Boston Children’s Hospital – Pediatric Infectious Disease Diagnostics Rotation
Boston Children’s Hospital is a leading pediatric referral center with internationally recognized expertise in infectious disease diagnostics. The hospital maintains a close academic affiliation with Harvard Medical School and serves as a major center for advanced clinical microbiology, virology, and molecular diagnostics in pediatric populations.
As part of the Clinical Microbiology Fellowship, fellows complete a four-week rotation in the Infectious Disease Diagnostics Laboratory at Boston Children’s Hospital. This rotation complements adult and public health microbiology training by providing focused exposure to pediatric-specific infectious disease diagnostics and clinical considerations.
In addition to the dedicated rotation, fellows participate longitudinally throughout their fellowship in Boston Children’s Hospital clinical microbiology plate rounds, providing continued exposure to pediatric diagnostic workflows, organism interpretation, and clinical correlation over time.
At the start of the fellowship year, fellows also participate in a Clinical Microbiology Bootcamp, attended jointly by infectious diseases fellows from Boston Children’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, along with clinical microbiology fellows. This bootcamp provides an intensive, systems-level overview of clinical microbiology diagnostics across both hospital networks, including bacteriology, virology, molecular diagnostics, and test utilization, establishing a shared foundational framework for trainees across institutions.
Boston Children’s Hospital is a major referral center for cystic fibrosis, with specialized laboratory approaches for detection and characterization of Burkholderia species and other pathogens relevant to this population. The institution also maintains a highly active clinical virology laboratory, reflecting the central role of viral infections in pediatric care.
During this rotation and longitudinal experience, fellows gain hands-on training in:
Rotation Directors:
Alex McAdam, MD, PhD
Nira Pollock, MD, PhD
Dr. McAdam is President of the American Society for Microbiology and immediate past Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology. Dr. Pollock is an internationally recognized expert in the development and evaluation of infectious disease diagnostics and currently serves as a Senior Advisor to the Director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), where she provides national leadership in diagnostic test development.
As part of the Clinical Microbiology Fellowship, fellows complete a four-week rotation in the Infectious Disease Diagnostics Laboratory at Boston Children’s Hospital. This rotation complements adult and public health microbiology training by providing focused exposure to pediatric-specific infectious disease diagnostics and clinical considerations.
In addition to the dedicated rotation, fellows participate longitudinally throughout their fellowship in Boston Children’s Hospital clinical microbiology plate rounds, providing continued exposure to pediatric diagnostic workflows, organism interpretation, and clinical correlation over time.
At the start of the fellowship year, fellows also participate in a Clinical Microbiology Bootcamp, attended jointly by infectious diseases fellows from Boston Children’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, along with clinical microbiology fellows. This bootcamp provides an intensive, systems-level overview of clinical microbiology diagnostics across both hospital networks, including bacteriology, virology, molecular diagnostics, and test utilization, establishing a shared foundational framework for trainees across institutions.
Boston Children’s Hospital is a major referral center for cystic fibrosis, with specialized laboratory approaches for detection and characterization of Burkholderia species and other pathogens relevant to this population. The institution also maintains a highly active clinical virology laboratory, reflecting the central role of viral infections in pediatric care.
During this rotation and longitudinal experience, fellows gain hands-on training in:
- Clinical bacteriology relevant to cystic fibrosis and pediatric populations
- Advanced virological culture techniques
- Molecular diagnostic methods for viral and bacterial pathogens
- Interpretation of diagnostic results in pediatric clinical contexts
Rotation Directors:
Alex McAdam, MD, PhD
Nira Pollock, MD, PhD
Dr. McAdam is President of the American Society for Microbiology and immediate past Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology. Dr. Pollock is an internationally recognized expert in the development and evaluation of infectious disease diagnostics and currently serves as a Senior Advisor to the Director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), where she provides national leadership in diagnostic test development.