The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Carilion Clinic is accepting applications for Research Fellow positions for the academic year 2025-2026.
This fellowship is intended for an unmatched graduating MS-4 / M.D.
At Carilion Clinic, we believe that a research fellowship should be a developmental position, intended to 1) teach the fundamentals of orthopaedic research, 2) foster personal growth and maturity, and 3) deepen knowledge of clinical orthopaedics.
The overarching goal of the fellowship is to develop the fellow into a place where they are prepared to enter orthopaedic residency and eventually go on to become a practicing clinician-scientist.
Research fellows are expected to conduct the day-to-day operations of research, including study design, enrollment, data analysis and manuscript preparation. Fellows will also participate in the educational curriculum of the
Virginia Tech Carilion Orthopaedic Surgery Residency
This includes all didactics, educational conferences, workshops and guest speaker presentations.
The research fellowship is designed to be either one or two years, depending on the needs and progress of the fellow and faculty's assessment of preparedness to reapply for orthopaedic residency. Generally speaking, we strongly encourage 2 years in the fellowship in order to gain the maturity, skill set and clinical knowledge that will improve the fellow's residency application. We have had success with fellows on both the 1- and 2-year track with placement of graduates of the research fellowship into orthopaedic residency.
The
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Carilion Clinic
is the largest academic orthopaedic department in Virginia with 48 faculty and clinical fellows in spine (1), joints (2) and hand (1). Additionally, the Department has an orthopaedic research fellowship (2 fellows) and an orthopaedics residency (4 residents per year).
The Musculoskeletal Education and Research Center (MERC) serves as the research arm of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. The research fellowship program director is
Peter J. Apel, MD, PhD (
hand surgery and pediatric orthopaedics).
W. Garret Burks, PhD
and Youngjae Lee, PhD oversee and assist with day-to-day operations of MERC. Areas of research encompass various aspects of orthopaedic surgery including trauma, adult reconstruction, hand, spine, sports and pediatric orthopaedics.
Research is largely clinically oriented, with both prospective and retrospective studies and other research projects that focus on clinical aspects of health care delivery. Fellows are assigned to 2-3 specific areas to allow for focus and in-depth development / mentorship. This position is a paid full-time research position through Carilion Clinic in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery with a salary and benefits similar to a PGY-1 resident which allows for comfortable living in Roanoke, VA. Roanoke is the center of operations for Carilion Clinic and will be where nearly all research and educational activities will be conducted. Candidates will be selected based on personal attributes, including work ethic, motivation for orthopaedic surgery and the likelihood of future success in the Match.
At the time of starting the fellowship, candidates are required to have been awarded a degree from an LCME-accredited U.S. medical school (or offered a deferment of graduation having fully completed the medical school curriculum) and have no prior GME experience. To assess competitiveness for eventual entry into orthopaedic surgery residency, candidates must submit USMLE score transcripts, medical school transcripts and letters of recommendation. At this time, non-US medical school graduates and candidates with any prior GME experience (any clinical internship or residency) can not be considered. While the goal of the fellowship is to prepare the applicant to enter orthopaedic residency, there is no promise or guarantee of admission into the
Virginia Tech Carilion Orthopaedic Surgery Residency
The research fellowship program director is Peter J. Apel, MD, PhD. Inquiries should be sent to:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Recruitment will begin after 10:00 AM EDT on Monday March 17th, 2025. Interviews will be conducted by phone or Zoom on a rolling basis. Based on prior years' timelines, the positions are expected to fill by the end of the week (Friday, March 21st). Positions will be offered on a rolling basis. Candidates who accept this research fellowship position will be asked to cease pursuits of other positions upon acceptance.
Topic Author
