Gastroenterology Fellowship
Program Overview
The Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship Program at the Nemours Children鈥檚 Hospital, Delaware, in affiliation with Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University (TJU), trains physicians in advanced skills in pediatric gastroenterology. Our 3-year program provides comprehensive specialty training in gastroenterology (GI), hepatology and nutrition.
You鈥檒l learn to diagnose and treat children with acute and chronic diseases of the digestive system and nutritional disorders, as well as gain broad-based research experience in basic or clinical sciences. The program is accredited by the聽in accordance with the guidelines of the North American Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.
- Curriculum
- Research & Training
- Salary & Benefits
- Location & Living
- Faculty & Participants
Our Fellowship Program
The Nemours Gastroenterology Fellowship Program provides stimulating clinical training in gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition and exposure to liver transplantation. Our dynamic group of faculty clinicians and researchers are committed to helping you attain a quality education. Our fellows attend weekly educational sessions in addition to monthly pathology, radiology and physiology conferences and combined surgical rounds. Fellows also present and attend topic oriented journal clubs through out the year.聽Including participating in multidisciplinary meetings with our allergy, pulmonology, ENT and surgery colleagues to discuss clinical cases and evidence-based practices.
You鈥檒l have opportunities to learn the indications, risks, benefits and techniques of performing procedures such as upper endoscopy, colonoscopy, percutaneous liver biopsy, capsule endoscopy, esophageal dilatation, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube insertions, variceal banding, pH/impedance probes and motility studies at our state-of-the-art pediatric GI endoscopy suite. You鈥檒l learn to teach and mentor residents and medical students. You will conduct your own clinical or basic science research project under the supervision of one of our faculty members.
Training Overview
Our GI fellowship program will provide training in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. Rotations include the GI inpatient service, the GI inpatient consultation service, the GI outpatient service as well as research and elective rotations. Fellows also attend their own continuity clinic a half day per week in which they will follow their own patients throughout the 3 years of fellowship. In-hospital electives include pediatric surgery, pathology and radiology. We also have an active liver transplantation program and our fellows do a month鈥檚 rotation on the liver transplant service.
Our fellows participate in and gain exposure to in-hospital committees and quality improvement projects. On a wider scope, our fellows participate in the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition fellows鈥 conferences in addition to other national and international meetings.
Valuable Clinical Experience
You鈥檒l also gain valuable experience participating in the care of children who are followed in our specialty clinics such as those that focus on patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), celiac disease and bowel dysfunction. Fellows will also attend liver clinic during their outpatient rotation. On their inpatient rotations, our fellows learn the intricacies of providing total parenteral nutrition as well as the management of complications that may result from this type of nutritional support.
During the on-call component, you鈥檒l have experiences that improve several aspects of your competency-based training, including patient care, knowledge, interpersonal communications, professionalism, systems-based practice and others. You鈥檒l work directly with emergency department staff and referring physicians doing urgent patient evaluations and other important activities.
Proficiency in GI Diagnostics and Procedures
During your training you鈥檒l become proficient in a wide range of specialized GI diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, such as:
- Diagnostic EGD (and biopsy)
- Diagnostic colonoscopy (and biopsy)
- Flexible sigmoidoscopy (and biopsy)
- Ileoscopy via ileostomy (and biopsy)
- Polypectomy
- Hemostasis in GI bleeding
- Variceal band ligation, sclerotherapy, heater probe, argon plasma coagulation
- Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy
- Liver biopsy
- Dilation of esophageal strictures
- Foreign body retrieval
- Capsule endoscopy
- Esophageal pH-multichannel impedance
- Breath hydrogen testing
- Pancreatic stimulation
During your second and third years, you鈥檒l be able to choose electives that add to your knowledge in such GI-related disciplines as transplantation, pathology, radiology and surgery.
Research Support and Resources
As an integral part of your fellowship experience, you鈥檒l receive thorough training in research as it relates to the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition. The research component will focus primarily on scholarly activities during the first year and either basic science research or clinical projects during the second and third years.
Scholarly Activities
Training in the scholarly experience begins in the first year of the fellowship and continues throughout your training. You鈥檒l develop the full range of requisite skills for research, from project design to completion and presentation to our scholarship oversight committee, in accordance with American Board of Pediatrics certification requirements.
GI Research Lab
Our state-of-the-art GI Research Lab, located on the campus of Nemours Children鈥檚 Hospital, Delaware support fellow research activities. This one of kind program provides a designated research team to assist fellow research activities. The team works with fellows and their clinical mentors to support their research projects including bench work, funding core lab service, initial study designing, data analyzing and methods writing for publication.
- Evaluation of PH Interferference and Accuracy of Pancreatic Enzyme Activity by Direct Pancreatic Function Testing. Jonathan Beri, Heidi Hagerott, Zhaoping He, Zarela Molle-Rios.
Active Research
Your second and third years will include more hands-on work in either basic science research or clinical projects. You鈥檒l use knowledge gained in the first year to design and execute a study, from concept to completion and presentation, under the supervision of one of our faculty members.
Completed Research
- 2015: Risk factors associated with development of liver disease in obese children
Fellow: Anshu Maheshwari, MD - 2015: Yield of Endoscopy in Pediatric Gastroparesis
Fellow: Tara Altepeter, MD - 2016: Salivary pepsin A detection related to gastro-oesophageal reflux episodes in children undergoing impedance probe monitoring
Fellow: Hadeel Al Atrash, MD - 2017: Retrospective Analysis of the correlation of fecal calprotectin in evaluating pediatric inflammatory bowel disease
Fellow: Amaka Akalonu, MD - 2017: Early proactive Infliximab concentration monitoring in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease leads to improved rates of clinical remission
Fellow: Arieda Gjikopulli, MD - 2018: Underutilization of bowel ultrasound in North America in children with inflammatory bowel disease
Fellow: Heidi Hagerott, MD - 2018: MBOAT7 gene variant rs641738 is not associated with development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease among Hispanic children with obesity
Fellow: Sana Mansoor, MD - 2019: Immunohistochemistry Expression of cytokine for diagnosing Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Gastroesophageal reflux in Pediatric patients
Fellow: Shaida Nasiri-Blomgren, MD - 2019: Effect of histamine 2 receptor antagonist on the microbiome of full-term infants
Fellow: Brittany Parlow, MD - 2020: Comparison of the gut microbiome in children with and without obesity
Fellow: David Garcia, MD - 2020: Oncostatin-M does not predict treatment response in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease
Fellow: Jennifer Ezirike, MD - 2021: Immunostaining of OSM and OSM脽 Receptor in Intestinal Biopsies of Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Fellow: Jonathan Beri, MD - 2021: Semiquantitative evaluation of alpha-smooth muscle actin as an early marker of pediatric liver allograft fibrosis
Fellow: Lidija Palezac, MD - 2022: Immunohistochemistry Expression of Cytokines for Distinguishing Eosinophilic Esophagitis from Eosinophilia due to Inflammatory Bowel Disease. A Pilot Study
Fellow: Samantha Butzke, MD - 2022: A Comparison of First-Line IV Lipid Emulsions SMOFlipid versus Intralipid on Incidence and Time to Resolution of Cholestasis in Hospitalized Pediatric Patients
Fellow: Stephanie Zacharias, MD - 2023: Do Infants with GERD on Acid Suppression Medications have an Increased Risk of Developing Food Allergies and other Allergic Diseases
Fellow: Sera Na, MD - 2023: Histologic Analysis of Proteins for Predicting the Development of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis in Pediatric Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Pilot Study
Fellow: Gabriele Meyer, DO< - 2024: Dysregulation of mast cells and corticotropin releasing hormone receptors in duodenal tissue of individuals with functional dyspepsia
Fellow: Haley Pearlstein, DO
Clinical Trials
- Precise Infliximab Exposure and Pharmacodynamic Control to Achieve Deep Remission in Pediatric Crohn鈥檚 Disease
- REMODEL-CD Multicenter clinical trial ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05660746
- A Phase 3 Multicenter Study to Evaluate Efficacy, Safety, and Pharmacokinetics of Upadacitinib with Open-Label Induction, Randomized, Double-Blind Maintenance and Open-Label Long-Term Extension in Pediatric Subjects with Moderately to Severely Active Crohn's Disease and Inadequate Response, Intolerance, or Medical Contraindications to Corticosteroids, Immunosuppressants, and/or Biologic Therapy. Sponsored by Abbvie.
- A Phase 3 Multicenter Study to Evaluate Efficacy, Safety, and Pharmacokinetics of Upadacitinib with Open-Label Induction, Randomized, Double-Blind Maintenance and Open-Label Long- Term Extension in Pediatric Subjects with Moderately to Severely Active Ulcerative Colitis and Inadequate Response, Intolerance, or Medical Contraindications to Corticosteroids, Immunosuppressants, and/or Biologic Therapy. Sponsored by Abbvie.
- 2021-2023: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Odevixibat (A4250) in Children with Biliary Atresia Who Have Undergone a Kasai Hepatoportoenterostomy (BOLD).
International, Multicenter, Prospective, Industry Sponsored Study.
Site PI: Adebowale Adeyemi. - 2023-Present: An Open-label Extension Study to Evaluate Long-term Efficacy and Safety of Odevixibat (A4250) in Children with Biliary Atresia (BOLD-EXT). International, Multicenter, Prospective, Industry Sponsored Study.
Site PI: Adebowale Adeyemi.
Publications
Salary & Benefits
Salary
- PGY1: $71,923
- PGY2: $74,799
- PGY3: $77,792
- PGY 4: $80,904
- PGY 5: $84,139
- PGY 6: $87,505
- PGY 7: $91,005
- PGY 8: $94,646
Benefits
Our comprehensive benefits program allows you to choose a combination of benefits to best meet your 鈥 and your family's - needs:
- Health Advocacy and Navigation Services
- Medical
- Additional features in our medical plans include:
- Coverage for assisted fertility (two cycles)
- Maternity and child-rearing support
- Expert second opinion program
- Surgical centers of excellence
- Virtual excercise therapy for back and joint pain
- Type 2 diabetes management program
- Nemours-funded Health Reimbursement Accounts for eligible associates
- Additional features in our medical plans include:
- Prescription
- Vision
- Dental
- Voluntary Accident Insurance
- Voluntary Critical Illness
- Voluntary Hospital Indemnity Insurance
- Retirement Benefits
- 403(b) Plan
- Nemours Matching Contribution
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
- Basic & Supplemental Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance
- Supplemental Life Insurance
- Paid Parental Leave
- Short-Term Disability (STD)
- Long-Term Disability (LTD)
- Voluntary Long-Term Care (LTC)
- Identity Theft Protection
- MetLife庐 Legal Plan
- Paid Time Off (PTO)
- Residents and fellows receive a 160-hour block of PTO during each academic year, July 1-June 30. There is no PTO carryover.
- Paid Holidays聽鈥 Full-time and part-time associates receive six holidays per year. There is no waiting period for eligibility.
- Volunteer Time Off聽鈥 Full-time associates who have completed the 90-day evaluation period receive eight hours of paid Volunteer Time Off (VTO) each year to use for community service activities (four hours for part-time associates).
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Work Life Benefits
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Financial Education
- Adoption Assistance
- Mortgage Loan Assistance Program
Wellness Benefits Include
- Free fitness center membership at Nemours Children鈥檚 Hospital, Delaware, Nemours Children鈥檚 Hospital, Florida, and the Home Office
- Access to group fitness classes and personal training (at select locations), at an additional cost
- Reduced cost fitness center membership to more than 18,000 gyms nationwide through Active&Fit Direct program
- Gym/fitness app reimbursement for benefits-eligible associates
- Free health coaching for benefits-eligible associates, spouses, and dependents over age 18
- Wellness challenges
- Reduced cost membership to WeightWatchers for benefits-eligible associates, spouses, and dependents over 18
- Resources for meditation and stress management
- Rewards for participating in healthy activities
About Our Hospital in Delaware
The Nemours Children鈥檚 Hospital, Delaware is a multispecialty, tertiary care teaching institution located on a 300-acre estate in the scenic Brandywine Valley in Wilmington, Del.
Among the hospital鈥檚 amenities for all staff are:
- Free parking
- Park-like setting
- Gym/fitness center
- On-site child care center for children of staff
Living in Delaware Valley
Because of our location in the tri-state area of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, we offer unique living/working opportunities. For example, you can choose to live in the downtown Philadelphia area and easily commute to our park-like hospital campus in Wilmington.
Train With Recognized Leaders
If you鈥檙e looking for a rewarding program built on academic excellence and family-centered care, 波色单双 offers outstanding medical, surgical, pharmacy, nursing, therapy and psychology programs. Train with faculty who are respected leaders in their fields, a patient care model that stands apart and access to groundbreaking research.聽
Apply Today
Application Requirements
Accreditation ID: 3324112058
Accepting Applications: July 3 through September 1, 2024
Training Begins: July 1, 2025
1.
2. Curriculum vitae
3. Personal statement
4. Medical school transcript
5. USMLE scores (all 3 levels)
6. Three references
Interviews
We begin offering interviews to fellowship candidates in July of the year before the start of the fellowship. The actual interview process will take place roughly between August 1 and October 1 of the preceding year.
Questions About Applying?
April Aguilera
Fellowship Coordinator
(302) 577-0319
april.aguilera@nemours.org
Erika M. Kutsch, DO
Program Director
(302) 651-5928
erika.kutsch@nemours.org