Train where the evidence is made
The GIM Research Fellowship at WashU Medicine embeds physician-scientists in active research. Fellows train in one of four tracks (Global Health, Implementation Science, Clinical and Health Services Research, or Clinical Operations and Quality), earn a graduate certificate or master’s degree, and launch independent academic careers.
The fellowship at a glance
A two-year program with an optional MSCI third year. Clinical, research, and field time built around your project.
| Duration | 2 years (optional 3rd year) |
| Fellows per year | 1-2 across all tracks |
| Eligibility | MD, DO, or MBBS (or international equivalent); ACGME-accredited residency; U.S. citizen or permanent resident |
| Clinical duties | ~10 weeks/year as hospitalist at Barnes-Jewish |
| Research time | ~40 weeks dedicated to research, coursework, and mentored training |
| Field time (Global Health track) | Customizable depending on project and mentors, ~10 months over 2 years |
| Advanced coursework | Graduate Certificate, MSCI, MPHS, or MPH |
Why WashU Medicine
Research that changes policy
Our mentors chair Lancet commissions, advise the WHO, sit on NIH study sections, and edit leading journals. The work shapes guidelines, market access, and care delivery. Fellows train where that translation happens.
Multiple tracks, one fellowship
Global Health, Implementation Science, Clinical and Health Services Research, and Clinical Operations and Quality. Fellows choose one but cross-train: shared methods coursework, joint seminars, and cross-listed mentors.
The generalist advantage
GIM is the broadest research platform in academic medicine. Our four tracks span global health, implementation science, clinical trials, health policy, bioethics, biomedical informatics, pharmacoepidemiology, and operations and quality science, the methods that drive patient-oriented research today.
Hospitalist medicine at Barnes-Jewish Hospital: 10 weeks/year
Fellows work approximately 10 weeks per year as hospitalists at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, one of the busiest academic medical centers in the U.S. Clinical medicine is a core part of the fellow’s identity, not a service obligation.
An affordable city
St. Louis costs less to live in than peer programs in Boston, New York, San Francisco. WashU invests structurally through CCHPR, STLAAN, and Live Near Your Work.
A community of physician-scientists
WashU Medicine has long invested in physician-scientists. Fellows join a peer community of clinicians pursuing federally funded research, with K-Club, ICTS programs, and DoM peer cohorts.
Choose your track, build your career
Fellows specialize in one of four tracks but share methods coursework, a clinical rotation, and a peer cohort. Each track has named field sites or institutional homes, an established mentor pool, and a typical K-award pipeline. The escape valve, research topics aligning with faculty expertise beyond these four tracks, is open by design.
Global Health
Fellows match to one of the track’s established field sites, such as Sierra Leone, Haiti, Nigeria, or the QuEST Network. Active programs span child nutrition, perinatal mental health, HIV care, cardiovascular disease, and health systems quality, among others. Roughly 10 months in the field across two years.
Implementation Science
Anchored in the Center for Dissemination & Implementation at WashU, with $35M/year in implementation science funding, reaching ~1000 faculty, trainees and staff annually. Up to 2 IS positions per cohort. Applied & methodological dual emphasis with an ISC editorial internship. Projects span ambulatory clinics to inpatient and hospital care.
Clinical and Health Services Research
Patient-oriented and health-system research methods: clinical trials, clinical epidemiology, claims-based health services research, biomedical informatics, health AI, and empirical bioethics. CAHSPER Data Core, I2DB, and Bioethics Research Center.
Clinical Operations and Quality
Front-line clinical operations and quality improvement embedded in Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine primary care. Fellows partner with operational leaders on inpatient safety, throughput, ambulatory panel management, transitions of care, and curricular design.
Leadership
Day-to-day mentorship, applications review, and curriculum design rest with three leaders embedded in active research and clinical care.
Kevin B. Stephenson, MD
Fellowship director
PI on five active clinical trials enrolling 11,000+ participants in maternal-child nutrition and perinatal mental health across Sierra Leone, Malawi, and Ghana.
Brian F. Gage, MD, MSc
Fellowship co-director
Developed the CHADS₂ score and led the GIFT trial of pharmacogenomic warfarin dosing (JAMA 2017), funded by the NIH and CMS. R01-funded (NHLBI) for ongoing research on machine learning refinement of pharmacogenomic warfarin dosing.
Molly McNairy, MD, MSc
Chief, Division of General Internal Medicine
International expert in HIV and cardiovascular diseases in settings of extreme poverty with extensive NIH funding for clinical research and research training and mentorship.
46 mentors. 4 tracks. One fellowship.
GIM, Hospital Medicine, and 20+ affiliated faculty across Infectious Diseases, Cardiology, Bursky School of Public Health, Bioethics, Brown School, Oncology, and Surgery.
Ready to apply?
The next cohort starts July 2027. Applications open in July 2026; rolling review through January. Reach out to fellowship director Kevin Stephenson, MD, (k.stephenson@wustl.edu) before you apply. Most successful applicants have a mentor identified in advance.