University of Washington

Program Co-Director	Program Co-Director	Program Admin
Joyce Liao, PhD, DABCC	Lisa Johnson, PhD, DABCC	Rhiannon Palone
Assistant Professor at the University of Washington and Director at Harborview Medical Center	Associate Professor at University of Washington and Director of Chemistry at Seattle Children’s Hospital	Program Coordinator
liaohc6@uw.edu	lisa.johnson2@seattlechildrens.org	uwpthfel@uw.edu
(206) 744-6807	(206) 987-0080

About the Program

The Postdoctoral Training Program in Clinical Chemistry at the University of Washington is the oldest in the United States. More than one hundred clinical chemists have graduated from the program to go on to successful careers in leading universities, private hospitals, commercial laboratories and industry.

The goal of this two-year postdoctoral program is to prepare doctoral scientists or physicians for academic careers in clinical chemistry. The training is tailored to the background and interests of the individual fellows. The first month of training is an intensive didactic course in all aspects of Laboratory Medicine. In the next six to nine months, fellows will rotate through all sections of the clinical chemistry laboratories at the University of Washington, Harborview Medical Center, and Seattle Children’s Hospital. During these rotations, fellows become familiar with the spectrum of analytical methods and instrumentation used in a clinical chemistry laboratory, along with the interpretation of results from these analyses and with management aspects of these sections. During the remaining 12 to 15 months of training, fellows pursue research relevant to laboratory medicine under the mentorship of Laboratory Medicine faculty.

The fellows also participate in the undergraduate and graduate teaching programs of the Department. There are on-going didactic sessions throughout the training program, as well as small projects to carry out. Fellows take call for problems that may arise in the clinical chemistry laboratory and interact on a frequent basis with pathology residents training in Laboratory Medicine.

Program Requirements

To be considered for the program, prospective fellows must have:

1. PhD or MD with academic credentials appropriate for certification by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry (ABCC) at the completion of training; or MD-certified or eligible for certification in Clinical Pathology by the American Board of Pathology (ABP).
2. Minimum of 30 semester hours (undergraduate or graduate level) of coursework in analytical, inorganic, organic, physical, and biochemistry to qualify for certification by the ABCC.
   • If a candidate’s academic credentials are obtained outside the United States, they must be deemed equivalent by an appropriate education evaluation agency.

To Apply

Applications are accepted March 15 – August 31 though the department’s fellowship application portal. No offers will be given before October 1. The offer will be open for a minimum of 2 weeks for consideration. We will consider applications until the position is filled.

The application packet must include:

1. Application form
2. Personal Statement
3. Curriculum vitae
4. Transcripts (undergraduate and graduate)

Finally, the applicant will enter names and email addresses of writers who will submit letters of recommendation.

NOTE: Applicants do not supply the letters, the system will contact the writers for the documents. A selection committee will select some applicants for short phone screens to take place in September. Several candidate will be invited to full interview (virtual) which includes a seminar presentation. Offers will be extended after all interviews are completed.

Training Level

Postdoctoral Training Level
Number of positions available per year: 1 per year
Duration of program: 2 years
Approximate annual salary or stipend: Stipend is correlated to the University of Washington’s ACGME stipend schedule, such that a Year 1 fellow stipend is approximately equivalent to an R1/PGY1 level, and a Year 2 fellow is approximately equal to an R2/PGY2 level.
Source of funding: Departmental Funded
Current number of trainees: 2
Number of past graduates: 105

Faculty

Michael Astion, MD, PhD	Immunology, Laboratory Management
Geoff Baird, MD, PhD	Proteomics, Toxicology, Test Utilization
Jane Dickerson, PhD, DABCC	Pediatric Clinical Chemistry, Utilization Management
Andrew N. Hoofnagle, MD, PhD, DABCC	Proteomics, Mass Spectrometry, Nutrition, Diabetes, Obesity, and Dementia
Lisa Johnson, PhD	Pediatric Clinical Chemistry
Joyce Liao, PhD, DABCC	Toxicology, Laboratory Utilization and Stewardship, Newborn Screening, Clinical Mass Spectrometry
Christina Lockwood, PhD, DABCC, DABMGG	Precision Medicine, Genomic Profiling of Cancer, Next‑generation Sequencing, Genetics of Human Disease, Genomics Education
Patrick Mathias, MD, PhD	Clinical Informatics, Laboratory Stewardship, Cost Effectiveness of Laboratory Testing
Willliam Phipps, MD	Mass spectrometry, Proteomics, Cancer Biomarkers
Petrie Rainey, MD, PhD	Toxicology, Clinical Chemistry
Anna Scott, PhD	Biochemical Genetics