Track Director: Sara Clemens, MD
This track is designed for upper year infectious disease fellows to become experts in the clinical management of people living with HIV and viral hepatitis. Our division has a wide range of faculty for mentorship with many opportunities in clinical care and research in HIV and viral hepatitis. There are opportunities to work with complex, underserved patient populations both locally and abroad. Fellows in the track will have the chance to pursue scholarly work, quality improvement projects, or participate in medical education on core topics in these fields. This practical training may also be combined with an advanced degree research training program such as the Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology (MSCE) or the Master of Science in Health Policy Research (MSHP), if desired.
Clinical Training
Outpatient
The outpatient experience will consist of the fellow’s weekly continuity clinic and various optional specialty HIV/viral hepatitis clinics. Fellows will become experienced in the longitudinal care of persons living with HIV including complications of advanced HIV and viral resistance, and treatment of viral hepatitis. Sites for continuity clinics include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Track fellows will serve as their clinic “HIV/Viral hepatitis fellow” and embed into multidisciplinary teams who manage Ending the HIV Epidemic programs and Ryan White grant supported clinic activities.
Inpatient
Second year fellows will spend twelve weeks on inpatient rotations. This will include experience on the ID primary service, which focuses on the inpatient care of persons living with HIV. The second year fellow will be responsible for conducting rounds with Internal Medicine residents and making management decisions with the support of the attending physician. Other inpatient rotations which offer experience serving complex populations affected by HIV and viral hepatitis include HUP Cedar, a community hospital in West Philadelphia staffed by Penn physicians, and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
Medical Education
Track fellows will present ID division grand rounds and HIV grand rounds on a topic of their choice. While on the HIV primary service, track fellows will be responsible for once weekly morning lectures for Internal Medicine residents and medical students. Many additional medical education activities are available at undergraduate and graduate medical education levels for interested fellows.
Optional Clinical Opportunities
Specialty Clinics
During the second year, fellows may participate in additional clinical experiences in community and academic settings.
Opioid Use Disorder
Fellows can rotate on the inpatient addiction medicine service at PPMC and spend time at Prevention Point, a nonprofit public health organization in North Philadelphia. Prevention Point provides medical services for people affected by OUD including HIV treatment and prevention, management of viral hepatitis, syringe services programs, and overdose prevention.
HIV Sub-specialty Clinics
Fellows can gain clinical experience in many sub-specialty areas of HIV, including but not limited to: adolescents, pregnant persons, gender affirming care, and anal pap/anoscopy.
Philadelphia Department of Public Health
Fellows can spend additional time beyond their first year in the health department’s tuberculosis and STI clinics, which serve HIV-positive patients and those at risk of developing HIV..
Global HIV
Fellows can spend a clinical rotation at Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, Botswana through the Botswana-UPenn Partnership. For more information visit our Botswana-UPenn Partnership.
Research Experience
Fellows will have the option to design and conduct independent clinical research or quality improvement projects. For fellows who do not intend to pursue training in a degree granting program (e.g., MSCE, MSHP) but want to learn the fundamentals of research methodology, there is the chance to obtain a certificate in clinical research. Fellows can also participate in clinical trials, working with mentors in the AIDS Clinical Trials Unit (ACTU), the Penn Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), or the Penn Botswana program.
Mentorship
The track director will facilitate connections to faculty who can serve as research or career mentors.
Core Faculty
- Sara Clemens, MD – HIV Viral Hepatitis Fellowship Track Director
- Val Amorosa, MD
- Jillian Baron, MD, MPH
- Cedric Bien-Gund, MD
- Greg Bisson, MD, MSCE
- Ian Frank, MD
- Robert Gross, MD, MSCE
- Helen Koenig, MD, MPH
- Vincent Lo Re, MD, MSCE
- Jessica Meisner, MD, MSHP
- Florence Momplaisir, MD, MSHP
- Arianne Morrison, MD
- Anne Norris, MD
- Aaron Richterman, MD MPH
- William Short, MD
- Zsofi Szep, MD, MSCE
- Pablo Tebas, MD
- Jessie Torgersen, MD, MHS, MSCE
- Dovie Watson, MD, MSCE