The pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship program at the University of Washington is a 3-year training program that prepares physicians to become leaders in the field of pediatric hematology oncology. The alliance of Seattle Children’s Hospital, the University of Washington Medical Center and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center together as the Seattle Cancer Care Center means fellows have access to some of the finest research and patient care institutions in the world.
We accept 3 fellows each year. The fellowship is fully-funded by a NIH T32 training grant and from institutional sources. Additional support is available to enable successful fellows to continue at a junior faculty level for an additional year. The majority of our fellows pursue careers in academic medicine, including clinical, epidemiological, translational or laboratory-based research.
Year 1
The first year of the program is focused on clinical training and includes rotations on the inpatient oncology service, outpatient hematology and oncology services, and inpatient and outpatient bone marrow transplant services. Sites of clinical rotations include Seattle Children’s hospital, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (outpatient transplant), UW medical center (radiation oncology) and the Odessa Brown children’s clinic (sickle cell disease clinic). Fellows maintain an ongoing continuity clinic one half day a week where they develop a cohort of patients for which they are primarily responsible. Fellows also have a one-month elective rotation; options include gaining additional training in laboratory medicine, radiation oncology or gain exposure to opportunities for research with a local biotechnology group. During this block fellows have flexibility to meet with potential mentors for their scholarly work in years 2 and 3
Years 2-3
The second and third years of the program are devoted to scholarly work, with reduced clinical responsibilities. Fellows maintain their continuity clinic throughout their fellowship. They also spend one month as a ‘junior attending’ in their 3rd year, either on the inpatient transplant or hematology-oncology services, designed to facilitate their transition to the responsibilities of attending.
Learning throughout fellowship blends didactics with interactive teaching and self study. Regularly occurring conferences include:
Fellows take call from home with decreasing frequency from years 1 to years 2 and 3. Fellows are on call approximately 5 times a month in their first year, 3-4 times/month in year 2 and twice a month in year 3. There is no in-house call, however fellows are expected to return to the hospital to evaluate and direct management of patients with suspected new cancer diagnoses. Fellows take calls from the families of our patients as well as referring community physicians who seek consultation after 5 pm or on weekends. We have an inpatient hospitalist service that provides in-house management of inpatients and transplant patients and supervises the on call pediatric residents.
Seattle Children’s Hospital serves as the pediatric and adolescent academic medical referral center for Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. Seattle Children’s Hospital has partnered with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington to form the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) to offer a full range of services for children with hematologic and oncologic disorders.
We diagnose about 250 pediatric patients with oncologic disorders and perform approximately 75 HSCT each year. Our inpatient oncology unit has 60 beds. U.S. News & World Report magazine has ranked Seattle Children’s Hospital among the nation’s top children’s hospitals for 19 consecutive years.
Seattle Children’s hospital participates in a number of research consortiums including the Children’s Oncology Group COG), Phase I consortium, New Approaches to Neuroblastoma (NANT), Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia (TACL), Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC) and Pediatric Oncology Experimental Therapeutics Investigators Consortium (POETIC). Investigator initiated research studies include cell immunotherapy and tumor paint studies. Seattle children’s hospital consistently ranks in the top 5 for patient enrollment in clinical trials.
Children’s serves as the primary teaching, clinical and research site for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Medical students and residents regularly rotate on the hematology oncology service.
We offer a variety of specialized programs to provide multidisciplinary care for our complex patients.
For fellows interested in clinical or outcomes research, fellows may pursue careers in epidemiology and public health, survivorship and outcomes, global health, bioethics, and palliative care. Our clinical research track (CR track) is well-established and includes specialized mentorship from research leaders in these fields. Fellows on the CR track are encouraged to enroll in Master’s Degree programs at the University of Washington (e.g., in the School of Public Health). Just as with the laboratory research opportunities, the CR track includes a wealth of focused research training opportunities from Fred Hutch, The University of Washington, and SCRI.
The Fred Hutch partnership with the Uganda Cancer Institute is a great example of a winning partnership between a cancer center in a low resource setting and a center of excellence here in the USA. Though this program, Fred Hutch faculty spend time in Kampala and participate in training of oncology fellows from both the UW as well as the UCI. The collaboration has been productive and has resulted in the development of several research studies and clinical trials, including an ongoing study of treating Burkitt lymphoma with subcutaneous Rituximab. Over the past few years, faculty in the hematology/oncology department at Seattle Children’s Hospital (SCH) have begun to participate in this program. As part of these collaborative efforts, physicians from the UCI have visited the hematology/oncology clinic at SCH, and pediatric oncology faculty at SCH are working with oncologists at the UCI both through remote consultation and on the ground in Kampala. In addition to work with the UCI, hematology/oncology faculty members at SCH are participating projects in pediatric global hematology and oncology around the world. This includes visiting and directing sites that are part of the American Society of Hematology – Health Volunteers Overseas (ASH-HVO) collaboration, particularly sites in Asia and Africa. Pediatric hematology/oncology faculty also have leadership roles in the ASH-sponsored initiative to develop standard treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in the developing world, with the first pilot sites in the Caribbean to begin enrolling patients in 2019.
The University of Washington School of Public Health offers a Master’s degree in Global Health, for fellows interested in obtaining an MPH.
In order to meet our fellows’ unique career development goals, we develop an individualized research program for each, this includes ongoing mentorship regarding research projects, timelines for manuscript and grant development, as well as targeted career development seminars. All fellows participate in regular works-in-progress presentations within their laboratory or clinical research teams.
Fellows participate in at least 2 years of scholarly work. The fellowship program offers a diverse array of research opportunities. Our trainees have the option to pursue research projects with mentors from the Seattle Clinical Research Institute, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington. Each fellow will have a Scholarship Oversight Committee to guide them through their research project. Fellows are encouraged to present their work at meetings and to apply for grant funding to support continuation of their research beyond their fellowship.
Examples of research opportunities Seattle Children’s Research Institute:
Other centers at SCRI include:
At Fred Hutch, five unique divisions offer a unique environment for career development:
The University of Washington Medical Center also offers a full slate of basic science research opportunities.
We are accepting applications commencing on August 12, 2020.
Priority will be given to applications received prior to August 31, 2020, applications received after this will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
NOTE: Due to the number of positions in our program supported by an NIH NCI T32 training grant, the majority of our trainees must be U.S. citizens or green card holders. We will consider applications from J-1 visa-holders, but those positions are limited. We do not sponsor H1B visa applications.
Applications for the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology fellowship program commencing July 7, 2021 must be made through ERAS.
We require a minimum of three letters of recommendation with one to come from your residency program director and request that your personal statement be one page in length and describe your career goals. Applicants must also register with the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).
Please be sure all requested materials are part of your ERAS file at the time you submit your application to ERAS so the reviewers will have access to complete information about you.
Please submit questions to Maya Luzzi.
We are one of the longest standing NCI-funded pediatric training programs. Our Fellowship Program is funded by a T32 training grant from the National Cancer Institute. The initial year of fellowship funding and funding required beyond that supported by the T32 training grant are provided through institutional sources and the generosity of the Kiwanis Childhood Cancer Program.
Fellows supported by a T32 training grant have a unique benefit package, e.g. they are not eligible to participate in the University retirement plan or flexible spending accounts, and taxation rules vary.
We believe that the diversity of our fellows, residents, medical students, staff and faculty is a fundamental element of our ability to ensure that all our patients and families receive the highest-quality care – no matter their race, ethnicity, language, literacy, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, disability or finances. Our objective is to create a community that encourages participation and connection, and that values and includes each individual's unique contribution, in every aspect of our mission and practice.