Endocrinology and Metabolism

• Program Overview
• Core Clinical Rotations
• Specialized Endocrine Rotations
• Specialized Procedural Experience
• Research
• Conferences
• Full-Time Faculty
• General Information

Program Overview

The Cedars-Sinai Medical Center/ VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System at West Los Angeles offers a 3-year Research-Emphasis Track or a 2-year Clinical-Emphasis Track. Both tracks include a research component and sufficient clinical experience to lead to board eligibility in endocrinology.

• The first year of the research-emphasis track includes five months of inpatient clinical endocrine training; the remainder of the year is spent initiating a full-time research project under the guidance of a faculty preceptor. Research is then continued mostly full-time for the next two years of the fellowship with additional months on the clinical service interspersed during the research time.
• Fellows on the clinical-emphasis track spend five months or more of each of the two years as the clinical fellow on the Endocrine Consult Service. The remaining time of each year is spent attending additional clinics as well as participating in clinical research projects under the guidance of a faculty preceptor.
• All fellows participate in at least one weekly endocrine clinic throughout their training.
• Six to eight total fellows (three fellows per year).
• Core inpatient rotations take place at two tertiary care centers, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System at West LA (WLAVA). Both sites offer endocrine surgery, neurosurgery, radiation therapy, and radioiodine for thyroid cancer and hyperthyroidism.
• Endocrine clinics are based at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (West Los Angeles and Sepulveda campuses), Olive View Medical Center, Harbor-UCLA, and UCLA Center for Health Sciences.

Core Clinical Rotations

• Inpatient Consultation: The consult fellow will direct a team including a medical resident and often a medical student. The fellow will see patients with a wide variety of metabolic and endocrine abnormalities and will be responsible for teaching the junior members of the team.
  • At Cedars-Sinai, all consultation cases are presented to and discussed with a full time faculty member, with rounds held twice weekly. The service is particularly rich in pituitary tumors and post-operative diabetes insipidus, in addition to general endocrinology and metabolic disorders. The fellow also runs daily ¿insulin rounds¿ with the residents caring for hospitalized patients requiring insulin for their diabetes. Clinics during these blocks include general Endocrinology, Diabetes, Reproductive Endocrinology, Pituitary Clinic, all taking place at Cedars-Sinai.
  • At the VA, all consultation cases are presented to and discussed with a senior staff physician in daily didactic rounds. The West LA VA serves as a hub, with referrals from Central and Southern California and Southern Nevada, providing a rich variety of patients and endocrine issues. We also provide endocrinology care for a comprehensive Women's Health Program. Clinics during these months include general Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Lipid Clinics at the West LA VA.

Outpatient Clinics

• Continuity clinics include a weekly Endocrinology Clinic and a multidisciplinary Diabetes Clinic at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. These take place throughout the entire fellowship period. The continuity and variety of conditions is excellent. The Diabetes Clinic includes a didactic series for the residents that fellows participate in by presenting lectures.
• There are a wide variety of other outpatient clinics that fellows attend.
  • Six months each year, fellows attend the Diabetes Clinic at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
  • There is a monthly Lipid Disorder and Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Clinic at West Los Angeles VA Medical Center with a preclinic didactic session.
  • Fellows are also involved in the management of the private patients seen by the full-time Cedars-Sinai faculty and can evaluate patients in the busy practices of selected clinical attendings.
  • Two months each year, fellows attend a weekly General Endocrinology clinic at UCLA/Olive View Medical Center, and likewise spend two months each year in the General Endocrinology Clinic at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Both of these are county teaching hospitals, with a rich breadth of patients.
  • Six months each year fellows attend weekly General Endocrinology clinic at Sepulveda VA Medical Center.

Specialized Endocrine Rotations

Four months over the training period, fellows attend subspecialty clinics including Weight Management, Pituitary, and Reproductive Endocrinology Clinics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and a Pediatric Endocrinology Clinic at UCLA. Additionally, Thyroid Nodule Clinic (with focus on thyroid scans, thyroid ultrasound, and fine needle aspiration of nodules), at the West LA VA takes place monthly under the direction of Drs. Jerome Hershman and Gregory Brent (the full range of thyroid evaluation and treatment also occurs at all fellowship training sites).

Specialized Procedural Experience

We have our own thyroid ultrasound instrument at VA Greater Los Angeles VA and training is provided for fellows. This permits the fellows and faculty to perform thyroid US and guided biopsies during General Endocrine clinic as well as when convenient.

Research

Investigative training is an integral part of our program. It is anticipated that all of our fellows will become involved in clinical research or more basic laboratory research early in their first year with their personal involvement becoming more direct and extensive as the fellowship program progresses. Fellows in our program usually select one faculty member as their research preceptor and then carry out their research program in one of several areas. All fellows attend research seminars and conferences to become familiar with the projects underway in our laboratories.

The combined faculty at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System have active research endeavors in

andrology, autoimmune thyroid disease, diabetes and insulin signaling, growth factors, hypertension and insulin resistance, lipids, molecular endocrinology, neuroendocrinology, obesity, polycystic ovarian syndrome, reproductive endocrinology, and thyroid cancer. Our faculty are supported by research grants from NIH, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, VA, and industry.

Conferences

Conferences are attended by full time and volunteer faculty, fellows, research associates and students. A number of distinguished visiting professors serve to enrich the conference program.

• Endocrine Grand Rounds (CSMC and WLAVA): Major subjects in endocrinology are discussed by the faculty and distinguished visiting professors at weekly conferences. One session each month at the WLAVA is a clinical case conference and literature review by one of the fellows.
• Thyroid Cancer Rounds (CSMC): This monthly conference features presentation and discussion of challenging cases as a way to highlight key topics in diagnosis and management of thyroid cancer.
• Endocrine Research Conference (CSMC and WLAVA): In this weekly seminar, diverse investigators present the results of their clinical or basic research.
• Endocrine Seminar Series (CSMC): Occurring twice a month, this is an interactive review of an endocrine topic with a faculty member and the fellows, and covers the full spectrum of endocrinology over the course of training.
• Lipid Disorders Conference
• (WLAVA): A research article serves as the launching point for a monthly faculty led didactic session on a clinically oriented lipid management issue.
• Basic Science for Fellows (WLAVA): This monthly didactic session provides an introduction to basic research approaches in molecular and cellular endocrinology with an emphasis on translational techniques.
• Board Review for Fellows (CSMC): Meeting twice a month, a faculty preceptor reviews board exam type questions with the fellows.
• Endocrine Journal Club
• (CSMC and WLAVA): These monthly journals club include clinical and research trainees and faculty, and provide insight into analysis of the endocrine literature, focusing on controversial topics or new therapies.
• Pituitary Rounds
• (CSMC): In this monthly conference, difficult cases of pituitary disease are presented. This is an interdisciplinary conference, with participation by pathology, radiology, and surgery as well as endocrinology.
• Diabetes Rounds (CSMC): This interdisciplinary conference reviews topics in diabetes management, via case presentation and/or presentations by experts in the field.

Additional Didactic Opportunities

• Regional conferences on diabetes, pituitary disease, thyroid disease, and other topics are available.
• Senior fellows are sent to Endocrine University (AACE-sponsored 1 week didactic at Mayo Clinic).
• All fellows attend a weekly didactic diabetes series over the first three months of training.

Full-Time Faculty

• Anat Ben Shlomo, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, UCLA and Endocrinologist, CSMC
• Vivien Bonert, MD, Professor of Medicine, UCLA and Clinical Coordinator, Pituitary Center, CSMC
• Glenn Braunstein, MD, Professor of Medicine, UCLA; Chair, Department of Medicine, CSMC
• Gregory Brent, MD, Professor of Medicine and Physiology, UCLA, and Chief, Department of Medicine, WLAVA
• John Carmichael, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, UCLA and Endocrinologist, CSMC
• Odelia Cooper, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, UCLA and Endocrinologist, CSMC
• Ines Donangelo, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, UCLA and Endocrinologist, WLAVA
• Mark Goodarzi, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, UCLA; Director, Division of Endocrinology, CSMC and Site Director, Fellowship Program in Endocrinology
• Jerome Hershman, MD, Distinguished Professor of Medicine, UCLA and Director of WLAVA Endocrinology Clinic
• Zhaoping Li, MD+, Associate Professor of Medicine, UCLA; Director, Emergency Room, WLAVA and Associate Chief, Division of Clinical Nutrition, UCLA
• Ning-Ai Liu, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, UCLA and Endocrinologist, CSMC
• Ruchi Mathur, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, UCLA and Medical Director, Diabetes Center, CSMC
• Shlomo Melmed, MD, Professor of Medicine, UCLA; Director, Burns and Allen Research Institute, and Senior Vice President Academic Affairs, CSMC
• Anna Milanesi, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, UCLA and Endocrinologist, WLAVA
• Rashmi Mullur, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, UCLA and Endocrinologist, WLAVA
• Basil Rapoport, MD, Professor of Medicine, UCLA and Director, Autoimmune Disease Unit, CSMC
• Harold Sacks, MD, Professor of Medicine, UCLA and Endocrinologist, WLAVA
• Wendy Sacks, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, UCLA and Endocrinologist, CSMC
• Masahiro Sugawara, MD-, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, UCLA and Endocrinologist, WLAVA
• Magdelena Uhart, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, UCLA, and Endocrinologist, CSMC
• Jane Weinreb, MD, Clinical Professor of Clinical Medicine, UCLA; Fellowship Program Director, CSMC-VA Program, and Chief, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes Program, WLAVA
• Run Yu, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, UCLA and Director, Carcinoid and Neuroendocrine Tumor Center, CSMC

*Part-Time VA Appointment
-Primary appointment in Ambulatory Care
+Primary appointment in Hospitalist Division

Part-Time Faculty We have over 20 clinical endocrinologists, all with UCLA Clinical Faculty appointments, who attend in the endocrinology and diabetes clinics at the West Los Angeles, Sepulveda, and Olive View sites.

Fellow Profile Our fellows come from highly regarded medical school and residency programs. A comprehensive list of medical schools and internal medicine residencies for fellows in the past 5 years and those scheduled for 2008 follows:

• Medical School University of California San Diego, University of California Irvine, University of Southern California, University of Michigan, Medical College of Wisconsin, Medical College of Virginia, University of Virginia, University of Colorado, Yale University, New York University, George Washington University, Loma Linda University, University of Texas, Southwestern, and Columbia Presbyterian.
• Internal Medicine Residency Northwestern University, Loma Linda University, Cottage Hospital, UCLA/San Fernando Valley Program, UCLA/VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare Program, Yale University, New York University, University of California Irvine, Kaiser-Permanente, Scripps, UCSF, Barnes Jewish Hospital, and UCLA.

General Information

Fellow Salary

All offers for appointments originate from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) office.  Salary is based on the current prevailing level for 4th and 5th year residents.  Salary information can be found here.  All fellows must have a California license.

Vacations

Fellows are entitled to 20 days of paid time off each program year to cover vacation, holidays, and sick leave.

Insurance

Group health and dental insurance are provided for you and your eligible dependents. Further information on both these categories, as well as life, disability and liability insurance are available through Cedars-Sinai's Human Resources Department.

Applications

completed application must be uploaded to the ERAS National Resident Matching Program web site and should be completed by August 15th (each annual application session) and interviews will be conducted through October 15th (each annual application session).  Applications for July 1, 2013, are now being considered.

Personal interview at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System is required.

Foreign Applicants

Graduates of foreign medical schools must meet all federal and state requirements for postgraduate training.