Hematology/Oncology - Education | Department of Pediatrics

Fellowship Program

The Pediatric Hematology-Oncology fellowship program at UCSF is committed to the individual career plans and training needs of each trainee. We strive to create an exciting, dynamic training program for each fellows. The program takes full advantage of the diversity of San Francisco’s community and combines this rich patient population with the extraordinary clinical, educational, and world-class research resources of the University of California. The result is a unique and exceptional training program that prepares our graduates for a significant contribution to the health of children.

At the end of the training years, each fellow will be board eligible and have developed the skills necessary to take excellent, compassionate care of children with malignancies or diseases of the blood and blood forming organs. In addition, each fellow will have a solid foundation in basic clinical, and/or academic research that will enable him/her to make significant contributions to the field of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.

Trainees can draw on the expertise of world-renowned investigators within the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and in other UCSF departments and research units. Applicants are encouraged to access the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program website or the UCSF Cancer Center site to explore the breadth and depth of this strong institutional commitment to basic and translational investigation in human diseases.

The overall goal of our program is to prepare our fellows to be knowledgeable, compassionate, and competent in the care of children with malignancies or diseases of the blood and blood forming organs. A meaningful accomplishment in research, either clinical, laboratory, or academic, is a required part of the fellowship experience in order to encourage later contributions to the advancement of the field, whether the fellow pursues a career in an academic medical center or in clinical practice. Evidence of intellectual independence in carrying out the research project selected is a requirement, as detailed in the subspecialty board requirements.

Application Process & Selection Criteria

The program employs a holistic review and selects from among eligible applicants on the basis of their preparedness and ability to benefit from the program. Aptitude, academic credentials, personal characteristics, and ability to communicate are considered in the selection. The program does not discriminate with regard to sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, sexual orientation, disability or veteran status.

The program participates in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). The match takes place in December, 6 months before the fellowship start date.

The applications are handled through the ERAS program, https://www.aamc.org/students/medstudents/eras/.

Current cycle closed. All fellowship positions have been filled, we thank you for your interest and welcome you to check back in 2020 for more updates.

At this time, we are only able to accept applicants with US citizenship or permanent residency into our fellowship program, due to funding restrictions.

Our program requires the following documents to be submitted through ERAS:

Completed application
CV
Three letters of reference, including one from your residency program director

For general questions please contact:

Karen Tan
Fellowship Coordinator
UCSF Department of Pediatrics, Box 0110
550 16th Street, Floor 4
San Francisco, CA 94158
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 415-514-3799
Fax: 415-476-5354

Current Fellows

Anya Levinson
Training Period: 2017 - 2020
Date & Degree: 2014 NY-Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons
Title of Research: Intrinsic and acquired mechanisms of glucocorticoid resistance in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Current Position: ACGME Clinical Fellow

Taymour Hammoudi
Training Period: 2017 - 2020
Date & Degree: 2014 Emory University School of Medicine
Title of Research: Modeling Tumor-Immune Microenvironment Crosstalk with Patient-Derived Organoids
Current Position: ACGME Clinical Fellow

A. Yasemin Goksenin
Training Period: 2018 - 2021
Date & Degree: 2016 Tulane University School of Medicine
Title of Research: Characterizing oncogenic alterations in DNA damage and repair pathways
Current Position: ACGME Clinical Fellow

Griffin Collin
Training Period: 2018 - 2021
Date & Degree: 2015 University of South Alabama College of Medicine
Title of Research: TBD
Current Position: ACGME Clinical Fellow

Betsy Young
Training Period: 2019 - 2022
Date & Degree: 2016 JS Weill Medical College, Cornell University
Title of Research: TBD
Current Position: ACGME Clinical Fellow

Bo Qiu
Training Period: 2019 - 2022
Date & Degree: 2017 Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Title of Research: TBD
Current Position: ACGME Clinical Fellow

William Temple
Training Period: 2019 - 2022
Date & Degree: 2016 University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine
Title of Research: TBD
Current Position: ACGME Clinical Fellow

Amanda Marinoff
Training Period: 2020 - 2023
Date & Degree: 2017 Harvard Medical School
Title of Research: TBD
Current Position: ACGME Clinical Fellow

Cheryl Peretz
Training Period: 2020 - 2023
Date & Degree: 2017 University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Title of Research: TBD
Current Position: ACGME Clinical Fellow

Priya Parikh
Training Period: 2020 - 2023
Date & Degree: 2017 Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Title of Research: TBD
Current Position: ACGME Clinical Fellow

Robert Lindquist
Training Period: 2020 - 2023
Date & Degree: 2017 University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine
Title of Research: TBD
Current Position: ACGME Clinical Fellow

Former Fellows

Anu Banerjee
Training Period	1996 - 1999
Date & Degree	1992, MD, Tulane 1990, MPH, Tulane
Title of Research Program	Clinical Trials in Brain Tumors
Current Position	Associate Clinical Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, UCSF

John Hill
Training Period	1997-2000
Date & Degree	1994, MD , University of Washington 1992, PhD, University of Washington
Title of Research Program	Molecular biology of Brain Tumors
Current Position	Hematology/Oncology Faculty, Dartmouth Medical School

Brian Weiss
Training Period	1997-2000
Date & Degree	1993, MD, Northwestern University
Title of Research Program	Mouse models of leukemia -induction of AML by alkalators
Current Position	Professor of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati Medical Director, Neuroblastoma Program

Anjulika Chawla
Training Period	1998-2001
Date & Degree	1995, MD, University of Vermont
Title of Research Program	Induction of tolerance in mice
Current Position	Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Brown University

Jennifer Duda
Training Period	1999-2003
Date & Degree	1996, MD-Stanford
Title of Research Program	Innate immunity and Cancer
Current Position	Adjunct, Stanford University

Michelle Hermiston
Training Period	1999-2002
Date & Degree	1997, MD, PhD Washington University
Title of Research Program	Regulation of Lymphopoiesis
Current Position	Associate Professor, Pediatrics UCSF

Benjamin Braun
Training Period	2000-2003
Date & Degree	1998, MD, PhD, UCLA
Title of Research Program	Biology of AML
Current Position	Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, UCSF

Ken Lieuw
Training Period	2001-2004
Date & Degree	1998, MD, PhD Northwestern University
Title of Research Program	Tumor suppressor genes- NF-1 in mice
Current Position	Assistant Professor, Madigan Army Medical Center

Wilbur Lam
Training Period	2002-2005
Date & Degree	1999, MD, Baylor College of Medicine 2008, PhD, UCSF/UC Berkeley
Title of Research Program	Bioengineering PhD candidate
Current Position	Assistant Professor, Emory University of Medicine

Jennifer Lauchle
Training Period	2002-2006
Date & Degree	1998, MD, University of Maryland
Title of Research Program	Gene identification relevant to leukemia transformation
Current Position	Genentech Adjunct Assistant Professor, UCSF

Rosa Sanchez Rosen
Training Period	2003-2006
Date & Degree	1999, MD, University of Southern California
Title of Research Program	Transfusion research
Current Position	Physician, Blood System Research Institute

Theodore Nicolaides
Training Period	2004-2007
Date & Degree	2001, MD, New York University
Title of Research Program	Kinase Inhibitors in Cancer Therapy
Current Position	Assistant Professor, UCSF

Galit Rosen
Training Period	2004-2007
Date & Degree	2001, MD, Tufts University
Title of Research Program	Identification of Leukemia Initiating Cells
Current Position	Assistant Professor, Phoenix Children’s Hospital

Matthew Gorman
Training Period	2005-2008
Date & Degree	2002, MD, Rush Medical College
Title of Research Program	Hemoglobinopathies
Current Position	Physician, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center

Debbie Sakai
Training Period	2005-2008
Date & Degree	2001, MD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Title of Research Program	Aberrant Signaling Pathways in JMML
Current Position	Clinical Assistant Professor, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital

Denah Taggart
Training Period	2006-2009
Date & Degree	2003, MD, Chicago Medical School
Title of Research Program	Neuroblastoma patients and imaging modalities
Current Position	Physician, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center

Jason Law
Training Period	2006-2009
Date & Degree	2003, MD, SUNY Downstate
Title of Research Program	Signaling Networks in T-Cell Leukemia and Lymphoma
Current Position	Assistant Professor, Tufts University

Kristin Shimano
Training Period	2008-2010
Date & Degree	1998, MM, Double bass performance 2003, MD, Harvard University
Title of Research Program	Signaling Networks in Lymphoid malignancies
Current Position	Assistant Professor, UCSF

Sarah Tasian
Training Period	2007-2010
Date & Degree	2001, MD, Baylor College of Medicine
Title of Research Program	Signaling Networks in ALL
Current Position	Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania

Ashley Ward
Training Period	2007-2010
Date & Degree	2003, MD, Washington University
Title of Research Program	Ras effector pathways in leukemogenesis
Current Position	Assistant Adjunct Professor, UCSF

Christopher Adrian
Training Period	2008-2011
Date & Degree	1995, MFA, University of Iowa 2002, MD, Eastern Virginia Medical School 2011, M.Div, Harvard Divinity School
Title of Research Program	Medical Ethics
Current Position	Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Columbia University Writer in Residence, Columbia University Medical Center, Program in Narrative Medicine

William Clay Gustafson
Training Period	2008-2011
Date & Degree	2003, Md, PhD, University of Texas
Title of Research Program	Neuroblastoma Signaling
Current Position	Assistant Adjunct Professor

Justin Wahlstrom
Training Period	2010-2011
Date & Degree	2004, MD, Vanderbilt University
Title of Research Program	T-ALL Signaling
Current Position	Assist. Adjunct Professor, UCSF

Tiffany Chang
Training Period	2009-2013
Date & Degree	2006, MD, University of California, Irvine
Title of Research Program	Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia
Current Position	Assistant Adjunct Professor, University of California, San Francisco

Tannie Huang
Training Period	2009-2013
Date & Degree	2005, MD, University of South Carolina
Title of Research	Multidisciplinary care of patients with brain tumors
Current Position	Pediatric Hematologist-Oncologist, Kaiser Permanente

Erin Karski
Training Period	2010-2013
Date & Degree	2006, MD, University of Minnesota
Title of Research	Ewing Sarcoma
Current Position	Assistant Medical Director, Genentech

Sheila Thampi
Training Period	2011-2014
Date & Degree	2008, MD, University of California, Los Angeles
Title of Research	Skeletal and Extraskeletal Osteosarcoma
Current Position	Assistant Professor, Baylor College of Medicine

Elliot Stieglitz
Training Period	2011-2015
Date & Degree	2008, MD, SUNY Stonybrook
Title of Research	Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia
Current Position	Assistant Adjunct Professor, UCSF

Amit Sabnis
Training Period	2011-2015
Date & Degree	2008, MD, University of California, San Francisco
Title of Research	Rhabdomyosarcoma
Current Position	Assistant Adjunct Professor, UCSF

Kieuhoa Vo
Traing Period	2012-2016
Date & Degree	2008, Indiana University, MD
Title of Research	Clinical impact of bone marrow micrometastatic disease in Ewing sarcoma
Current Position

Alexis Melton
Training Period	2012 – 2016
Date & Degree	2009, University of Texas, Southwestern, MD, PhD
Title of Research	Mechanisms of Cytokine dependent T cell ALL cell division in Ras-GRP1 over-expressing T cell ALL clones
Current Position

Craig Forester
Training Period	2012 – 2016
Date & Degree	2009, University of Utah, MD, PhD
Title of Research	Elucidating the dependence of erythropoiesis on translation initiation factors as a model of Diamond Blackfan Anemia
Current Position

Asmin Tulpule
Training Period	2013 – 2016
Date & Degree	2011, Harvard Medical School, MD, PhD
Title of Research	A CRISPRi screen reveals key pathways that promote sensitivity and resistance to adriamycin in Ewing’s sarcoma
Current Position

Benjamin Huang
Training Period	2013 – 2016
Date & Degree	2010, University of California, San Francisco, MD
Title of Research	Clonal evolution and drug resistance in a mouse model of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Current Position

Tiffany Lin
Training Period	2013 – 2016
Date & Degree	2009, Baylor College of Medicine, MD
Title of Research	Best Practice for Bleeding Disorder Capacity Building in the Underserved US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Current Position: ACGME Clinical Fellow, 3rd year
Current Position

Cassie Kline
Training Period	2014 – 2017
Date & Degree	2011, University of California, San Diego, MD
Title of Research	Investigating the role of a pleitrophic biomarker, KLOTHO, in neurocognitive outcomes in a pediatric neuro-oncology population, 2) Investigating the genetic evolution of low-grade gliomas from time of primary diagnosis to recurrence, 3) Identifying epidemiologic patterns of a pediatric ependymoma population
Current Position

David Wang
Training Period	2014 – 2017
Date & Degree	2009, University of Florida College of Medicine, MD
Title of Research	Immunotherapy in pediatric malignancies
Current Position

Beth Winger
Training Period	2014 – 2017
Date & Degree	2011, University of California, San Francisco, MD, PhD
Title of Research	Defining mechanisms of resistance to IDH1 mutant inhibitors in AML
Current Position

Jean Lee
Training Period	2015 - 2017
Date & Degree	2012, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, MD
Title of Research
Current Position

Prerna Kumar
Training Period	2015 - 2018
Date & Degree	2011, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, MD
Title of Research	TBD
Current Position	TBA

Elizabeth Wadhwa
Training Period	2015 - 2018
Date & Degree	2012, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, MD
Title of Research	TBD
Current Position	TBA

Ashley Koegel
Training Period	2016 - 2019
Date & Degree	2013 Stanford University
Title of Research	Engineering next generation CAR T cells to treat pediatric AML: enhancing safety through dynamic control and specificity
Current Position	TBA

Neela Penumarthy
Training Period	2016 - 2019
Date & Degree	2012 NY-Albany Medical College of Union University
Title of Research	Telemedicine in Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Patients Trial
Current Position	TBA

Vanessa Tolbert
Training Period	2016 - 2019
Date & Degree	2012 Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Title of Research	Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) in autologous stem cell transplant recipients with neuroblastoma
Current Position	TBA

Rita Damico
Training Period	2017-2020
Date & Degree	2014 NY-New York College of Osteopathic Medicine
Title of Research	The Genomic Landscape of Monosomy 7 B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia with SAMD9/SAMD9L Germline Analysis
Current Position	TBA

Bao Truong
Training Period	2017-2020
Date & Degree	2014 Harvard Medical School
Title of Research	N/A
Current Position	TBA

Research Resources

Advanced Training in Clinical Research

Advanced Training in Clinical Research (ATCR) is a three academic quarter program intended for post-doctoral fellows and faculty members who desire rigorous training in the methods and conduct of clinical research. This includes instruction in the epidemiologic and biostatistical methods used in observational and experimental clinical research as well as training in the oral and written presentation of clinical research. In addition to required coursework, scholars are expected to develop and implement their research projects throughout the year and will have access to UCSF Training in Clinical Research (TICR) program faculty for methodologic guidance. Trainees achieving program objectives are granted a Certificate of Program Completion.

Pediatric Clinical Research Center

Clinical trials of new drugs for the treatment of cancer in children at UCSF utilize the NIH-funded Pediatric Clinical Research Center within the UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), one of six state-of the-art units for children in the United States. We have an active research program that tests new therapies in a range of pediatric cancers. All of the pediatric oncologists at UCSF participate in this important activity by caring for children who are receiving new treatments.

Pediatric Cancer Development Therapeutics Training Opportunities

The UCSF Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology has an active phase 1 clinical trials program. Fellows are encouraged to participate in phase 1 clinics throughout their fellowship. Fellows with a dedicated interest in early phase clinical trials have the opportunity to focus their research training years on developmental therapeutics. This training program includes clinical pharmacology coursework, advanced topics in clinical and translational research, development of a clinical trial protocol, and participation in national consortia.

GME Pathways

There are various other graduate medical education (GME) office pathways available to fellows including pathways in health professions educations, global health, health equity and racial justice and health systems leadership. These are shorter pathways with training that lasts for approximately a month that we hope can be adjuncts to your career development. For more information on these pathways, see GME Pathways.