Hematology-Oncology Fellowship

In addition to their clinical expertise, IU School of Medicine faculty have been a part of serving as national and international leaders. Excellent mentoring opportunities over the years have assisted many IU School of Medicine Hematology/Oncology Fellowship graduates in becoming national and international leaders in their respective fields.

First Row (Left to Right):  Karam Al-Issa, MD; Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, MD; Suheil Albert Atallah-Yunes, MD; Manuel Ricardo Espinoza-Gutarra, MD; Steve Green, MD;  Nawal Kassem, MD 
Second Row (Left to Right): Jennifer King, MD; Pei Lu, MD; Jordan Maryfield, MD; Meagan Miller, MD; Aaron Naji, MD Priyadarshini Pathak, MD
Third Row (Left to Right): Tareq Salous, MD; Nikhil Shukla, MD; Laura Vater, MD; Cynthia Wei. MD; Melissa Yan, MD (Chief Fellow)

Program Components

The Hematology-Oncology Fellowship program at IU School of Medicine is customizable to meet the career goals of training physicians. The school devotes a major teaching effort to maximize the likelihood that fellows gain all requisite skills to compete successfully for research funding in academia and to be optimally prepared for careers in academic medicine as teacher-investigators. At the same time, fellows are preparing for a successful career in general hematology/oncology in a private practice setting. The program provides outstanding clinical training, excellent mentoring, and the ability to adapt the training experience to meet individual professional goals, within a nurturing and collegial atmosphere.

The Division of Hematology/Oncology at Indiana University School of Medicine offers a combined three-year program. Fellows are offered the opportunity to be eligible for board certification in both disciplines of Hematology and Medical Oncology. Fellows also have the option of pursuing a two-year program in one of the two sub-specialties. The number of fellows in the combined program is variable, based upon individual research interests of senior fellows. In general, 15 fellowship positions are available. The program has received the highest level of accreditation by the ACGME with a maximum cycle length of five years. During the period from 2013 to 2015, all (100 percent) of IU School of Medicine Hematology-Oncology fellows who were eligible for and elected to take ABIM certifying exams in Hematology and Medical Oncology received passing scores.

Clinical Training

Each fellow has a continuity-of-care clinic throughout their three-year fellowship, where the fellow is autonomous to care for a cohort of patients under the direction of committed faculty. This includes a hematology or oncology clinic at the VA Medical Center or Eskenazi Health. In addition, each fellow has a rotating three-month sub-specialty clinics throughout their three years. Fellows have the unique opportunity to rotate at Indiana Hemophilia and Thrombosis center, focusing on benign hematologic conditions. While on the in-patient or consult services at IU Health, Eskenazi or the VA, the fellow plays a prominent role as the junior attending, supervised by a faculty member.

Former fellows have spread across the country at academic institutions and throughout the community to practice their skills. 

Academic/Research Experience

Within the program, each fellow is expected to engage in a mentored research project during their fellowship. Unique opportunities exist for fellow research, including the Komen Tissue Bank, Brown Center for Immunology, Walther Cancer Institute, Regenstreif Institute, BIG 10, Research Consortium, and the Hoosier Cancer Research Network, which is a community-based oncology group that provides an excellent opportunity for fellow led clinical trial design. Support is available for additional training in Masters of Public Health, Masters of Clinical Research, and Clinical Pharmacology.