Liver/GI Pathology Fellowship | Pathology & Immunology | Washington University in St. Louis

The liver and gastrointestinal pathology fellowship focuses on training individuals for academic practice. This is a heavily clinically oriented program with three months of electives, including two weeks of clinical rotations and research time. The fellowship is designed to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the presence of strong clinical programs in hepatology, GI, liver surgery and transplant, colorectal and hepatobiliary/pancreatic surgery sections at Washington University.

History

The liver/GI fellowship program was started at Washington University School of Medicine in July 2010 by Elizabeth Brunt, MD. Dr. Brunt was the program director until she retired in 2015. Xiuli Liu, MD, PhD is the current program director.

Curriculum

Fellows will also be allowed to participate in the monthly to weekly interdisciplinary conferences shared amongst our departments. Fellows may attend additional GI research conferences to further expand their knowledge base in their field. By the end of this year, the fellow should be comfortable with conducting evaluations, making clinical correlations and formulating future research questions pertaining to a wide variety of specimens related to liver and gastrointestinal diseases.

The clinical material for the program includes all liver/pancreas/luminal GI biopsy material at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, as well as all cases from Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital and consult cases. The material from St. Louis Children’s Hospital is separate, but the liver/GI fellow has an opportunity to avail themselves of pertinent material. There are over 7,500 specimens and 1,000 FS specimens for the adult and pediatric liver/GI services.

The liver/GI fellow will gain experience by managing oversight and specimen handling for the GI/pancreatobiliary/liver specimens. The liver/GI fellow will participate in the in-house liver/GI sign-outs, in liver transplant coverage (one or two weekends during the second half of the year with available backup) and in the weekly and monthly clinicopathologic conferences involving hepatology, GI, hepatobiliary surgery, colorectal surgery and hepatic imaging. Consensus conferences for challenging liver/GI cases are held every day, although faculty members are available at any time for questions/consults.

Fellows also present at a monthly GI journal club. Participation in one or more research projects during the year is also strongly encouraged.

Facilities

Training for the fellowship occurs in state-of-the-art facilities at Washington University School of Medicine/Barnes-Jewish Hospital/St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The liver/GI section is located in the 680,000-square-foot BJC Institute of Health (BJCIH) at Washington University School of Medicine, which is an 11-story research building housing laboratories and support facilities and is Washington University’s largest building.

Requirements

Applicants must have a MD or DO degree (or foreign equivalent with ECFMG certification) and 3 to 4 years of training in anatomic or anatomic and clinical pathology in an ACGME accredited program. Fellows must be board-certified or board-eligible in anatomic or anatomic and clinical pathology. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Application

Positions for 2025-2026 academic year have been filled.

Applications for the 2026-2027 positions will open in the spring of 2024. Please apply at fellowships.path.wustl.edu. Applicants must complete the online application and provide their CV, personal statement, photograph, USMLE scores (step 3 optional), and ECFMG certificate if applicable. The application portal will collect contact information for three individuals who will be asked to write letters of recommendation.

Address Letters of Recommendation to:
Xiuli Liu, MD, PhD
Program Director, Liver/GI Pathology Fellowship
Washington University School of Medicine
660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8118
St. Louis, MO 63110
l.xiuli@wustl.edu

For general questions, contact Kim Green at greenkd@wustl.edu.

Faculty and trainees