Clinical training primarily occurs in three settings: Los Angeles General Medical Center, Keck Hospital of USC and USC/Norris Cancer Hospital. Our three hospitals provide trainees with exposure to a wide range of endocrine and metabolic diseases in patients from varied ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Research Fellowship

Training includes the standard two years of clinical endocrinology and those who are accepted into the newly developed research track will dedicate a third year to research. The Division of Endocrinology leverages mentors in the Division and co-mentors across USC with strong clinical and basic research in diabetes, pituitary disease, thyroid disease, lipid metabolism and metabolic origins of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Year 1 & 2: Focused on fulfilling ACGME clinical requirements for board certification in endocrinology, plus introduction to research. Fellows participate in clinical fellowship including Endocrine and Diabetes consults at both Los Angeles General Medical Center and Keck; continuity of care and in general outpatient endocrine and type 1 diabetes clinics as well as clinics in pediatric endocrinology and diabetes, endocrine disease and pregnancy, diabetes and pregnancy, lipids clinic and type 2 diabetes.

Year 3: Primarily research with limited clinical responsibility, including a weekly continuity of care clinic, and if needed for consults/weekend call coverage.

Inpatient Consultative Services

This service provides trainees with direct consultation experience (diagnosis and management) in the care of hospitalized patients with the full spectrum of endocrine and metabolic disorders. The service frequently includes evaluation and management of pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal disorders, diabetes, hypoglycemia, hypercalcemia, perioperative endocrine management, and endocrine emergencies.

 Los Angeles General Medical Center

  • The Endocrinology and Diabetes inpatient service provides consultative care across a full spectrum of adult endocrine diseases. Fellows evaluate patients directly and supervise the evaluation of patients by house staff and students who rotate through the consult service. Cases, including pertinent diagnostic test results (hormone levels, MRI/CT scans, ultrasounds), are reviewed with full-time faculty members during faculty rounds, which are held for approximately two hours per day on weekdays.

  • Fellows will gain teaching experience in the education of medical students, house staff and peers related to the endocrinological problems encountered by the service.

  • During this consult service rotation, fellows are responsible for the performance of all thyroid fine-needle biopsies (2-4 per week). Jonathan LoPresti, MD and a cytopathologist conduct a formal case conference to review cytology material.

Keck Medical Center of USC

The Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes provides full consultative services for Keck Hospital of USC and Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. Fellows provide evaluations under the supervision of full-time faculty members. The USC Pituitary Center offers fellows ample experience in pituitary radiology and the endocrinologic and neurosurgical management of pituitary and hypothalamic disorders. Fellows in addition have the opportunity to evaluate patients with diabetes and endocrine disease with faculty in their outpatient clinics. During this rotation, fellows also perform evaluation and management of endocrinology patients with attending faculty in Keck Medicine of USC ambulatory clinics.

Outpatient Services

  • These activities provide trainees with diagnosis and management experience in the care of ambulatory patients with a variety of endocrine and metabolic disorders.

  • Fellows have Continuity of Care Clinics in General Endocrinology, Thyroid, and Diabetes.

  • In addition, fellows spend 2-3 months each year on the ambulatory clinic rotation. Clinic experiences for fellows include:

    • Type 1 Diabetes

    • Type 2 Diabetes

    • Thyroid cancer

    • Thyroid biopsy

    • Thyroid disorders

    • Lipid disorders

    • Pituitary disorders

    • Pediatric endocrinology

    • Diabetes/Endocrine disorders in pregnancy

    • Calcium and Bone Metabolism

Visiting Professor Program

This program brings nationally recognized leaders in areas of endocrinology and diabetes to USC to give grand rounds and meet with our fellows to discuss their clinical endocrinology, research activities and career development.

Conferences

  • Conferences and lectures complement clinical training, providing education in normal endocrine physiology, mechanisms of endocrine disease, laboratory techniques, and research techniques in endocrinology and metabolism.

  • Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes Grand Rounds, in partnership with DORI (Diabetes Obesity Research Institute): weekly, topic-oriented one-hour conference, with presentations by both USC and visiting faculty. Fellows gain experience in academic presenting by presenting their own Grand Rounds during training.

  • Endocrine-Metabolism Core Curriculum: weekly didactic series covering pathophysiology, endocrine evaluations, and management of disease.

  • Journal Club: monthly session focusing on both structural aspects of publications and ongoing review of new literature.

  • Keck Endocrine Case Conference: Monthly meeting where Keck Fellow presents an interesting case and pertinent literature review to faculty and fellows.

  • Pituitary Tumor Conference: weekly session to review current patient cases and discuss management.

  • Research Conference: session in which fellows present and receive feedback on research progress and/or upcoming presentations.

  • Thyroid Conference: weekly session focusing on the clinical management of thyroid disease. Case presentations and summary of relevant literature are presented for discussion by fellows and faculty.

  • Thyroid Pathology Conference: bi-monthly session to review results of thyroid biopsy and discuss management.