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Goal

The goal of the clinical chemistry postdoctoral training program is to prepare individuals for a career in academic laboratory medicine, clinical practice, or industry.

Laboratory Medicine and Clinical Chemistry

The field can be defined as the application of biochemistry to the diagnosis of human disease. It is a major interface between the basic and clinical sciences as new discoveries are quickly applied to the diagnosis and monitoring of disease. Clinical Chemists generally have four possible areas of responsibility: clinical service, research, education, and administration. Career paths for formally trained clinical chemists include: University faculty member, director of a clinical laboratory in an academic or community hospital, director of a reference laboratory, or the in vitro diagnostic industry.

The Fellowship Program

A 2-year training program that emphasizes research and the clinical aspects of biochemical testing. The fellowship includes a “traditional post doc” performing basic or translational research in a Washington University laboratory.

The first year begins with a 15-week clinical rotation covering the fundamentals of all areas of clinical chemistry such as quality assurance, molecular diagnostics, endocrinology, toxicology, lipids, pediatric chemistry, statistics, disease states, analytical methods and instrumentation. This is followed by the “traditional postdoc” in the laboratory of a selected faculty member which continues for the duration of the fellowship. During this time, fellows will periodically participate in an on-call (beeper) system that supports hospitals in the Washington University Medical Center, as well as other clinical responsibilities.

The second year extends both the clinical and research experience with specialized clinical training in areas such as molecular diagnostics, therapeutic drug monitoring, toxicology, medical statistics and information systems, general and stat chemistry. There is a weekly clinical chemistry conference as well as extensive training sessions with individual faculty members. The program offers a high degree of clinical interaction, diversified research opportunities and development of the concepts and skills required to manage a modern clinical laboratory.

Proven Success

The program has 78 graduates since its inception in 1975. Of these, 34 are in academic positions, 11 are in private hospital/practice, 21 in industrial positions, 5 in reference laboratories, and 7 are in other areas of medicine or academics. We have a >95% job placement rate.

Eligibility

Doctoral (PhD or MD) degree trained in the biological/biochemical sciences or medicine. Two to four trainees are accepted each year.