St. Jude Research
Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Pharmaceutical Sciences Fellowship Training Program

Two to four positions are available each year. Scientists with a PhD, MD, DVM, (or PharmDs who opt out of the clinical fellowship) are eligible for basic science post-doctoral fellowships in Pharmaceutical Sciences. PharmD graduates who have already completed a residency or equivalent training prior to starting a fellowship are eligible for a Clinical Pharmacy Fellowship.

Research is laboratory-based and has the overarching goal of improving drug therapy by better understanding interindividual determinants of differences in drug disposition and response. As the faculty all have appointments at the University of Tennessee Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine, fellows have the opportunity to teach and to audit relevant courses. 

View all current open clinical fellowship positions.  Each position contains a detailed description, requirements and contact information.

Fellowship position details

Each position contains a detailed description, requirements and contact information.

See Details

Application process

The Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences accepts two to four clinical pharmacy fellows each year, depending on availability of space, funding, and qualified applicants.

Fellows are encouraged to apply early. Depending upon the request from the prospective applicant, the Fellowship Director's office supplies the applicant with a pack of informational material. Application forms are available on this web site. Completed applications require three references. Qualified applicants may be invited for an interview, with costs of the interview, including airfare, lodging and meals provided. PharmD fellows should already have completed a clinical residency or have equivalent experience prior to starting their fellowship. Those who have not completed residencies may contact one of the PharmD preceptors, if they are interested in pursuing residency training in Memphis.

Didactic courses

  • Graduate courses in pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism, and analytical methods are offered at the University of Tennessee, College of Pharmacy and are available to the fellow.

  • Molecular biology courses are offered and available to the fellow at the University of Tennessee, Memphis Health Science Center and St. Jude.

  • Ethics courses are offered at St. Jude, in accordance with NIH training guidelines, and are mandatory for the fellow.

  • Statistics courses are available at St. Jude and UT, Memphis. These courses are designed for the fellow to understand statistical theory and to acquaint the fellow with the language to discuss research proposals and results with a statistician.

Library facilities

Library systems are available at St. Jude and the University of Tennessee, Memphis Health Science Center. Library facilities are available 24 hours a day. The library systems promote and train users in searching on a variety of on-line and CD-ROM information systems. Computer workstations provide access to PaperChase, Reference Update, PDQ, CINAHHL, Medline, CancerLit, word processing software and Internet connections.

Conferences

The training program offers a comprehensive series of weekly conferences that expose individuals to a variety of issues germane to pharmacokinetics and dynamics.

  • Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Workshop – this series is mandatory for fellows and faculty. It is during this time that fellows and faculty present research work-in-progress. Presentations are critically reviewed for content and presentation by other fellows and members of the faculty.

  • Pharmacokinetics Clinical Conferences – this conference focuses on the prior week's challenging pharmacokinetics consults, and serves to update the clinical pharmacy staff on current policies and patient-related issues. Clinical fellows are invited to attend.

  • Pharmacokinetics Analytical Meeting – this conference allows a forum for discussion of analytical methods development, quality control, and troubleshooting.

  • Pharmaceutical Sciences Journal Club – current articles on a variety of topics are presented by departmental faculty and post-doctoral fellows.

  • Danny Thomas Lecture Series – this is a series of lectures by distinguished visiting scientists and clinical researchers including several Nobel laureates and attendance of fellows is mandatory.

  • St. Jude Faculty Seminars – presentations open to the entire staff during which St. Jude faculty present an overview of their work.

  • Departments of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutics Seminar – these conferences are held at UT and are presentations of research endeavors by faculty, residents, graduate students and fellows in a variety of areas within the respective College of Pharmacy Departments.

  • Leukemia/Lymphoma Conference – this conference includes case presentations of patients that have presented at St. Jude with leukemia or lymphoma.

  • Solid Tumor, Brain Tumor, and Hematologic Malignancies Program Workshops - at these multidisciplinary meetings, clinical and basic scientists discuss issues relevant to collaborative research on the pathogenesis and treatment of children with malignancies covered by the respective clinical programs.

  • Hematology/Oncology Grand Rounds – this conference is held at St. Jude and covers current topics, presented by both internal and external speakers, concerning pertinent issues in hematology/oncology, including drug-related issues germane to this patient population.

The goal of Pharmaceutical Sciences postdoctoral training

The goal of postdoctoral training in Pharmaceutical Sciences is to train PharmD, PhD, DVM, and MD scientists for independent academic careers. Training is highly individualized based on each fellow's background, expertise, and interest.

Research conducted by post-doctoral fellows is laboratory-based, with the overarching goal of the departmental faculty being to improve drug therapy by better understanding of the interindividual determinants of differences in drug disposition and response.

All Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty have appointments at the University of Tennessee Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine, and fellows have the opportunity to participate in teaching and auditing relevant courses.

Fellows with PharmD or MD degrees and adequate clinical training are trained as clinical scientists.

Scientists with a PhD, MD, DVM (or PharmDs who opt out of the clinical fellowship) are eligible for basic science post-doctoral fellowship in Pharmaceutical Sciences. See Basic Science Fellowships.

PharmD graduates who have completed a residency or equivalent are eligible for a Clinical Pharmacy Fellowship.

Two to four positions are available each year. Scientists with a PhD, MD, DVM, (or PharmDs who opt out of the clinical fellowship) are eligible for basic science post-doctoral fellowships in Pharmaceutical Sciences. PharmD graduates who have already completed a residency or equivalent training prior to starting a fellowship are eligible for a Clinical Pharmacy Fellowship.

Research is laboratory-based and has the overarching goal of improving drug therapy by better understanding interindividual determinants of differences in drug disposition and response. As the faculty all have appointments at the University of Tennessee Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine, fellows have the opportunity to teach and to audit relevant courses.