Fellowships

Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship Program

Adobe PDF View the Fellowship Application

Fellowship Applicants:

Fellowship applicants for the 2011 Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship should complete the standard ERAS application, provide all board scores and in-service training scores, and upload 3 letters of recommendations. Please note that for non US citizens we can only accept J-1 visas.

Endocrinology Fellowship Program Overview

The purpose of the pediatric endocrinology training program at the University of Florida is to prepare academicians for a career of independent creative work. The program to train academic pediatric endocrinologists at the University of Florida (UF) began in 1977 and has been accredited from the inception of certification in 1978. Over the 3 year training period, fellows have increasing patient care responsibilities in a setting that has a large and diverse patient population, an innovative telemedicine program, and that provides a broad and highly productive interdisciplinary research environment. Fellows can pursue a degree program (MS in Clinical Investigation or Public Health) that includes coursework in the science of clinical research, manuscript writing, grant writing, epidemiology, ethical & policy issues in clinical research, and biostatistics. Research focus and mentor identification are accomplished in year 1, with 3 months devoted to research; 10 months of the 2nd year and of the 3rd year are committed to research and coursework.

Current interdisciplinary research programs that have recently involved fellows include: 1) the etiology, natural history, prevention, and vascular abnormalities of type I diabetes; 2) neuroendocrinologic, appetite, and genetic issues in Prader Willi syndrome and early-onset obesity, 3) the genetic delineation, gene therapy, stem cell therapy, and prevention of complications of glycogen storage diseases, and 4) telemedicine.

The Diabetes Center of Excellence of the UF College of Medicine (COM) has attained national and international prominence from its collaborative research in type I diabetes, and generates over $15 million of research funding annually. The COM has responded by providing support for this highly productive research program with $9.5 million of funding for incentive and recruitment packages and preferential assignment of 50,000 ft.² of new laboratory space.

The success of the collaborative efforts in training pediatric endocrinology fellows at UF is reflected in the fact that more UF fellows have been awarded Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrinology Society research grants per capita in the past 5 yrs than from any other program in the country. The pediatric endocrine program at UF provides an exceptional training environment to develop the next generation of clinician scientists for this much needed specialty.

Clinical Training

Our fellowship focuses on providing trainees with the skill set needed to function as independent pediatric endocrinologists with an emphasis on life-long learning and an ability to synthesize information. Through the combined exposure to patients in our outpatient clinics, consults performed in the hospital, and experiences at our numerous diabetes camps, our fellows are exposed to the entire range of endocrine disorders over their 3 years of training. While the 1st year of training is focused on obtaining clinical skills (9 months on clinical service), fellows spend 2 months in both the 2nd and 3rd year as the on-service fellow performing consults and assisting in clinics. In addition, all fellows have a weekly teaching continuity clinic in which they see their own patients during the entire fellowship.

Clinical Didactics

While our program emphasizes the importance of self-directed learning we also provide scheduled didactic sessions that cover the entirety of basic pediatric endocrinology topics on a yearly basis. Core conferences are held weekly and are given by fellows and faculty on a rotating basis. In addition, case conference discussions and journal clubs are held every other week.

Research Training

Our program provides opportunities for fellows to experience both laboratory research and clinical research depending on interest and offers a well funded faculty studying a range of topics related to endocrinology. All fellows will take our Clinical and Translational Science Institutes (CTSI) introductory “Science of Clinical Research course.In addition, fellows are invited to participate in specific course work that can lead to a master’s degree in clinical investigation or public health via an NIH funded Advanced Postgraduate Program in Clinical Investigation (APPCI)

Academic Meetings:

Attendance at 2 meetings yearly and meetings for which research has been accepted for presentation is supported.

Other Resources

Fellowship Program Director
Janet H. Silverstein, MD
Professor of Pediatrics and Chief, Division of Endocrinology
Box 100296
Gainesville, Florida 32610-0296
Office: 352-334-1390 Fax: 352-334-1325
silvejh@peds.ufl.edu

Associate Fellowship Program Director
Michael J Haller, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology
Box 100296
Gainesville, Florida 32610-0296
Office: 352-392-2215 Fax: 352-334-1325
hallemj@peds.ufl.edu

Faculty

Mark A. Atkinson, PhD
(Primary appointment is in Pathology)
Research Interests: Pathogenesis and cure of autoimmune diabetes

Gary R. Geffken, PhD
(Primary appointment is in Pathology)
Clinical Interests: Adherence in diabetes, telemedicine for psychological management of poorly adherent diabetes patients
Research Interests: Adherence in diabetes, telemedicine for psychological management of poorly adherent diabetes patients

Michael J. Haller, MD
Clinical Interests: General endocrinology and diabetes
Research Interests: Prediction, prevention and cure of type 1 diabetes, including cord blood stem cell therapy

Jennifer L. Miller, MD
Clinical Interests: General endocrinology, diabetes and early onset obesity.
Research Interests: Prader Willi Syndrome, Early onset obesity

Toree H. Malasanos, MD
Clinical Interests: Growth; hyperlipidemia; clinical management of diabetes
Research Interests: Telemedicine; iodine deficiency

Hank Rohrs, MD
Clinical Interests: General Endocrinology, Adrenal pathology, Thyroid disease.

Desmond A. Schatz, MD
Clinical Interests: Diabetes; general endocrinology
Research Interests: Diabetes screening and prevention; pathogenesis and natural history of type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Janet H. Silverstein, MD
Clinical Interests: Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes; growth; general endocrinology
Research Interests: Psychosocial issues; adherence and metabolic control in Diabetes Mellitus; prevention of obesity and type 2 Diabetes Mellitus; insulin resistance; new technologies in treatment of type 1 diabetes

David A. Weinstein, MD, MMSC
Clinical Interests: General endocrinology, glycogen storage disease, and diabetes
Research Interests: Glycogen storage disease, hypoglycemia

William E. Winter, MD
(Primary appointment is in Pathology)
Clinical Interests: Monogenic diabetes and lipid disorders

Fellowships

Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship Program

HOME