Please direct correspondence to: Michael J. Robertson, M.D. Director, Fellowship Program Division of Hematology/Oncology IU Department of Medicine 535 Barnhill Drive, Room 473 Indianapolis, IN 46202 Office: (317) 278-6942 Fax: (317) 278-4190

The Division of Hematology/Oncology at Indiana University offers a combined three to four year program. Fellows are offered the opportunity to become board certified in both disciplines of hematology and medical oncology. Specifically, applicants are sought who wish to pursue a career in academic medicine and who wish to gain research experience.

The number of fellows in our combined program is variable, based upon individual research interests of senior fellows but, in general, approximately 12 to 15 total fellowship positions, including three or four first year positions, are available. The Division of Hematology/Oncology is comprised of a highly diversified faculty including MDs, MD/PhDs and PhDs. The wide range of nationally and internationally-recognized clinical and basic research activities encompassed by our faculty is designed to promote a rigorous intellectual atmosphere for the academic preparation of clinician-scientists.

Clinical services of the division include inpatient hematology/oncology and bone marrow transplant services at Indiana University Hospital as well as consultation services in hematology/oncology at the Indianapolis Veterans' Administration Medical Center and Wishard Memorial Hospital (the county hospital serving the city of Indianapolis). Of particular note are the clinical activities at University Hospital. These include a 12-bed transplant unit for both autologous and allogeneic transplants. In addition, there is a hematology unit with additional protected environment beds for acute leukemia patients. Many protocol patients are cared for in a newly remodeled clinical research center.

The division has very close ties with other sections and departments. Specifically, Indiana University Hospital has a well-equipped Department of Radiation Oncology. The Department of Urology is noted internationally for its excellent surgical treatment of urologic cancer. The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology has a Division of Gynecologic Oncology. This division has achieved a national reputation for treatment and research in gynecologic cancer. Likewise, there is a close relationship between our division and the departments of Pathology, Orthopedic Oncology, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Surgery and various subspecialties, and the Central Indiana Regional Blood Center.

The division actively participates in clinical research. There are a number of innovative local protocols supervised by various faculty members. In addition, the department belongs to several large cooperative groups. Indiana University is a member of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, and also an active member of the Gynecologic Oncology Group, the Children's Cancer Study Group, and the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group. Several faculty members occupy key leadership positions in these groups. In addition, Indiana University faculty members founded the Hoosier Oncology Group (HOG). The HOG is comprised of a group of university physicians and physicians in private practice in Indiana committed to clinical investigation. This latter group is an excellent organization for the fellow to gain experience in clinical trial design, including protocol writing and presentation of HOG data at national meetings. Indiana University has long been a center of excellence in germ cell tumors. This international leadership role involves a multidisciplinary approach. We now also have specific multidisciplinary clinics in prostate cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, gastrointestinal tumors, head and neck cancer, and melanoma. These clinics are staffed by the faculty and attended by the fellows. This allows ready access to strategies of clinical management from a medical, surgical, and supportive care approach. A new research facility houses the Walther Cancer Institute, directed by Hal Broxmeyer, Ph.D., and Lawrence Einhorn, M.D. of our division. The basic research laboratories of our division are thus in close physical proximity which serves to promote ongoing scientific exchange and collaboration.

We offer a three to four year combined training program in hematology/oncology. The program is designed specifically to meet the individual needs and interests of each fellow. The typical first year is a clinical year with rotations through the various clinical services in the department. Thus, the fellow at various times during the year will be assigned to oncology, hematology, or bone marrow transplant services at Indiana University Hospital and the consultation services at Wishard Hospital or the Veterans Administration Hospital. Elective rotations in radiation oncology, blood banking, and gynecological oncology are integrated into the clinical training. While on the various inpatient services, the fellow cares for inpatients under the daily supervision of a faculty member. The fellow also significantly influences the education of junior and senior medical students and house officers. Obviously, during this clinical training, a blend of the fellows’ independent activity and appropriate teaching and supervision by faculty members is necessary. The fellow, throughout his or her fellowship, will also participate in selected outpatient clinics of the division. Meeting the particular interests of the fellow is stressed, as is continuity of patient population throughout the duration of his or her training program.

The second and third years of the program are designed to meet the individual needs of the fellows. Additional clinical rotations are usually taken in both years, but the focus of these years is primarily on research experience. Fellows will meet with various faculty members of the division during the first year and select a research track most suitable to their interests. Major blocks of time are designated during the second and third years for laboratory or clinical research; these academic and scholarly activities are an integral part of our training program. It is expected that, during these years, the fellow will accomplish sufficient clinical or basic research of high quality so that at least one presentation for a national meeting and a peer review publication will be possible. National meetings include ASCO, AACR, ASH, or AFCR. All fellows are required to submit an abstract to a major or scientific meeting and to be first author of a peer-reviewed manuscript. Guidance and mentoring is supplied by our faculty. A fourth year is optional, dependent upon the skills and desires of the individual fellow. The fourth year is usually done to focus on a particular laboratory project or process that can facilitate a subsequent academic appointment.

The specific laboratory and clinical research activities of the division are numerous; active research programs exist in tumor biology, hematopoiesis, signal transduction and molecular biology. The basic and clinical research activities of our faculty offer a wide range of opportunity for high quality research experience.

Formal conferences are considered to be a central part of the fellows' education. The division has several, including a weekly faculty-run clinical conference and a weekly research conference presented by members of our own faculty as well as other distinguished visiting scientists. A weekly conference, organized and presented by fellows, is also a key format for the development of teaching skills and the ability to critically review the published literature. There is also a monthly journal club in which two fellows present and critique relevant articles from current literature. Additionally, as is appropriate for each fellow, there are a number of multidisciplinary conferences that cover the subjects of radiation oncology, gynecologic oncology, and otolaryngology oncology. All fellows attend one national meeting a year, usually ASH, ASCO or AACR, plus any additional meeting at which they present their research findings.

The goals of the Indiana University Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program are directed primarily at training clinician-investigators or basic research-oriented physicians who will be optimally prepared for careers in academic medicine as teacher-investigators. We devote a major teaching effort during the three-year program to maximize the likelihood that our trainees will have all requisite skills to compete successfully for research funding in academia.