The Department of Laboratory Medicine at UCSF is offering a Cellular Therapy and Transfusion Medicine Fellowship designed to train future scientific and clinical leaders in the field of cellular therapy, focusing on T cell therapy development and manufacturing. Trainees will fulfill ACGME requirements for board eligibility in Blood Banking and Transfusion Medicine. The fellowship is structured as a two-year program with a fast track option for UCSF Laboratory Medicine residents.
The cellular therapy training is at two sites: 1) the UCSF GMP Human Islet and Cellular Transplant Facility (HICTF), a newly renovated manufacturing space dedicated to experimental cellular therapies, and 2) the UCSF Cell Therapy Development (CTD) Laboratory which specializes in translation of preclinical cellular therapy concepts into products ready for phase 1 trials. Faculty at these sites include leaders in the fields of regulatory T cell therapy, genetic engineering of T cells, and T cell therapies for cancer. Fellows learn how cellular therapies are developed and manufactured and actively participate in developing investigational new drug (IND) applications. Examples of projects include the development of genetically modified Treg cell products and TCR and CAR T cells for cancer therapy. Fellows will participate in clinical trial design for cellular therapies, writing of submissions to FDA, cGMP manufacturing operations, and quality assurance of cell therapy programs.
The ACGME-approved training in clinical transfusion medicine takes place at UCSF hospitals (UCSF Helen Diller Medical Center at Parnassus Heights, UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay, and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital). Fellows rotate through the Vitalant Research Institute, local blood donor center and reference lab, and the UCSF Immunogenetics and Transplantation Lab. Intensive clinical apheresis training occurs at both UCSF and UC Davis Medical Center. Fellows receive practical training in standard of care hematopoietic progenitor cell therapies, tissue banking, coagulation testing, laboratory management and quality systems.
Faculty members actively participate in fellow’s instruction through clinical service, tutorials, conferences, meetings, assigning reading and teaching activities, as well as involving the fellow in practical projects. It is expected that the fellow will have at least one presentation at a national or international specialty meeting and one completed peer-reviewed publication during fellowship.
Requirements
Applicants must have an M.D. or M.D./Ph.D degrees and demonstrated interest in academic research, must be eligible for California medical licensure and board certified or eligible in Anatomic Pathology(AP)/Clinical Pathology (CP), CP only, or adult or pediatric Hematology or Hematology-Oncology. Trainees in other specialties such as Anesthesiology, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, or surgical specialties will be considered on a case by case basis.
If you are an International Medical Graduate, please use the link below to navigate to the UCSF Housestaff Information Booklet. You must complete the steps provided on their web page prior to applying to any of our fellowship training programs. The fellow will need a post-graduate medical license issued by the Medical Board of California (MBCA). For further details about the licensing process, please refer to the MBCA website California Medical Board.
Additional information regarding UCSF Fellowship you can find at UCSF Housestaff Information Booklet
Duration
The program is two years (one year of Cellular Therapy and one year of ACGME-accredited Blood Banking and Transfusion Medicine). For UCSF residents only, there is an option to integrate the one-year Cellular Therapy training within the CP residency training followed by one-year ACGME subspecialty training in Blood Banking and Transfusion Medicine. Residency applicants interested in this fast track option should contact Kristie White MD, CP Residency Program Director.
Stipend
Support is commensurate with the candidate's level of training.
Application
Currently receiving applications for 2025-2026. Please use the link below to apply.
The program does not discriminate with regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender expression, gender identity, gender transition status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition (cancer-related or genetic characteristics), genetic information (including family medical history), ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, or service in the uniformed services, including protected veterans.