Fellowship Training - City of Hope

The endocrine fellowship program at Harbor-UCLA includes the City of Hope National Medical Center. The Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism at the City of Hope National Medical Center possesses several features that make it an ideal site to support a strong fellowship program. It has advanced clinical programs in diabetes, thyroid cancer, neuroendocrine tumors, osteoporosis, calcium and electrolyte disturbances, and sexual and reproductive disorders. The department is also established in several clinical and basic science research programs such as molecular signaling, hormonal factors and hormone discovery, cellular mechanisms of atherosclerosis, development of advanced glycation end-products (AGE) inhibitors and AGE breakers, and diabetic immunology and islet isolation, proliferation and transplantation. Additionally, joint studies with the Divisions of Hematology, Bone Marrow Transplantation, and Medical Oncology are being conducted to evaluate endocrine-related complications to cancer and cancer treatment.

At City of Hope, the Fellows will receive training in all endocrine disciplines, including: thyroid disorders and thyroid cancers, adrenal gland dysfunctions and tumors, pituitary gland disorders, metabolic abnormalities associated with cancer and its treatments, and osteoporosis and other metabolic bone diseases. Fellowship training at City of Hope will focus on the treatment of patients with diabetes, including patients with type 1, type 2 and those with drug and disease-induced forms of diabetes, such as that seen in cancer patients on steroid therapy and IV nutritional support. The Fellows will gain experience with advanced monitoring and treatment strategies for diabetes, including continuous glucose monitoring, oral medications, and insulin pump therapy. At City of Hope, the Fellows may also participate in the ongoing clinical islet transplantation program and can be involved in the screening and follow-up care of islet transplant recipients with and without prior renal transplants. Fellows will also gain important experience with the diagnosis and management of diabetes-related complications and diabetes-associated disorders, including acute metabolic deteriorations, retinopathy, neuropathy, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, coronary disease, peripheral vascular disease and sexual dysfunction. Tumor associated endocrinopathies are frequently evaluated and therapeutic strategies implemented. Endocrine gland cancers are often referred to the City of Hope National Medical Center. Fellows will also receive training on the implementation of non-drug strategies for the management of diabetes and its complications, including weight reduction and behavioral modification.

Fellows participating in the joint fellowship program at City of Hope and Harbor-UCLA will have the opportunity to receive additional training in islet transplantation that will prepare them to meet the requirements set by the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS), a national organ procurement agency, for establishing new islet transplantation centers.


CURRICULUM
Endocrinology Fellows will be primarily assigned to either the City of Hope site or Harbor-UCLA site where they will receive the majority of their training. Trainees will rotate to both institutions. This type of curriculum will expose Fellows to a wider range of endocrine disciplines. Upon completion of the program, endocrine Fellows are expected to be fully trained in the treatment and management of endocrinology-related diseases and disorders.