Infectious Diseases Pharmacotherapy Fellowship

Program Overview

Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Downers Grove (MWU CPDG) seeks a candidate for a position in the Department of Pharmacy Practice with clinical practice opportunities at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH). The position is a two to three year post-doctoral program with a focus on pharmacometrics and translational research. A minimum of 3,000 research hours is required throughout the fellowship. The candidate will have access to a research rich environment including a fully equipped basic sciences laboratory and the expertise of the skilled researchers that staff these laboratories. The candidate will have the opportunity to participate in ongoing translational research, funded by the NIH, foundations, and industry. Both wet-lab and modeling-based research opportunities are presented. The candidate will have access to a variety of clinical or pre-clinical data and will have dedicated laboratory space at MWU CPDG. All research conducted will conform to the requirements set forth by the appropriate investigational review board or animal welfare committee.

The candidate has the opportunity to engage in various clinical practice learning experiences at NMH and will have the opportunity to teach at MWU CPDG. The candidate will have the opportunity to precept pharmacy students and residents completing infectious diseases rotations.

Program Highlights

• The program has graduated 8 fellows since 2008. Former fellows are currently academic researchers, senior scientists at the FDA, and scientific directors in industry.
• A strong training program exists for learning pharmacometric techniques and basic lab techniques in a NIH funded lab. The candidate will conduct pre-clinical and clinical research and learn skills necessary to become a principal investigator.
• The primary practice site for clinical learning experiences is Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
• Core clinical experiences include: general infectious diseases, immunocompromised infectious diseases, clinical microbiology, antimicrobial stewardship, and infection control/hospital epidemiology
• Fellows will participate in curricula at MWU CPDG to develop skills in teaching, research, and pharmacy management/leadership.

Qualifications of the Fellow

Applicants must have graduated with the Doctor of Pharmacy degree and be eligible for pharmacist licensure in Illinois. The applicant must have completed an ASHP accredited PGY1 residency program or demonstrate equivalent experience. The applicant must be motivated, self-directed, and have excellent communication skills.

Currently, we do not sponsor visas for foreign pharmacy fellowship applicants.

Fellowship Program Director

N. Jim Rhodes, PharmD, MSc, BCPS AQ-ID
Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy
Clinical and Computational Division Lead, Pharmacometrics Center of Excellence
Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Downers Grove
Infectious Diseases Pharmacist, Northwestern Memorial Hospital
E-mail: nrhode@midwestern.edu  

Application Deadline: Please check back or email Dr. Rhodes for more information.

Required Clinical Learning Experiences

• Foundations of microbiology laboratory (minimum of 4 weeks) 
• ID Inpatient Consult Service: 
  • Immunocompromised ID- NMH (minimum of 4 weeks) 
  • General ID-NMH (minimum of 4 weeks)

Required Longitudinal Learning Experiences

• Research (minimum of 3,000 hours must be completed over 2 years)
• Academia 
• Cross-campus research symposia (monthly)  
• Hospital Epidemiology/Infection Control/Stewardship
• Center of Excellence meetings (monthly)
• Teaching/ Precepting (when pharmacy students and practice residents are on a concurrent clinical rotation)

Contact Information

N. Jim Rhodes, PharmD, MSc, BCPS AQ-ID
Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy
Clinical and Computational Division Lead, Pharmacometrics Center of Excellence
Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Downers Grove
Infectious Diseases Pharmacist, Northwestern Memorial Hospital
E-mail: nrhode@midwestern.edu