Research Fellowship in Geriatric Mental Health

Fellowship Director: Dilip V. Jeste, M.D.

The research fellowship is a National Institute of Mental Health - sponsored NRSA Fellowship in Geriatric Mental Health at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS).

This is a full-time, one year UCSD appointment within the Office of Graduate Studies that is renewable for a second year contingent upon satisfactory performance. Interested Fellows may spend a third year of Fellowship, if deemed appropriate by the Program Director, the Fellowship Committee and the NIMH. If you should chose to leave after one year or not be eligible for the second year, please be advised that the 12-month payback requirement will apply. 

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The Fellowship includes single party health benefits with the ability to purchase additional health insurance for eligible family members. Fellows also have the ability to purchase dental insurance.
Terms & Conditions and Salary Scale  (This file is in PDF format.)     

MENTORSHIP

A large proportion of your time will be devoted to research (which includes relevant clinical or basic work such as SCID interviews, therapy sessions, lab assays, etc.). The balance of your time may be committed to teaching and administration. The overall training program is based on a combination of individualized mentoring, and more structured group training, with an increasing emphasis on independence during the latter part of Fellowship. You will be assigned one principal mentor and up to two "secondary" mentors. This structure provides you with an inter-disciplinary team of mentors who can provide valuable input into your training process. One of the "secondary" mentors may be a senior Fellow or junior faculty member. You will also meet individually with Dr. Jeste, Ms. Halpain and members of the Biostatistics/ Data Management Core.

No individual trainee may receive more than 5 years of aggregate NRSA support at the predoctoral level or 3 years of support at the postdoctoral level, including any combination of support from institutional training grants and individual fellowship awards.

GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY ADVANCED CENTER FOR INTERVENTIONS AND SERVICES RESEARCH (ACISR) RESPONSIBILITIES AND REQUIREMENTS

Responsibilities of the fellowship include: research-related clinical work, such as diagnostic interviews, center-related data collection, and attendance and participation in seminars and meetings. Below is a list of the seminars, meetings, courses, and other activities offered by the Geriatric Psychiatry ACISR (mandatory meeting are marked with an asterisk (*).

1. Introductory Course*: This course (including formal and informal sessions) is given during the early phases of the Fellowship and is intended to provide the Fellows with information about the program and the skills needed. Topics covered include formal research diagnosis, inclusion and exclusion criteria for ongoing ACISR studies, ethical, legal and administrative issues involved in patient care and research, informed consent and competency issues with the elderly mentally ill, and a review of the geriatric clinical pharmacology, ongoing treatment protocols, and rating scales.

2. Research Seminar Series* (Wednesdays, 2-3 p.m.): In this weekly research seminar, series, senior investigators give lectures, and Fellows and junior faculty members present new research protocols as well as pilot data to the group for constructive criticism. Also, there are practice presentations prior to scientific meetings in order to prepare Fellows for their talks. Some sessions involve the presentation of cases on ethical issues followed by group discussion.

3. Methods and Experimental Design Course*: There are several courses offered through UCSD and the ACISR on research methods and design and statistical analysis.

4. Ethics Courses*: UCSD offers several formal courses on academic and scientific integrity which are available to you at no cost. You are required to attend one of the following courses and provide a certificate of completion:

5. Monthly Journal Clubs*: Relevant recent articles in psychiatry, psychology, geriatrics, gerontology, neuropsychology, neurology, medicine, and basic science journals are critiqued at the monthly Geriatric Psychiatry Journal Club (Wednesdays, 12-1 p.m.). Faculty members and Fellows participate. Each Fellow is expected to discuss at least 1 paper in a year. The Current Contents Journal Club (Wednesdays, 12:15-1:15 p.m.) also meets on a monthly basis. In the Current Contents Journal Club each Fellow selects or is assigned two journals most relevant to his or her background. The Fellows present articles from these journals which are of interest or relevance to other trainees and faculty in the ACISR.

6. Geriatric Psychiatry Staffing* occurs weekly (Mondays, 1-2 p.m.) and is attended by board certified geriatric psychiatrists, M.D. Fellows, nursing staff, recruitment staff, and all trainees. At this meeting, DSM-IV diagnoses are established and assignment of subjects to specific research protocols is made.

7. Geriatric Neurology Staffing* is held monthly (Wednesdays, 1-2 p.m.) to review clinical information and assign a diagnosis to neurology patients in the VA Geriatric Psychiatry Clinic. This meeting is led by Dr. Thal and is attended by Neurology residents, nurses, social workers, neuropsychologists, M.D. Fellows, and other trainees.

8. Coffee Club*: meets weekly (Mondays, 2-3 p.m.) and is attended by pre- and post-doctoral trainees. Issues covered include: university and governmental guidelines, regulations, and procedures; ethical collection, use, and management of data; human subjects; mentors; authorship, as well as such career development topics such as giving job talks, preparing CV=s, and progress through the postdoctoral Fellowship.

9. Brown Bag Seminars: Brown Bag Seminars are held on an as-needed basis but generally occur at least monthly. The purpose of the brown bag series is to discuss new research projects or to review ongoing projects that would later be presented in a public forum (e.g., practice talks for professional meetings).

10. Neuroscience Course and Other Didactic Opportunities: A one-hour weekly neuroscience seminar is open to Fellows in psychiatry, neurology and students in the neurosciences doctoral program. The areas covered include neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, behavioral neuroscience, and neuropsychopharmacology.

No fee or tuition of any kind is charged to postdoctoral Fellows for taking any educational courses or seminars at the VASDHS or the UCSD.

EVALUATION AND PROGRESS

You will be evaluated both informally and formally. You will meet with your principal mentor on a regular basis. The principal mentor will provide the trainee with ongoing feedback about his/her progress. Secondly, formal evaluations are conducted by the principal mentor periodically.

You will be asked to provide feedback on your own training and on the Fellowship program in general on an ongoing basis. You are invited to bring suggestions to Dr. Jeste, your principal mentor or Ms. Halpain at any time. In addition, you will be asked to complete a formal written evaluation of the Fellowship once a year. These evaluations are utilized to make changes deemed necessary. 

The training program is evaluated in a multidimensional fashion on an ongoing basis.  The trainees are evaluated both informally and formally.  

• First of all, the Fellows meet with their principal mentor at least once a week in the first six months of the Fellowship. The principal mentor is responsible for providing the trainee with ongoing feedback about his/her progress. In the last eighteen months of training, these meetings occur at least every other week.

• Secondly, formal evaluations are conducted by the principal mentor at the six, twelve, eighteen and twenty-four month marks.

• Thirdly, the Fellows are asked to provide feedback on their own training and on the Fellowship program in general on an ongoing basis. They are invited to bring suggestions to their principal mentor or Dr. Jeste at any time.

• Fourthly, they are asked to complete a formal written evaluation of the Fellowship once a year.

These evaluations are utilized to make changes deemed necessary.  In addition, formal bodies such as the Fellowship Committee of the ACISR investigators, the larger Research Partners Council and the ACISR Scientific Advisory Board assist in the evaluation of the program. The Research Partners Council reviews the status of the Fellowship at its monthly meetings. The review pertains to the ability of the program to attract quality Fellows and the number and quality of products that result from the work of the Fellows such as scholarly publications, abstracts, presentations, grants and awards, as well as Board exams (when appropriate).  The Research Partners Council also evaluates the career path of the Fellows completing the program in order to ascertain whether they are able to obtain positions in academic institutions.  The Scientific Advisory Board reviews the progress of the program at its annual meeting and offers recommendations as appropriate.

In addition, an annual retreat will be held for all trainees and their mentors.  The meeting will be held on the UCSD campus each year in January.  During the retreat, each trainee will present a 15 minute talk on their work followed by a 15 minute discussion.  Trainees at all levels will be expected to participate.  For example, first year trainees would likely present on work they plan to pursue in the year ahead - i.e., study design and methodology.  A second or third year trainee would present preliminary or final results on individual research.  At this same retreat, individual trainees and their mentors will participate in an evaluative process as well.  Attendance at this retreat will be limited to trainees and mentors to facilitate open discussion of each individuals work as well as the individual's progress and the program's progress.

Interested applicants should forward their:

a)  Curriculum vitae
b)  Three letters of recommendation

to:
Dilip V. Jeste, M.D.
VA San Diego Healthcare System
3350 La Jolla Village Drive (116A-1)
San Diego, CA 92161

Applications may be faxed (858-552-7404) or e-mailed (skent@vapop.ucsd.edu).  Should you plan to be in San Diego in the future, please let us know so that we can meet with you and introduce you to our Program. Please contact us to schedule such a visit (858) 534-4020. Please feel free to call us if you have any questions or would like to discuss the program further.