About the Fellowship
The CPEP-accredited Clinical and Public Health Microbiology Fellowship at the University of Maryland School of Medicine is a two-year postdoctoral training program in collaboration with the University of Maryland Medical Center. Fellows will develop their skills in clinical and public health microbiology, laboratory management, research, teaching, and analytical thinking such that the fellow will become a future leader in the field of clinical microbiology.
Facilities
Fellows will do the majority of their training in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory at the University of Maryland Medical Center hospital. The microbiology laboratory is located on the second floor of the UMMC hospital within the Laboratories of Pathology, which houses microbiology, chemistry, immunology/serology, molecular diagnostics, and transfusion medicine laboratories.
The microbiology laboratory continues to grow with new technology, including laboratory automation and molecular diagnostics instrumentation. Fellows are seated within the laboratory in office space shared by chemistry fellows and pathology residents.
About the Institution
The University of Maryland School of Medicine
The UMSOM is a part of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States.
The University of Maryland Medical Center
The UMMC is a part of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) and is the flagship academic medical center at the heart of UMMS and includes the 789-bed downtown Baltimore campus and the 177-bed Midtown campus one mile north.
Training
Clinical rotations will be performed over the course of a two-year period. In the first year, the fellow will focus on learning technical knowledge from rotations within the clinical microbiology areas. During the second year, the fellow will continue to gain knowledge of infectious organisms and laboratory diagnostics, but will focus on clinical and laboratory consultations, laboratory management, research, and teaching.
In addition to internal and external laboratory rotations, the fellow will have the opportunity to participate in other training methods. These include, but are not limited to:
- Grand Rounds
- Infectious disease and pathology lectures
- Online courses
- Webinars
- Conferences
- Workshops
- Self-study
The fellow will have the ability to learn about the latest research in clinical microbiology by attending conferences relevant to the field. Fellows will be encouraged to not only attend conference sessions but also to present their research. The latest journal publications will also be available through the UMB library.
Because a standardized curriculum for all individuals is inappropriate due to differences in past training, the University of Maryland Clinical Microbiology Fellowship will record the bench and clinical rotations, research, organized courses, and individual study that engaged the time of each fellow and will be retained for at least seven years.
Technical Training
The following represents a proposed schedule of the fellow’s curriculum alongside the minimum amount of time to be spent in each section of the laboratory or in an external rotation specifically defined by the CPEP in The Essentials. More time may be designated for an area of training, but it will never be less than that defined by The Essentials.
| Major Training Area | Proposed Training Schedule | Minimum Time Required by The Essentials |
|---|---|---|
| Specimen collection and accessioning | 1 month | Not specified |
| Bacteriology and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing | 4 months | 3 months |
| Mycology | 1 month | 1 month |
| Mycobacteriology | 1 month | 1 month |
| Molecular Diagnostics | 1 month | 1 month |
| Next Generation Sequencing | 1 month | Not specified |
| Clinical Infectious Diseases | 1 - 1.5 months | 1 month |
| Parasitology | 1 month | 1 month |
| Public Health Microbiology | 0.5 months* | 0.5 months |
| Virology, Chlamydia, Mycoplasma, and Ureaplasma | 1.5 months | 1.5 months |
| Serology and Immunology | 0.5 months | 0.5 months |
| Epidemiology and Infection Control | 0.5 months | 0.5 months |
| ID Pharmacy and Antimicrobial Stewardship | 1 month | Not specified |
| Management/Billing and Advanced LIS Training | 0.5 months | 0.5 months |
| Management as acting Director of Section and/or Laboratory | 3 - 6 months | 3 - 6 months |
| Research | Open and concurrent with other training | Open |
| Teaching | Open and concurrent with other training | Open |
| Elective Classes/Auditing of Classes | Open and concurrent with other training | Open |
*Current formal training is provided by the Maryland Department of Health as a two-week rotation. Further opportunities for Public Health training will be available to interested fellows upon request from the Maryland Department of Health.
Didactic lectures by the medical directors of the microbiology laboratory will also be taught to the fellow concurrently with their training within the laboratory.
Following technical training, the fellow will assume on-call and consultative responsibilities as well as providing didactic teaching of their technical knowledge to pathology residents, pharmacy residents, and infectious disease fellows. He/She will also act as a resource for other trainees in the medical center.
Administrative Training
Fellows will participate in multiple training opportunities in order to learn laboratory management. These opportunities include weekly operations and management meetings, monthly laboratory QA meetings, and bi-monthly laboratory administration meetings. Fellows will assist in capital and minor equipment budgeting and justification, review quality control protocols, and participate in employee interviews and evaluations as available.
The fellow will also receive CAP inspection training, lead the microbiology laboratory self-inspection, and may accompany a CAP inspection team to an offsite inspection as able. Fellows will be responsible for performing and writing at least one validation/verification and will also work with the laboratory staff as the director lead on at least one validation/verification.
Clinical Training
Fellows will participate in clinical training throughout the duration of the fellowship. Fellows are expected to attend Infectious Disease Grand Rounds (adult and pediatric) and Infectious Disease teaching lectures. Didactic lectures presented to the pathology residents can also be attended.
Following their technical training (end of the first year, during the second year), fellows will rotate for one to one and a half months with the Adult and Pediatric ID services, functioning as a member of those teams and also be responsible for teaching principles of clinical microbiology to the ID fellows. Fellows will also rotate with ID Pharmacy, including time with the various clinical ID pharmacy teams which allows the fellow to see the interplay between pharmacist, physician, and the microbiology laboratory.
Research
Research is an important part of the fellowship and will be integrated alongside other clinical duties and rotations. Research opportunities in clinical, applied, and basic sciences applicable to the field of clinical microbiology are available throughout the UMSOM and at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Projects may be with the program faculty and/or could involve collaborative research across the university or with nearby institutions. It is expected that research will be presented at a national meeting and result in publication(s) in peer reviewed journals.
External Rotations
There will be three external rotations scheduled during the fellowship program.
A one-week rotation in Parasitology will be performed during the first year of training at the National Institutes of Health to train fellows in specimen processing methods, stain preparation, and parasite identification. Additional parasitology training materials will be provided at the UMMC microbiology laboratory.
A two-week rotation at the end of the first year or beginning of the second year will be performed at the Maryland Department of Health Laboratories.
Additional rotations in public health microbiology are available at the discretion of the program directors and fellow.
Finally, the fellow will attend a hands-on course in Next Generation Sequencing technologies, including techniques, bioinformatics, and diagnostic development. This course is taught by NIST and covers all aspects of developing NGS testing for clinical use.
Professional Staff of Training Program
Paul M. Luethy, PhD, D(ABMM) (Program Director)
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Associate Director, Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, University of Maryland Medical Center
J. Kristie Johnson, PhD, D(ABMM) (Program Co-Director)
Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Director, Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, University of Maryland Medical Center
David Riedel, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Medicine; Director, Infectious Disease Fellowship Program, Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Kimberly Claeys, PharmD, BCPS
Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Science, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy; Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Stewardship Pharmacist, University of Maryland Medical Center
Matthew B. Laurens, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Surbhi Leekha, MBBS, MPH
Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Hospital Epidemiology, University of Maryland Medical Center
Richard Zhao, PhD
Professor of Pathology, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Director, Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, University of Maryland Medical Center
Robert Christenson, PhD, D(ABCC)
Professor of Pathology and Medical Research Technology, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Medical Director, Clinical Chemistry and Core Laboratories, University of Maryland Medical Center
Sheng Feng, PhD, D(ABCC)
Assistant Professor of Pathology, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Associate Director, Clinical Chemistry and Core Laboratories, University of Maryland Medical Center
Robert Meyers, PhD
Director of Laboratories, Maryland Department of Health
Adrian Zelazny, PhD, D (ABMM)
Chief, Microbiology Service, NIH Clinical Center Microbiology Laboratory
Madhurima Koka, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Pathology, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Director, Pathology Residency Program, University of Maryland Medical Center
Lori Osowski, MS, CHS
Assistant Director, Laboratories of Pathology, University of Maryland Medical Center
Jeffrey W. Parker, BS, MT (ASCP)
Director, Laboratory Services, University of Maryland Pathology Associate
Program Graduates
| Name | Current Location | |
|---|---|---|
| Nina Gao, PhD (2023) | * | California Department of Public Health |
*Diplomate, American Board of Medical Microbiology
Applications
The next available fellowship opening is July 2027. Applications will be accepted from June 1, 2026, to August 31st, 2026.
The following material should be submitted if you are contacted for an interview:
- Proof of obtainment of doctoral degree (official transcripts are often sufficient)
- A copy of your curriculum vitae
- Three letters of recommendation
- A personal statement/statement of career goals
For additional information, please contact Paul M. Luethy, PhD, D(ABMM)