Letter from Avi B. Markowitz, M.D.
Program Director

Thank you for your inquiry about the Medical Oncology fellowship at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston.  The Oncology Program at UTMB is centered around the John Sealy Hospital and University Hospitals Clinics.  A multi-specialty medical center, the John Sealy Hospital has approximately 600 beds and is the principle teaching hospital for UTMB.  The faculty and medical staff of UTMB also provide medical care to patients in the TDCJ Hospital, a tertiary care medical center for inmates of the Texas Department of Correctional Justice.  The TDCJ Hospital is physically connected to John Sealy Hospital and has proven to be a particularly valuable source of patients with interesting malignant diseases.  The University Hospitals Clinics building is also physically connected to John Sealy Hospital and is located close to the Division's main office.

The number of patients with cancer treated annually at UTMB continues to grow. UTMB serves a primarily Texas-based patient population, centered primarily in southeast Texas and along the Gulf coast, but with an increasing referral base in other parts of Texas and in other states.  Approximately 11,600 patients were seen this year in our outpatient hematology/oncology clinic, there are approximately 800 new referrals annually, and these figures continue to increase.  Among the new cancer patients that are diagnosed or referred to UTMB, the most common are carcinomas of the lung, breast, cervix, prostate, head and neck, and colorectal.

In addition to having a very active service in Oncology, UTMB has a large scale and full service program in the various disciplines of medicine with associated residencies and fellowships.  On the campus of UTMB, there is a medical school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a nursing school, a school of allied health sciences (e.g. medical technology, occupational medicine, physical therapy, etc.,) a Marine Biomedical Institute, and an Institute for Medical Humanities.

The first year of the Oncology Training Program is the primary clinical year.  First year fellows rotate between the Hematology consult service, which sees both malignant and non-malignant hematological problems, the Solid Tumor Oncology Consult Service, which sees solid tumor neoplasm, and the Inpatient Service.

In the second year of the training program, considerable time is set aside to allow fellows to develop their research area of interest.  In addition, they can do elective rotations in transfusion medicine and blood banking, Radiation Oncology, Gynecologic Oncology, ENT and Pathology.  It is also possible to take certain electives in Oncology at UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

Fellows are expected to participate in clinical or bench research.  In the first year, fellows are expected to identify a potential area of research interest, which they can develop during the second year.  Research projects can be done under the direction of a member of the Hematology/Oncology Faculty, or in other departments doing Oncology related research.  It is anticipated that research projects will develop data which can be presented at a national meeting or result in publications in the form of abstracts, papers in a referred journal, or both.

Throughout the week there are various lectures, seminars, and tumor conferences presented by the staff in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, by other subspecialties within the Department of Internal Medicine, and by physicians in disciplines outside of Internal Medicine (e.g. Radiation Oncology, ENT, Surgery, Clinical Pathology or Gynecology).  The training program in Oncology accepts three fellows per year.  In addition, it is anticipated that the number of division faculty will increase substantially in the near future, with more opportunities for research, and the possibility of a combined Hematology/Oncology fellowship in the near future.  Planning for a free-standing NCI designated multidisciplinary cancer center is actively underway.

The current members of the faculty and teaching staff within the Division have a wide variety of interests at the bedside:

Dr. Jack Alperin is a hematologist with a special interest in disorders of hemostasis and blood coagulation, including hemorrhagic and thrombotic complications that may occur in patients with cancers.  His hematological expertise includes both malignant and non-malignant diseases of the blood and transfusion medicine.  He holds academic appointments both in the Department of Internal Medicine and in the Department of Pathology where he is the Associate Director of the Blood Bank.

Dr. David Bessman is well known for his interest in the use of computers in the study of hematology and oncology and innovative aspects of blood counting using Coulter-type particle counters.  Dr. Bessman is principle investigator for UTMB in the NIH-supported Texas Sickle Cell Consortium. 

Dr. Frank Gardner is a half-time member of our Division and past Division Chief.  He has had a long-standing interest in the development of experimental therapies for patients with aplastic anemia and other forms of refractory anemia especially as they occur in patients with cancer.

Dr. Avi Markowitz holds the Bill and Louise Bauer Distinguished Chair in Internal Medicine.  He is Professor and Division Head of Hematology/Oncology as well as director of the Medical Oncology Fellowship Program.  He is Associate Clinical Director, UTMB Comprehensive Cancer Center where he is also Department Head of the Oncology Clinical Trials Office, which is responsible for all cancer clinical trials at UTMB.  His research centers on new drug development with particular interest in targeted therapy.

Dr. Robert Whitehead is principle investigator for UTMB with the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG).  He has a particular interest in malignancies of the gastrointestinal tract, tumor immunomodulation and cancer vaccine development.

Dr. Maurice Willis is the newest faculty member in the Hematology/Oncology Division.  Dr. Willis completed his residency and fellowship program at UTMB.  He is a general oncologist whose major tumor interests are translational research in lung and prostate cancer.  He is the Assistant Director of the Outpatient Hematology/Oncology Clinic.

Only physicians, who have successfully completed a three-year post-graduate program in internal medicine in the United States and have passed all steps of the USMLE (1 & 2) or its equivalent, are eligible to become Oncology Fellows at UTMB. 

All physicians participating in fellowship and other training programs at UTMB are expected to teach medical students (e.g. teaching physical examinations, making ward rounds, etc.).  Thus, fellows in oncology can expect teaching assignments as a part of their monthly schedules.

Applications for 2009 will be accepted through the ERAS system through January 31, 2008.  To learn more about the Medical Oncology Fellowship Program at the UTMB, please call Dee Lloyd-Pratt, Program Coordinator, at 409-747-2270 or email dlloydpr@utmb.edu .

Sincerely,

Avi B. Markowitz, M.D.
Director, Division of Hematology-Oncology
Professor of Internal Medicine
Director, Medical Oncology Fellowship Program
The University of Texas University Medical Branch at Galveston

Current Fellows