Basic Research

Medical Microbiology Track

The Clinical Microbiology Laboratory at Duke University Medical Center has a residency (fellowship) training program in Medical Microbiology that is approved by the American Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The program is directed by L. Barth Reller, MD, DTM&H. Five additional full-time faculty members head the following sections of the laboratory: Bacteriology, Molecular Microbiology, and Mycobacteriology; Parasitology, Serology, and Virology; Mycology; and Histopathology. The backgrounds of the faculty include internal medicine, infectious diseases, and tropical medicine; anatomic and clinical pathology; and the basic sciences of microbiology.

Fellows are selected for their potential as future directors of academic diagnostic microbiology laboratories and leaders in public and international health. Prerequisites for the program for physicians trained in the United States include completion of 5 years of anatomic and clinical pathology or 1 year of clinical infectious diseases after board certification in internal medicine, pediatrics, or both. Fellows completing the program are expected to apply for subspecialty certification in Medical Microbiology by examination of the American Board of Pathology, the Royal Colleges, or other relevant national certification bodies.

Since its inception in 1990, the Medical Microbiology Program has stressed diversity of background and shared goals in its recruitment. As of June 2005 there have been 28 graduates. Now practicing and teaching in the United States are 7 pathologists and 14 infectious diseases specialists trained in internal medicine, pediatrics, or both. Additionally, 7 medical microbiology and infectious diseases specialists have returned to direct diagnostic microbiology laboratories in New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Switzerland, or Turkey. Currently, the Duke program is the largest of 12 approved by the ACGME.

Fellows on the 2-year Medical Microbiology Track (MMT) participate in all of the required activities (clinic and conferences) of the Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health. Additionally, the MMT Fellows are fully engaged in carrying out the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory’s three-fold mission of service, teaching, and research. The mission statement undergirds and guides all training efforts:

Service -To provide quality diagnostic laboratory support, testing, and consultation in a cost-effective and timely manner for patients and practitioners that enable outstanding patient care.

Teaching - To teach appropriate use of diagnostic laboratory tests and resource utilization in the care of patients and to train the next generation of those who perform, interpret, and develop diagnostic tests.

Research - To develop and to evaluate procedures and protocols that support, enhance, and extend the ability of the clinical laboratories to carry out effectively their primary service and teaching responsibilities.

The MM Fellows undertake bench training to attain proficiency in all areas of the laboratory including Bacteriology, Histopathology, Molecular Microbiology, Mycobacteriology, Mycology, Parasitology, Serology, and Virology. Additionally, the MM Fellows provide consultations with attending faculty backup 24 hours per day about appropriate specimens, interpretation of results, and special requests. Recommendations for clinical or epidemiological consultations by one of the Adult or Pediatric Infectious Diseases Services or the Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology Service are made as appropriate. Attending work rounds for review of results and diagnostic strategies are done Monday-Friday at 11:00 am - 12:00 noon. Plate (teaching) rounds are held Monday-Friday at 1:15-1:45 pm in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory.

In summary, the published research activity and graduates of the Medical Microbiology Program have gained national and international recognition. The total integration of the program with the adult and pediatric infectious diseases units as well as the CDC and international collaborators is unique. The joint training program in medical microbiology and infectious diseases (adult and pediatrics) at Duke University Medical Center has been in the vanguard of international innovations in clinical training to meet the increasing complexity of evolving infectious diseases.

Download the list of Medical Microbiology Trainees