In addition to receiving the core clinical training during year one, second year fellows are encouraged to choose from one of four clinical or research pathways depending upon their career goals:

Clinical infectious diseases. This pathway is for those interested in a career in hospital-based clinical infectious disease. In addition to the extensive clinical experience in the program, trainees receive further training in antibiotic utilization and infection control/hospital epidemiology. Fellows are encouraged to publish clinical articles in areas of their interest or participate in on-site clinical research. HIV medicine. Hospitals and clinics associated with the program care for a large number of HIV-infected patients. This pathway provides the trainee with additional experience managing AIDS-related problems including opportunistic infections, anti-viral resistance, and HIV-associated co-morbidities. Individuals are encouraged to develop an HIV-related clinical or laboratory research project during the second year of fellowship. Laboratory research. A number of faculty in the program are actively involved in basic research on infectious diseases. Fellows wishing to gain experience in laboratory approaches to infectious diseases research are encouraged to participate in one of the ongoing projects. Additional training beyond the standard 2-year fellowship is possible depending upon fellow interest and funding support. Public health/epidemiology. This pathway provides the applicant with additional training in public health, epidemiology and health systems research. Depending upon funding availability, trainees are encouraged to extend their fellowship program an additional year in order to obtain a Masters of Public Health at the UCLA School of Public Health. For those interested in health care delivery, there are opportunities to participate in health systems research through investigators affiliated with institutions such as the Rand Corporation.

In order to assist trainees in reaching their career goals, fellows are assigned a mentor and expected to meet with the mentor on a periodic basis in order to assess progress in the program. The 16 Infectious Diseases Faculty available to serve as mentors have a wide variety of clinical and research interests.