Infectious Diseases Fellowship

Program Director: Erica Herc, M.D.
Program Coordinator: Pat McFarland

A career in infectious diseases is not only important, but also fascinating, because it requires a fundamental understanding of the principles of microbiology, immunology and host immune responses, and pharmacology and antimicrobial agents. Adding to the historical needs for ID specialists is the emerging special issues in HIV Medicine, Transplantation, and high level immunosuppression associated with the treatment of rheumatologic and malignant disorders. Also, with the relative ease of international travel, knowledge of global infectious diseases is an absolute requirement.

The Division of Infectious Diseases at Henry Ford was founded in 1949 by Dr. Edward L. Quinn who served as Division Head until 1983. The Infectious Diseases Fellowship was started in 1969 and since then 101 fellows have graduated from the program. The Fellowship Training in Infectious Diseases (ID) is a two-year program leading to certification in Infectious Diseases by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) (original accreditation date of July 1, 1987). Over the course of the 2 years, the educational curriculum combines both didactic and practical hands-on methodologies to provide an educational experience that enables trainees to gain expertise in the prevention, evaluation and management of infectious diseases and to become fully prepared for the subspecialty practice of infectious diseases.

Message from the Director:

Welcome. In 1949, Dr. Edward Quinn founded the Division of Infectious Diseases at Henry Ford Hospital. He then started an infectious diseases fellowship program in 1969, making the Henry Ford training program one of the earliest infectious disease training programs in the country. Since its inception, over 101 fellows have graduated from program.

This well-rounded clinical program, fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), incorporates both clinical and research activities into a two-year curriculum, and leads to certification in Infectious Diseases by the American Board of Internal Medicine. The educational curriculum combines both didactic and practical hands-on methodologies to provide an educational experience that enables trainees to gain expertise in the prevention, evaluation, and management of infectious diseases, and to become fully prepared for the sub-specialty practice of infectious diseases.

In addition to general infectious diseases consultation, the program offers extensive clinical experience in transplant and HIV infection (there are about 2,000 HIV-infected patients followed in the outpatient HIV clinic), both inpatient and outpatient. Each fellow will complete and present a research project prior to graduation.

We are eager to customize your fellowship experience to help you achieve your career objectives. Providing you with the best possible infectious diseases training is my top priority. I invite you to explore our website to see what distinguishes our fellowship training from other strong programs, and to come to Henry Ford Hospital to meet our faculty and see what opportunities our fellowship program can provide.

Erica Herc, M.D.

Program Director
On twitter @HFHInfDisFellow