Message from Program Director
Dear future Nephrology fellows,
I would like to welcome you to our program and share with you information about the learning experience offered by our Nephrology Fellowship program. The Nephrology Fellowship sponsored by Westchester Medical Center, in affiliation with New York Medical College, is an ACGME-accredited, two-year program that provides fellows with the opportunity to learn all aspects of Nephrology (Clinical Nephrology, Critical Care Nephrology, Renal Transplantation and Basic Science Renal Research) from our diverse and talented faculty. The program also offers a three-year specialized Nephrology- Critical Care Track for those individuals with a special interest.
Training occurs at Westchester Medical Center (WMC), the main university hospital of New York Medical College, known for one of the highest case mix index rates of all hospitals in the United States. The hospital is the well established flagship hospital of WMC Health Network and is equipped with advanced technology, academic expertise, and educational support.
Our trainees also rotate in the Outpatient Dialysis Facility and Basic Science Renal Research lab at New York Medical College, both on the same campus. The conference and rounding schedules evidence the commitment of the Division to the education of our fellows. All activities are appropriately supervised and designed to provide the trainees with competence in all renal procedures inclusive of point of care ultrasonography.
You can learn more about the program from this website. Applications are submitted through the ERAS Application Process; we participate as an All-In-Specialty in the National Resident Matching Program. Refer to our information on “How to Apply.” For more specific. We look forward to your interest in our program.
Sincerely,
Savneek Singh Chugh, MD, FACP, FASN
Program Director
Associate Professor of Medicine
Nephrology Fellowship Program
Message from Chief of the Division of Nephrology at Westchester Medical Center
Program Overview
The Division of Nephrology has 11 full-time clinical faculty members within the Westchester Medical Center Health Network. Additional Professional staff include Attending Physicians, fellows, residents, and medical students, who participate in all aspects of inpatient and outpatient care. Clinical care is provided with a pathophysiological approach. Team members are actively involved in clinical and basic science research, where they participate in NIH and industry-sponsored research involving chronic kidney disease, transplantation and dialysis disorders.
The Renal Team provides the entire scope of advanced Critical Care Nephrology, including continuous and intermittent dialysis supporting our Trauma, Burn, Surgical, Medical, and Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Units, including patients on ECMO and heart assist devices. More than 2,500 kidney transplants have been performed at WMC. The Renal Team provides primary nephrology and consulting services for all of transplantation, including kidney-heart and kidney-liver tandem transplants. As a result, more than 6,000 inpatient hemodialysis treatments are done each year at WMC.
Attending Nephrologists also conduct more than 35,000 outpatient dialysis treatments. All forms of chronic dialysis treatment, including home hemodialysis and home peritoneal dialysis, are available.
An array of complex Nephrology cases in different clinical settings, accompanied by our outstanding Faculty, affords trainees an excellent educational experience. Trainees will be expected to not only become excellent clinicians, but to learn about all aspects of Nephrology and participate in national and international conferences.
The program provides abundant opportunity for clinical and basic science research, scholarly activities, publications and participation in clinical trials. Our trainees have consistently presented, published and excelled in their careers after graduation..
Program Curriculum
How to Apply
Those interested in applying to the program must do so through the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP). Applications are accepted through the Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS) using the following link: www.aamc.org/eras.
Note that we have two NRMP program codes:
Nephrology/Clinical Program Code #: 2157148F0 (Two Year Commitment)
Nephrology/Critical Care Track – Code #: 2157148F1 (Three Year Commitment)
In order to apply to the program, we require a complete application package to be submitted via ERAS. You must complete a three year ACGME accredited Internal Medicine residency program before starting the fellowship program. A minimum of three letters of recommendation, including one from your Internal Medicine Residency Program Director, is required.
Please access the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (FREIDA) for more information on our programs: https://freida.ama-assn.org/.
Current Fellows
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Chika Mbolu – Windsor University School of Medicine
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Krisela Vojniku – American University of Antigua College of Medicine
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Zola Wilkerson – Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Auburn Campus
- Jaehyuck Im, M.D. – American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine; Internal Medicine Residency: Nassau University Medical Center
- Kenneth Lumbrazo Jr., M.D. – American University of Antigua College of Medicine; Internal Medicine Residency: Garnet Health Medical Center Program
- Avinash Vangara, M.B.B.S. – Siddhartha Medical College; Internal Medicine Residency: Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Inc.
View Our Campus Tour
Program Alumni
- Miniolla Durosier, MD – New York Medical College, Metropolitan Hospital, NY
- Uzma Malik, MD – Residency: Nassau University Medical Center, NY
- Mobolaji Ayodeji Obayomi, MD – Residency: Winthrop University Hospital, NY
- Isaac Pak, DO – Residency: Garnet Health Medical Center, NY
- Jiwanjot Kaur Narula, MD – Private Practice New York, NY
- Kiran Shivaraj, MD – Transplant Nephrology Fellow University of Miami, FL
- Viviam Rivera Becerra, MD – Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor, ME
- Aulio Hemer Bustos, MD – Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor, ME
- Jennifer Griffiths, MD – MidHudson Regional Hospital – Westchester Medical Center Health Network
- Hay Me Me, MBBS – Transplant Nephrology Fellow. Mayo Clinic in Arizona
- Thomas Anders Brevik, MD (Chief Fellow) – Private Practice, Denver, CO
- Michael Connery, MD, PhD – Bon Secours Medical Group – Westchester Medical Center Health Network, Suffern, NY
- Nazrul Chowdhury, MD (Chief Fellow 7/2018-12/2018) – Private Practice, Clinton, SC
- Nathalie Jean, MD – Transplant Nephrology Fellow, University of Chicago, IL
- Samer Kareem, MBBS (Chief Fellow 1/2019-6/20) – Transplant Nephrology Fellow, State University of NY at Buffalo School of Medicine, NY
- Magdi Abdelrahman, MBBS – Private Practice, Qatar
- Celeste Chang, MBBS – Private Practice, New York, NY
- Sanjeev Gupta, MD, FACP, FASN – Nephrology Faculty, New York Medical College. Westchester Medical Center, NY
- Anastasios Papanagnou, MD – Nephrology Faculty, Mount Sinai Hospital, NY
Our Clinical Locations
Westchester Medical Center
Westchester Medical Center shares its leafy campus with New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY, approximately 20 miles north of New York City. It is a Level 1 Trauma and Burn Center and a major hub for specialized care referrals. Here, we take care of patients from a very large catchment area stretching from the northern border of New York City to the Catskill Mountains.
WMC has a pediatric hospital (Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital) with eight dedicated pediatric operating rooms as well as many other non-operating room anesthetizing sites, including MRI, radiation and nuclear medicine, and endoscopy. The Ambulatory Care Pavilion, which opened in July 2019, added many anesthetizing locations, both OR and Non-OR.
Construction is underway on the 128-bed state-of-the-art WMC Critical Care Tower, a $220 million project that when completed will span 162,000 square feet over five floors. Our caseload includes a full profile of cardiac, interventional pulmonary and thoracic, complex orthopedic, neurosurgical and solid organ transplant interventions, to name the busiest services. We have a large heart failure and ECMO referral program. Trauma orthopedics and surgery provide our residents a great variety of “open” cases. Residents participate in minimally invasive and robotic interventions in gynecologic-oncology, urology, colorectal, endocrine and thoracic surgery, as well as complex cardiac and neurological endovascular interventions, both pediatric and adult. The Acute and Chronic Pain Management care rotations cover both the pediatric and adult inpatients and outpatients, including complex consultations for patients in the Burn ICU.