanent residents or J-1 ECFMG sponsored visas. Unfortunately, the medical school does not sponsor H-1B visas.

• Clinical Training Tracks

  Our clinical training is centered at four major teaching sites: Parkland Health and Infectious Diseases Clinic, UT Southwestern University Hospitals and clinics, Dallas VA Medical Center and outpatient clinics, and the ACCESS HIV clinic. Each offers a unique blend of diverse patient populations and clinical pathology across the breadth of the disciplines within ID.

  Clinical Tracks in ID

  

  ASP/IP/Epi Clinical Track Show menu

  This track is designed to provide focused experiences in antimicrobial stewardship, infection prevention, and hospital epidemiology.

  Learn More

  

  HIV/STI Clinical Track Show menu

  The HIV/STI Clinical Track is designed to provide focused experiences in HIV/AIDS clinical management, HIV prevention, HIV research, and STI subspecialty care.

  Learn More

  

  Medical Education Clinical Track Show menu

  The Medical Education Clinical Track is designed to provide focused experiences in medical education for fellows who desire a career in an academic medical setting, providing a combination of clinical care and medical education with students, residents, and/or fellows

  Learn More

  

  Transplant ID Clinical Track Show menu

  Fellows will round on the transplant ID consult service, seeing solid and stem-cell transplant patients with invasive fungal diseases, CNS infection, disseminated strongyloides, and tuberculosis

  Learn More

  Combined, this clinical exposure provides an unparalleled richness of clinical ID training that equips trainees for any future career. The experience is enriched by close working relationships with our outstanding faculty on teaching rounds.

  • Emerging Pathogens
  • Transplant ID
  • HIV & STDs
  • OPAT
  • Epidemiology

  COVID-19 & Emerging Pathogens

  • UTSW has been at the forefront of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic response in the DFW region
  • UTSW has been engaged in over 250 research projects related to COVID-19 in drug therapy, epidemiology, clinical trials, and studying the effects of COVID-19 on healthcare workers
  • The infectious disease division, in collaboration with the department of health have been leaders of modeling and predicting the future waves of this pandemic
  • Our division also was at the forefront of organizing the COVID-19 response in our hospitals, developing a telemedicine critical care rounding model, and recruiting hundreds of patients to COVID-19 therapeutics clinical trials with our close relationship with research and infection control and prevention
  • Extensive exposure to tropical ID in returning travelers or immigrants including tuberculosis, malaria, neurocysticercosis, leishmaniasis, leprosy, and many others

  Transplant Infectious Diseases

  • In 2024, UTSW performed 462 solid organ transplants, the busiest transplant center in North Texas
  • Fellows will round on the transplant ID consult service, seeing solid and stem-cell transplant patients with invasive fungal diseases, CNS infection, disseminated strongyloides, and tuberculosis

  HIV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases

  • In July 2020, a patient at UTSW received the first HIV positive to HIV positive organ transplant in Texas
  • The ACCESS clinic is the largest outpatient provider of HIV care in the Dallas region, caring for more than 5,000 patients
  • Inpatient HIV consult service providing care for advanced HIV patients with variety of opportunistic infections and malignancies including disseminated fungal and mycobacterial infections, pneumocystis, toxoplasmosis, Kaposi’s sarcoma, primary CNS lymphoma and a host of other conditions

  Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy, Special Units

  • The OPAT clinic was awarded the 2016 Gage Award for quality in care delivery and highlighted for its innovation by New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst
  • Bone and Joint service for multidisciplinary and specialized care of patients with osteomyelitis, diabetic associated infections, prosthetic joint infections
  • Large burn intensive care unit to provide extensive experience with management of MDRO infections
  • Elective rotations are available at the Dallas County Jail, where Dr. Ank Nijhawan, the APD practices and does research

  Healthcare Epidemiology, Antimicrobial Stewardship, & Infection Prevention

  • Extensive experiences and exposure to the fields of Health Care Epidemiology, Infection Prevention, and Antimicrobial Stewardship with nationally recognized faculty leaders and mentors
  • Opportunity to do research and round with the ASP and IP teams
  • Faculty are leaders in hospital-wide stewardship and infection prevention, as well as regional leaders in epidemiology and disease management
• Clinical Rotation Experience

  Rotation Schedule

  Rotation	1st Year (Month blocks)	2nd Year (Month Blocks)
  Parkland General Consults	2	1
  Parkland HIV consults	1	1
  Clements General Consults	1	1
  Clements Transplant Consults	1	1
  VA Consults	2	0
  Microbiology	1	0
  Health Care Epidemiology/ Infection Control	1	1
  Research Electives/ Ambulatory Clinics	2	7

  Rotation Summaries

  • First year Month 1: in-depth microbiology didactics and lab time, general ID didactics, ample personal time to study for internal medicine board exams, overlap of consult service with second year fellow to orient to UTSW, Parkland and VA systems
  • Parkland General Consults: Provide inpatient ID consultation at Parkland Hospital. Service consists of one faculty attending, one fellow, two to three residents, and one to three students.
  • Parkland HIV Consults: Provide inpatient HIV consultation at Parkland Hospital. Service consists of one faculty attending, one fellow, one to two midlevel providers, and one to two students or residents.
  • Clements General Consults: Provide inpatient ID consultation at William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital and Zale Lipshy Pavilion—William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital. Service consists of one faculty attending, one fellow, one to two midlevel providers, and one to three residents and/or students.
  • Clements Transplant Consults: Provide inpatient transplant ID consultation primarily at Clements University Hospital. Service consists of one faculty attending, one fellow, and possibly a rotating resident on elective.
  • VA Consults: Provide inpatient ID consultation at Dallas VA Medical center and attend two half-days of VA combined ID/HIV clinics. Service consists of one faculty attending, one fellow, and one to three medical or PA students.
  • Microbiology: Non-clinical, non-call rotation in clinical microbiology. See curriculum and conferences for more details.
  • Health Care Epidemiology/Infection Prevention and Control and Antimicrobial Stewardship—Non-clinical, non-call rotation in health care epidemiology and infection control. Antimicrobial Stewardship is part of the clinical care and additional training is available. See curriculum and conferences for more details.
  • Research Elective: Engage in one or more projects with the support of a faculty mentor. Examples may include basic science investigational research, patient-oriented or clinical outcomes research, continuous QI projects, case reports, review articles, or educational curriculum projects.
  • Ambulatory Clinics:During the second year of fellowship, all fellows will do one half-day of clinic per week in the Parkland combined ID/OPAT clinic to broaden the outpatient ID training experience (in addition to the half-day of HIV continuity clinic). Additionally, fellows may pursue elective clinical or educational experiences in other areas of ID including: musculoskeletal infections; outpatient clinics in Hepatitis C, sexual health or transplant ID; outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy; infection prevention and health care epidemiology; antimicrobial stewardship; medical education; or diagnostic microbiology.
• Research Training Pathway

  One of the most significant assets available to trainees at UT Southwestern Medical Center is the extraordinary breadth and richness of opportunities and resources for basic and clinical research.

  UT Southwestern is internationally regarded as one of the world’s foremost research institutions and boasts a number of distinguished faculty, including four Nobel laureates, 25 members of the National Academy of Sciences, and 16 members of the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine). Funding from federal agencies, foundations, companies, and private donors exceeds $240 million per year, which is a testimony to the rigorous scientific discovery and excellence fostered by a highly collaborative, “no-fence” multidisciplinary research environment.

  The Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine division boasts research strength in diverse areas of scientific inquiry including pathogenesis and treatment of HIV and its complications, TB, hepatitis C, and multi-drug resistant bacterial pathogens. Translational and clinical patient-outcomes research expertise is offered in the areas of healthcare epidemiology, infection prevention and control, antimicrobial stewardship, correctional health, transplant ID, musculoskeletal infections and diagnostic microbiology.

  A close collaborative network with the nationally renowned basic science Departments of Microbiology and Immunology provide further research opportunities along with specialized research cores such as the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense.

  Research Training Structure

  All fellows are strongly encouraged to pursue scholarly activity during their training. A dedicated faculty member will be identified in discussion with the program leadership and trainee who will provide structured mentorship in career development and research activities. For those completing a two-year clinical ID fellowship, those research activities will be primarily conducted during the research elective months during the second year of training (an average of seven to eight months).

  

  Infectious Disease Fellows at the 2019 Seldin Research Symposium.

  Additionally, following the completion of the required clinical ID training, the program offers an additional one to three years of research training and investigation for interested and qualified trainees. One can pursue basic, translational, or clinical research under the guidance of a research mentor who is identified during the clinical training year. The additional research years may be supported through a T32 NIH Institutional Training Grant. However, additional research support is available through fellow’s application for intra- or extramural support with the help of the faculty mentor or the faculty mentor’s grants for interested and highly committed individuals.

  A robust infrastructure is in place to support the training program’s research endeavors. This includes institutional programs such as the Center for Translational Medicine. In addition to the T32 training grant for basic science research, those interested in clinical or translational research are encouraged to consider enrolling in the Masters of Clinical Science. In this curriculum, trainees have an opportunity to learn principles of clinical epidemiology and research trial design while earning a Master’s Degree.

  For those interested in transitioning to junior faculty from fellowship, UT Southwestern offers several competitive awards that provide start-up funds for those with demonstrated productivity in clinical or basic research including the Disease-Oriented Clinical Scholars (DOCS) program, the THR Clinical Scholars program, and the Endowed Scholars in Medical Science program.

• Training Sites

  Each of our training sites offers a unique blend of diverse patient populations and clinical pathology across the breadth of the disciplines within ID. Combined, this clinical exposure provides an unparalleled richness of clinical ID training that equips trainees for any future career.

  • PMH
  • CUH
  • VA
  • ACCESS Clinic
  • West Campus

  

  Parkland Memorial Hospital

  Parkland Hospital is a primary teaching site and one of the largest public county hospitals in the country. Since opening in 1894, it has served the indigent population of Dallas County with distinction. From its initial affiliation with UT Southwestern Medical School in the 1940s, it has also provided an amazing spectrum of clinical pathology for trainees at every level and discipline in medicine.

  For infectious diseases training, Parkland is a one-of-a-kind place to see and treat unique and exotic infectious diseases with patients from literally around the world. A new, state-of-the-art, 17-story, 862-bed facility was completed in 2015 providing an amazing oasis for patients and training environment equipped with the latest in medical technology. Services include a Level 1 Trauma Center, the second-largest civilian burn unit in the U.S., the largest (busiest) emergency room in the U.S., and one of the busiest obstetrics service in the world.

  The Parkland outpatient ID clinic also boasts one of the largest self-administered outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) programs in the world, which was recently awarded a national 2016 Gage Award for quality in care delivery and highlighted for its innovation by New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst.

  Clinical Highlights

  • Critical Care ID exposure: 35 MICU/CCU beds, 24 SICU beds, 12 Burn ICU beds, 12 Neuro-ICU beds
  • Inpatient HIV consult service providing care for advanced HIV patients with variety of opportunistic infections and malignancies including disseminated fungal and mycobacterial infections, pneumocystis, toxoplasmosis, Kaposi’s sarcoma, primary CNS lymphoma and a host of other conditions
  • Extensive exposure to tropical ID in returning travelers or immigrants including tuberculosis, malaria, neurocysticercosis, leishmaniasis, leprosy, and many others
  • Parkland ID/OPAT clinic with largest self-administered outpatient parenteral antimicrobial program in the country
  • Bone and Joint service for multidisciplinary and specialized care of patients with osteomyelitis, diabetic associated infections, prosthetic joint infections.

  

  Clements University Hospital

  William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital and Zale Lipshy Pavilion –  William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital together constitute the tertiary referral, university hospitals of UT Southwestern Medical Center. The state-of-the-art Clements University Hospital opened in 2014 with a unique architectural design and 750 beds equipped with the latest technology for patient-centered care and medical education. UT Southwestern hospital has been named the #1 hospital in the DFW areaby US News for the past 5 years. This hospital provides exposure to complex infectious disease cases with a large referral base, including a large cystic fibrosis patient population.

  Zale Lipshy Pavilion is a unique setting that provides care for patients with neurologic and orthopedic diseases, including infections. 

  Clements University Hospital is a nationally-recognized center for Solid-organ transplantation in the U.S. More than 1,500 lifesaving solid organ transplants have been performed at UT Southwestern Medical Center since 2016. In recent years, the lung transplant program has grown exponentially and has since achieved one of the highest lung transplant volumes in the nation. The one- and three-year survival rates of our heart transplant program has consistently exceeded the national average.

  The UT Southwestern Bone Marrow Transplant Program is not only accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy, which recognizes top-quality patient care but also provides patients access to clinical trials. It has the leading survival rate for adult allogeneic stem cell transplants in North Texas. The Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center is also North Texas’ only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.

  These facilities and unique patient populations provide wonderful training opportunities in the diagnosis and management of infectious complications in these immunocompromised hosts.

  Clinical Highlights

  • Extensive exposure to care of infections in immunocompromised hosts including the breadth of solid organ transplant and bone marrow transplant recipients
  • Extensive exposure to bone and joint and post-surgical infections
  • Management of ID referral cases for complex orthopedic and neurosurgical infections
  • State-of-the-art technology for patient-centered medical care and medical education

  

  Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center

  The Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center is the centerpiece of the VA North Texas Healthcare System, the second-largest VA health system in the country serving over 100,000 veterans in the region. The hospital has 289 acute care beds as well as a large spinal cord injury unit and community living center on-site. This patient population provides broad exposure to “bread-and-butter” infectious diseases such as musculoskeletal infections, pneumonia, endocarditis and cardiac device infections as well as unique infectious complications in returning combat veterans and patients with spinal cord injuries.

  The outpatient HIV clinic provides ongoing care to over 850 veterans living with HIV, one of the largest within the VA system, and also extensive opportunities for clinical experience and research in HIV and HCV.

  Clinical Highlights

  • Multidisciplinary management of common ID problems including diabetic foot infections, endocarditis and cardiac device infections, and non-TB mycobacterial infections
  • Unique exposure to infectious complications in spinal cord injury patients
  • Comprehensive outpatient HIV clinic with particular focus on management and research of non-AIDS complications in an aging population and HCV co-infection

  

  Moody Outpatient Center

  The ACCESS HIV Clinic is the largest outpatient provider of HIV care in Dallas and is affiliated with Parkland Health and Hospital System. This busy, urban HIV clinic provides comprehensive HIV care for over 5,500 patients including in-house case management, nutrition, social work, and pharmacy services.

  As the site of the HIV continuity clinic, this location provides unparalleled educational experiences in the outpatient management of HIV disease and its myriad complications in a robust, patient-centric environment staffed by expert HIV faculty. Clinical training is supplemented by a weekly HIV lecture series to solidify key concepts and expose fellows to the latest advances in HIV medicine.

  Clinical Highlights

  • Comprehensive HIV outpatient care including management of complex treatment-experienced HIV patients and opportunistic infections
  • Dedicated weekly HIV lecture series covering basic HIV concepts and latest HIV scientific advances
  • Longitudinal clinic experience with panel of HIV patients over 24 months of clinical training

  

  West Campus Building 3

  The West Campus Building 3 houses the subspecialty outpatient clinic for the faculty practice at UT Southwestern Medical Center. The center houses multiple clinics including Clinical Heart and Vascular Center, Otolaryngology, Urology, and the Internal Medicine Subspecialty Clinics (Infectious Diseases, Rheumatology, and Endocrinology). The Infectious Diseases Clinic provides comprehensive outpatient infectious diseases care for patients with general infectious diseases, HIV, osteomyelitis, atypical mycobacterial infections, and tropical diseases. The majority of patients seen are referred from other clinicians throughout the state of Texas, seeking the opinions of expert clinicians in an academic center. In addition, the clinic follows a large cohort of patients discharged from Clements University Hospital on outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy. This clinic provides trainees with experience in multi-disciplinary comprehensive care of patients with other specialties (including pulmonary, neurosurgery, and orthopedics).

  Clinical Highlights

  • Exposure to a variety of various infectious diseases conditions (postoperative infections, atypical mycobacterial infections, HIV care, osteomyelitis, fever of unknown origin, patients on outpatient IV antibiotic therapy, etc)
  • Referrals from throughout the state for advice and guidance on diagnostics and therapeutics
  • Provides continuity of care/ability to follow patients seen at Clement University Hospital by the general ID consult service in the outpatient setting
• Curriculum & Conferences

  The ID fellowship training program offers a comprehensive curriculum of educational conferences and supplemental experiences to immerse its trainees in core knowledge of ID pathogenesis and clinical management as well important topics such as critical appraisal of the medical literature, research methods and study design, and principles of patient safety and quality improvement theory and implementation. Below is a summary of the educational curriculum.

  • Non-Clinical Rotations
  • Conferences
  • Professional Meetings

  Non-Clinical Rotations

  All trainees will participate in two non-clinical rotations during the first year of fellowship to provide specific didactic content in the areas of microbiology and health care epidemiology.

  Microbiology Rotation

  This one-month rotation, in July of the first year, overviews the basics of clinical microbiology with both didactic lectures and hands-on bench experiences in the core microbiology laboratories of the training site hospitals. Topics covered include: Pathogenesis and microbiologic diagnostics of bacteria, mycobacteria, fungi, and parasites; Serologic and molecular ID diagnostics; Laboratory diagnostic test stewardship; and Collaboration between clinical providers and the microbiology lab. The microbiology course content is reinforced with interactive pharmacology and clinical case correlation discussions as well as board review questions. This rotation also facilitates a better understanding of lab processes and relationships with the clinical microbiologists to enhance fellows’ interactions with the lab during clinical rotations at the training sites.

  Healthcare Epidemiology and Infection Control Rotation

  This one-month rotation is primarily completed at the VA and immerses the fellow in the breadth of healthcare epidemiology and infection control topics within ID. The highlight of this rotation is attendance at the Annual Fellows’ Course in Healthcare Epidemiology, Infection Control, and Antimicrobial Stewardship (see below). The course includes didactic content as well as interactive learning and active participation in various learning assignments covering infection prevention, antimicrobial stewardship, occupational health, microbiologic outbreak investigation, patient safety, and public health. Fellows also complete an end-of-rotation presentation on a literature review, policy critique or research or QI project proposal related to the course topics. The effectiveness and success of this course has been highlighted in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology (Sreeramoju P, Fernandez-Rojas, ME. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2013; 34 (10):114-1116.)

  Conferences

  Weekly conferences conducted throughout the year help supplement the clinical learning experiences and solidify fellows’ knowledge in all areas of Infectious Diseases. The lectures are provided by expert faculty in their respective fields, and multiple faculty members have been recognized for their excellence in teaching. Core didactic lectures are available for trainees to review online after hours or at the bedside through the MedHub Resident Management system.

  The conferences offered include:

  • ID Core Curriculum Conferences
  • ID Fellows’ Case Conference
  • HIV Lecture Series
  • ID Grand Rounds
  • ID Fellows’ Journal Club
  • ID Board Review Series
  • Microbiology Plate Rounds
  • ID Citywide Case Conference

  Additional relevant lectures are offered through the Department of Medicine or the Internal Medicine Residency program, which hosts daily noon lectures with food available for attendees.

  Professional Meetings

  The Division provides funding for fellow attendance at both regional and national professional meetings throughout the duration of the fellowship. Former fellows have presented their research at such conferences as ID Week, ASM Microbe (formerly ICAAC), SHEA, CROI, and other state and local meetings.

  Beginning in 2016, the fellowship also sponsors all incoming fellows to attend the nationally recognized Annual Fellows’ Course in Healthcare Epidemiology, Infection Prevention and Antimicrobial Stewardship, founded by Trish Perl, M.D., and held each July.

What Our Fellows Have to Say

Contact Us

James "Brad" Cutrell, M.D.

Associate Professor
Program Director

Email

Helen King, M.D.

Associate Professor
Associate Program Director

Email

Reuben Arasaratnam, M.D.

Associate Professor
Associate Program Director

Email

Antonio Atkins

GME Program Coordinator II

Email