National Human Genome Research Institute-Children's National Medical Center Program

Program Identity & Fit

This is a unique, single-resident-per-year combined Pediatrics/Medical Genetics program jointly sponsored by the NHGRI Intramural Research Program at the NIH Clinical Center and Children's National Hospital, embedding trainees within one of the world's leading genomics research institutions. The 5-year curriculum splits training evenly between general pediatrics at Children's National and clinical genetics rotations across the NIH Clinical Center and greater DC-area sites (Inova Cancer Center, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, GeneDx, Quest Diagnostics), culminating in a dedicated final-year research project at a training site of the resident's choosing. Given its NIH intramural affiliation, deep bench-to-bedside infrastructure, and explicit encouragement of applicants with strong research backgrounds, the program is oriented toward producing physician-scientists and academic geneticists rather than community clinical practitioners. Its extreme selectivity (one match slot nationally) and requirement for interview invitations from both the pediatrics and genetics tracks reflect an identity built around rigorous, research-embedded subspecialty training in rare/undiagnosed disease genomics.