The UCSF Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program is a a 3-year, ACGME-accredited training program that provides both excellent clinical training as well as strong support for development of an academic career focus through structured mentorship. Clinical training takes place at two clinical sites: UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals. San Francisco and Oakland. Between the numerous research institutes at UCSF, the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) and multiple other affiliated institutions the opportunities for research or other scholarly activities are extensive. Fellows interested in pursuing an academic career have the opportunity to dedicate an extra year to research or to obtain an advanced degree, funded by the divisional pediatric critical care NIH T32 training grant. We aim to train the future leaders in our field and proudly believe that we offer equally outstanding training for fellows primarily interested in a clinical career and those who want to pursue academic endeavors. The main pillars of our training program are clinical excellence, focus on scholarship, structured mentorship, and dedication to education.

 

The main pillars of our training program are clinical excellence, focus on scholarship, structured mentorship and dedication to education

Clinical Excellence

Fellows develop clinical expertise through rotations at two distinct clinical sites: UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco is located in a state-of-the-art facility under one roof with the Betty Moore Women’s Hospital in Mission Bay. Fellows rotate through both a 20-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and a 18-bed Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland has a 23-bed PICU, and is the only designated pediatric trauma center in the Bay Area. At both sites, ICU fellows are part of the primary ICU care team and actively involved in the management of all patients, supervised by attending physicians and supported by residents, nurse practitioners and a wide array of additional support staff. Between the two training sites fellows get exposure to the complete spectrum of pediatric diseases requiring intensive care management, including patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery, neurosurgery, solid organ transplant and bone marrow transplant as well as VA and VV-ECMO. All subspecialty services are represented, and areas of excellence include congenital heart surgery, pulmonary hypertension, neuro ICU, trauma, sickle cell and acute lung injury/ARDS. Both institutions have busy pediatric emergency rooms and active transport programs. Fellows are the medical control officers providing advice to physicians at referring institutions for all transports coming into the PICUs at both institutions.

Focus on Research and Other Opportunities for Scholarship

Our fellowship program aims to train leaders in our field, and regardless of future career goals, puts a strong emphasis on development of expertise in an area of scholarship that is meaningful for their career development. We therefore allot approximately half of the fellowship training time to research or other scholarly activities and have a structured mentoring program to help fellows choose an appropriate project. We define scholarship broadly and have fellows who focus on basic science, translational, clinical and medical education research, systems science, informatics and global health, among others. The Division of Pediatric Critical Care at UCSF is affiliated with the Cardiovascular Research Institute of the University of California, San Francisco, which focuses its research on cardiovascular and pulmonary biology. The Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) is a NIH-funded research institute affiliated with UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland where the emphasis is on clinical and translational research in a variety of fields. The opportunities for scholarship however are not limited to our divisions, departments or even our institutions; fellows often have distant mentors that help them pursue their unique career goals. For those interested in a 4th year dedicated exclusively to scholarly work, funding opportunities exist through the divisional NIH T32 training grant. This funding mechanism also allows interested fellows to complete advanced degrees such as a master’s degree in clinical research, medical education or public health. Our fellowship program has an outstanding track record of training successful physician scientists: the majority of our graduates land academic positions and a high percentage secure NIH grant funding after training. (See alumni section.)

Structured Mentorship

Mentoring in our fellowship program starts from the moment an applicant walks in the door for an interview, and often continues after completion of fellowship training. Many of our graduates stay in touch and call for advice on a variety of issues years after graduating from fellowship. Each fellow is assigned a career advisor early in the fellowship to help with choosing a project and mentor. The program director meets with each fellow regularly to ensure that career goals are set and met. Faculty at both institutions are involved in the mentoring process, and career advisors are matched with fellows according to similarity in career goals. All pediatric fellows at UCSF participate in Fellows' College, a professional development program, which provides additional guidance and mentorship as well as a series of seminars offered throughout the year. Fellows have the opportunity to present to the national Research Training in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine (RTPCCM) Network, and get feedback and advice from leaders in our field at other institutions. This network was founded by our division at UCSF to support training of physician scientists in pediatric critical care medicine, organizes quarterly web-based meetings as well as an annual session at the Pediatric Academic Society meeting.

Dedication to Education

While most clinical learning in fellowship takes place at the bedside, we believe that awareness of the scientific and evidence-based underpinnings of diagnostic and management decisions is essential to gaining clinical expertise. We have created a structured educational program that aims to expand knowledge and skills and to prepare fellows to become life-long, self-directed learners. Fellows are therefore active participants in the educational program, which includes hands-on and interactive activities such as simulation-based learning, journal club, case-based discussions and fellow-led M&M conferences. We pay attention to core curriculum and board review, but also to experiential learning through bedside teaching and simulation training. Fellows have multiple opportunities to hone their own teaching skills: by teaching residents rotating through the PICU, by participating as small group instructors in the residency simulation curriculum and by taking part in teaching workshops offered by the UCSF Center for Faculty Educators.

Applying for Fellowship

The fellowship accepts applications through ERAS and participates in the national residency matching program (NRMP) through the annual fall subspecialty match. We start accepting applications for the match on July 15 the previous year. For more information about the fellowship program, contact our program coordinator Kaitlin Clancey at 415/502-8231 ([email protected]) or the fellowship director, Sandrijn van Schaik, MD at 415/476-3731 ([email protected]).

 

Current Fellows 2020-21

First Year

Aaron Bodansky, MD	[email protected]
Medical School:	Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Residency Training:	Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Fellowship Training Years:	2020-2023
Research Project:	TBD

Mauro Caffarelli, MD	[email protected]
Medical School:	Boston University School of Medicine
Residency Training:	UCSF
Fellowship Training Years:	2020-2023
Research Project:	TBD

Meesha Sharma, MD PhD	[email protected]
Medical School:	Kasturba Medical College Mangalore
Residency Training:	Albert Einstein Medical Center
Fellowship Training Years:	2020-2023
Research Project:	TBD

Michael Smith, MD	[email protected]
Medical School:	Northwestern University - The Feinberg School of Medicine
Residency Training:	UCSF
Fellowship Training Years:	2020-2023
Research Project:	TBD

 Second Year

Kimberly Burfiend, MD	[email protected]
Medical School:	Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University
Residency Training:	Shands Children’s Hospital, University of Florida
Fellowship Training Years:	2019-2022
Research Project:	Transpulmonary Pressures and Lung Injury Biomarkers in Pediatric ARDS
Jenna Essakow, MD	J[email protected]
Medical School:	Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University
Residency Training:	Children’s Hospital Los Angelese
Fellowship Training Years:	2019-2022
Research Project:	TBD
Anyir Hsieh, MD	[email protected]
Medical School:	Tulane University School of Medicine
Residency Training:	Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Fellowship Training Years:	2019-2022
Research Project:	TBD
Sayyed Farishid Moussavi-Harami, MD	[email protected]
Medical School:	University of Wisconsin School of Medicine
Residency Training:	University of California, San Francisco
Fellowship Training Years:	2019-2022
Research Project:	SHP-1 Modulation of Inflammation in Acute Lung Injury
Brian Young, MD	[email protected]
Medical School:	Georgetown University School of Medicine
Residency Training:	Baylor College of Medicine
Fellowship Training Years:	2019-2022
Research Project:	Infant Outcomes in Mothers with ACHD

Third Year

David Blauvelt	D[email protected]
Medical School:	Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Residency Training:	Boston Children's Hospital
Fellowship Training Years:	2018-2021
Research Project:	Scale-up of a silicon micropore membrane oxygenator for artificial placenta technology
Elyssa Guslits, MD	E[email protected]
Medical School:	University of Wisconsin School of Medicine
Residency Training:	University of California, San Francisco
Fellowship Training Years:	2018-2021
Research Project:	Longitudinal BNP Levels Predict Outcome in Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH)
Sarah Lau-Braunhut, MD	[email protected]
Medical School:	University of Arizona College of Medicine
Residency Training:	Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Fellowship Training Years:	2018-2021
Research Project:	Pediatric Sepsis Protocol Adherence and In-Hospital Mortality in A Resource-Limited Setting
Margaret Robinson, MD	M[email protected]
Medical School:	Emory University School of Medicine
Residency Training:	University of California, San Francisco
Fellowship Training Years:	2018-2021
Research Project:	Acquiring skills in assessment of child development during the COVID-19 Pandemic: a virtual activity for clerkship students

 

 

Critical care fellowship alumni are listed below by program year and current institutional affiliation:

Lindsay Braun 2017-2020 – University of California, San Francisco

Hussam Inany 2018-2020 – Saudi Arabia Cultural Mission

Jana Krystofova Mike 2016-2020 – University of California, San Francisco

Kathryn Robertson 2017-2020 – Kaiser, Santa Clara

Neelima Marupudi 2016-2019 – University of Chicago

Emily Balkin 2016-2019 – UCLA

Brian Goudy 2016-2019 – UC Davis

Terry Dean 2016-2019 – Children’s National, Washington, D.C.

Malini Mahendra 2015-2019 – UCSF Faculty

Erika Wong 2016-2018 – UCSF Faculty

Edmund Burke 2016-2018 – Children’s Hospital LA

Katie Kowalek 2015-2018 – University of Arizona

Helayne Feferman 2015-2018 – University of Arizona

Kari Wellnitz 2016-2018 – University of Iowa

Amy Romer 2015-2018 – Stanford CICU Fellow

Matthew Zinter 2016-2018 – UCSF Faculty

Timothy Rogers 2014-2017
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Oakland, CA

Alison Nair 2013-2017
University of California, San Francisco

Jason Boehme 2012-2016
University of California, San Francisco

Brendan Gallagher 2013-2016
UCSF Benioff children’s Hospital Oakland

Ben Orwoll 2013-2016
Oregon Health & Sciences University

Shan Ward 2012-2016
University of California, San Francisco

Gina Clemens 2010-2014
Washington University, St. Louis, MO

Duncan Henry 2012-2015
University of California, San Francisco, CA

Rebecca Johnson Kameny 2011-2015
University of California, San Francisco, CA

Aaron Spicer 2011-2015
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

Poonam Patel 2011-2014
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Oakland, CA

Monique Radman 2009-2014
Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, WA

Travis Vesel 2011-2014
Duke University, Durham, NC

Preetha Krishnan 2010-2013
Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel, Portland, OR

Efrat Lelkes 2009-2013
University of California, San Francisco, CA

Martina Steurer-Muller 2010-2013
University of California, San Francisco, CA

Jim Howard 2008-2012
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, Oakland, CA

Jaclin LaBarbera 2009-2012
Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY

Gayle Soskolne 2009-2012
Children’s Hospital of Colorado, Aurora, CO

 

To obtain more information about applying for fellowship or if you have additional questions, contact our fellowship program coordinator, Kaitlin Clancey, at (415) 502-8231 or send an email to [email protected]. For benefits and salary information, see http://medschool.ucsf.edu/gme/.

We use ERAS for the processing of applications and will start accepting applications after July 1 for positions starting July 1 the following year. When submitting your application, please also include 3 letters of recommendation addressed to our Program Director, Dr. Sandrijn van Schaik. We participate in the NRMP match and typically schedule interviews in September and October.

Kaitlin Clancey
Fellowship Program Coordinator
University of California, San Francisco
550 16th Street, 4th Floor, Box 0106
San Francisco, CA 94143