Specialized Distinctions & Fellowships

The Character and Clinical Ethics (CCE) Pathway is an integrated program exclusively designed for internal medicine residents interested in clinical medical ethics and character formation. While the term “character formation” is not widely used in the context of graduate medical education, its meaning is not foreign to physicians-in-training. By it we are referring to the process through which a physician develops the moral and intellectual qualities such as practical wisdom, trustworthiness, thoughtfulness, justice, and equanimity, among others, that enable the physician to excel as a leader in our profession.

Residents are invited to apply at the beginning of their second year of residency. Two to three residents per year are selected to join the pathway and are afforded the opportunity to engage in in-depth exploration of ethical theory, to engage in clinical ethics consultations, and to undertake research projects, all while receiving close mentorship from distinguished faculty at the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. 

If you would like to hear more about CCE, please contact Beatriz Desanti, MD at bo2242@cumc.columbia.edu.

A two-year fellowship in Clinical Informatics is offered by the Columbia Department of Biomedical Informatics, which prepares fellows to take on roles in many aspects of health IT, including leadership roles in hospital and industry settings.

For more information, visit our fellowship website.

The Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center offers an NIH R38 training grant for residents conducting cancer research with a Columbia faculty member for 1-2 years during residency that provides 80% protected time for research for 1-2 years during residency. Residents also receive a research stipend and participate in a summer grant-writing course as well as monthly training conferences.

For more information, visit the Columbia University Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center Postdoctoral Training Programs website.

The Columbia Clinical Innovation Lab is an opportunity for our residents to propose innovative solutions in medicine and get connected with resources, funding, and mentorship to bring these ideas to fruition.

For more information, please visit the innovation lab's website.

The CUIMC NHLBI Health Equity StARR (Stimulating Access to Research in Residency) Program is an R38 grant that funds an additional year of residency that is devoted 80% to research and skills development under a robust mentorship structure. Trainees focus on advancing health equity through health services, learning health systems, translational, basic science, and clinical research, focused on heart, lung, blood, and sleep diseases across the lifespan. The additional year of training occurs at the end of PGY3 year. In the 12 months prior to starting the research year, residents participate in professional development and curricular activities. Highlights include:

• Individualized Development Plan didactic program (day-long program for mentor-mentee training and development of short- and long-term plans to achieve career goals)
• Fully funded participation in the highly-sought after Columbia Summer Research Institute (CSRI), which is an 8-week intensive program via the Columbia University Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (CTSA) to develop research skills
• Bimonthly training sessions which will be offered on a rolling basis to accommodate clinical schedules
• Enrollment in New York Academy of Sciences’ Science Alliance (gives additional resources for career planning, manuscript and grant-writing skills, preparation for fellowship and job applications)
• Enrollment as fellows of the CUIMC Center for Research on People of Color
• Salary at the PGY3 level, plus an additional trainee stipend and coverage of tuition and fees

This is a multi-disciplinary, two-year longitudinal elective program for residents interested in the intersection between climate change, sustainability, and health. Through this program, residents participate in a Climate Change and Health Boot Camp at the Mailman School of Public Health as well as monthly didactics and journal club meetings. All participants complete a mentored scholarly project with funding support.

More information about the Center for Climate and Health at the Mailman School of Public Health, please visit the Center's website.

Through the NewYork-Presbyterian Innovation Center, our residents have the opportunity to apply for the Silverman Fellowship in Healthcare Innovation which provides careful mentorship in a startup like environment to take ideas from concept to practice-changing product. Fellows gain unprecedented access to Hospital operations, and connect with senior leadership.

The Division of General Medicine offers a two-year fellowship aiming to produce exceptional researchers in the field of patient safety. Fellows work clinically as hospitalists, but devote the majority of their time to developing research skills (including obtaining a Masters of Public Health) and undertaking scholarly work.

For more information, please visit the fellowship’s website.