Overview and mission

The CHOP Pediatric Nephrology Fellowship Program is a three-year program designed to train pediatricians by providing the necessary clinical and research skills to enable them to pursue an academic career in pediatric nephrology. Our training program accepts 3 fellows per year.

The history, expertise and compassion that make Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia unique are also what makes it the best place for medical trainees.

Current fellows

• Charles Anderson, MD
• Hailey Connolly, MD
• Sonya Kowalczyk, MD
• Jonas Kwok, MD
• Stephanie Lawanto, MD
• Robert Moy, MD
• Ajan Sivaramamoorthy, MD

Fellowship program leadership

Program director

Erum Hartung, MD, MTR
hartunge@chop.edu

Associate program director

Dayna Mazza, MD
mazzad1@chop.edu

Assistant Program Director

Becky Scobell, MD
scobellr@chop.edu

Division chief

Ben Laskin, MD
laskinb@chop.edu

Program coordinator

Jamie Jarrett
jarrettj@chop.edu

Specific information by year/rotation

Year one

During the first year of training, the fellows will rotate through three services: Inpatient, where they are responsible for the care of nephrology patients admitted to the inpatient service; Consult, where they are responsible for consultations from other services; and Outpatient, where they will spend time in the dialysis unit, transplant clinic, multidisciplinary clinics, and other electives. The fellows are always supervised by an attending physician. By the end of the first year, the fellows will be competent in performing percutaneous renal biopsies and prescribing acute dialysis (peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis, continuous hemofiltration) and chronic dialysis. The fellows will attend outpatient Nephrology continuity clinic once a week. Every patient seen by the fellows is discussed in clinic with an attending physician, and cases are reviewed once a week in our outpatient meeting. The fellows are expected to present cases at appropriate conferences and give lectures to residents and medical students. Night and weekend call is divided evenly between fellows in all years of training.

Inpatient service: 14 weeks
Consult service: 14 weeks
Outpatient dialysis: 6 weeks
Outpatient transplant: 6 weeks
Outpatient continuity clinic: 5 weeks
Elective/board prep: 3 weeks
Vacation: 4 weeks

Years two and three

The fellows will begin research training and may choose a project in clinical, translational, or basic science. Some fellows also pursue didactic training with a Masters or Certificate program at the University of Pennsylvania. Clinical responsibilities will be limited to an outpatient continuity clinic once a week, peritoneal dialysis clinic once a month, transplant clinic once a month, and on-call responsibilities, as well as a few weeks of inpatient and/or consult services when the first-year fellows are absent. In year 3, fellows may supervise residents and junior fellows in a capacity similar to an attending, with continuous support from a staff nephrologist, if interested.

Inpatient & consult service: ~4 weeks
Outpatient dialysis:1/2 day per month 
Outpatient transplant:1/2 day per month 
Outpatient continuity clinic:1/2 day per week 
Scholarly activity (classes, research, QI, teaching): 37 - 39 weeks
Vacation: 4 weeks

Research expectations and opportunities

All fellows are expected to complete a research project in order to sit for the Pediatric Nephrology Subspecialty Board Examination. This usually requires submission of a first-author manuscript related to the research. Many opportunities exist for clinical, translational, or basic science research mentorship with accomplished physician scientists at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. NIH training grants may be available on a competitive basis to support a Master’s program for eligible fellows who are interested in research-focused careers. All fellows are also expected to participate in a Quality Improvement project.

Fellowship alumni

Former fellows and current institutions: 

• Ulf Beier, MD, Director of Translational Science and Medicine, Janssen Immunology Research & Development
• Eric Benz, MD, University of Colorado/Children’s Hospital Colorado
• Sonal Bhatnagar, MD, Jefferson University/AI duPont Nemours
• Elizabeth Brown, MD, UT Southwestern/Children’s Medical Center Dallas
• Celina Brunson, MD, George Washington University/Children’s National Hospital
• Rushelle Byfield, MD, Columbia University/Irving Medical Center
• Stephanie Clark, MD, Medical Officer, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
• Brenda Cooperstone, MD, Kriya Therapeutics
• Lawrence Copelovitch, MD, Perelman School of Medicine/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Olivera Marsenic Couloures, MD, University of Nevada
• Katherine Dell, MD, Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Clinic
• Michelle Denburg, MD, Perelman School of Medicine/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Abdullah Ehlayel, MD, King Faisal Specialty Hospital & Research Center, Saudi Arabia
• Rachel Finkel, MD, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Israel
• Rosanna Fulchiero, MD, University of Virginia/Inova Children’s Hospital
• Anuradha Gajjar, MD, George Washington University/Children’s National Hospital
• Caroline Gluck, MD, Jefferson University/AI duPont Nemours
• Selasie Goka, MD, Perelman School of Medicine/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Wendy Bravo (Hsiao), MD, Keck School of Medicine of USC/Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
• Christopher LaRosa, MD, Perelman School of Medicine/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Mary B. Leonard, MD, Stanford Medicine/Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
• Daniella Levy-Erez, MD, Schneider Children’s Hospital, Israel; Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (adjunct professor)
• Aadil Kakajiwala, MBBS, George Washington University/Children’s National Hospital
• Diana Karpman,MD, PhD, Head of Pediatric Nephrology, Lund, Sweden
• Stephanie Kerkvliet, MD, Perelman School of Medicine/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Arthur Lee, MD, Perelman School of Medicine/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Jonathan Levinsohn, MD, PhD, Perelman School of Medicine/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Dayna Mazza, MD, Perelman School of Medicine/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Kevin Meyers, MBBCh, Perelman School of Medicine/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Melissa Meyers, MD, George Washington University/Children’s National Hospital
• Jacqueline Miller, MD, Moderna
• Divya Moodalbail, MD, Kaiser Permanente
• Uche Nwaogazie, MD, Presbyterian Healthcare Services
• Mette Nyland, MD, Head of Pediatric Nephrology, Denmark
• Madhura Pradhan, MD, MBBS, Perelman School of Medicine/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Ryan Raffaelli, MD, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Rebecca Ruebner, MD, John Hopkins Medicine
• Ann Salerno, MD, University of Massachusetts /UMass Memorial Medical Center
• Rebecca Scobell, MD, Perelman School of Medicine/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Eloise Salmon, MD, University of Michigan/CS Mott Children’s Hospital
• Matthew Sampson, MD, Harvard Medical School/Boston Children’s Hospital
• Tara Sardesai, MD, Keck School of Medicine of USC/Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
• Christine Sethna, MD, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell/Cohen Children’s Medical Center
• Sheena Sharma, MD, University of Arizona/Phoenix Children’s Hospital
• Hyunbo Holly Shim, MD, Pediatrics, Private Practice
• Danielle Soranno, MD, University of Colorado School of Medicine/Children’s Hospital of Colorado
• Joann Spinale, MD, University/RWJ Barnabas Health
• Tamar Springel, MD, Chief Medical Monitor for insurance company
• Amy Strong, MD, University of Iowa
• Shamir Tuchman, MD, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Smitha Vidi, MD, UT Southwestern/Children’s Medical Center Dallas
• Leonela Villegas, MD, University of Connecticut/Connecticut Children's Specialty Group

Former fellow testimonials

“I chose to pursue Nephrology at CHOP because I knew without a doubt that I would have an excellent experience. The breadth of cases was immense, and when I graduated from fellowship I knew that I had exposure to a large variety of cases at different levels of acuity. The attendings were engaging, motivating, and invested in our learning.  The ancillary staff is terrific. I would recommend CHOP Nephrology fellowship to anyone who wants to feel comfortable that they were well-trained. It's a top-notch program!”

-Sheena Sharma, MD, class of 2016

“CHOP's nephrology fellowship provided both outstanding clinical training, and adequate protected time to perform meaningful research. This can be particularly challenging for fellows seeking to perform basic science research, however, CHOP nephrology protects senior fellows during their 2nd and 3rd year. Without this time for consistent time in lab, it would be very difficult to perform any pre-clinical studies. They also allowed me to follow my interest in bioengineering, which is where I performed by research studies. This experience was formative for me, and I still utilize the skills and materials developed from my time at Penn.”

-Danielle Soranno, MD, class of 2013

“I am so grateful for the clinical and research training I received during my fellowship at CHOP. I felt like it was the ideal place to train with a busy clinical environment both inpatient and outpatient and dedicated time as a senior fellow to focus on areas of interest. The leadership is constantly working to make the program better each year, and I now have co-fellows that will be trusted colleagues for life.”

-Becky Scobell, MD, class of 2021

“I miss my time at CHOP and learning from some of the best in the field! Would 100% go back to do my fellowship there. Great mentorship, lots of support and resources and incredible clinical experience!”

-Aadil Kakajiwala, MD, class of 2016

“I can't say enough good things about my fellowship experience. The clinical and research training were excellent, and I felt truly supported throughout my time. I made lifelong friends and mentors who I'm still in close touch with today. This experience shaped me in so many ways, and I'll always have a special place in my heart for both the program and the city of Philadelphia.”

-Amy Strong, MD, class of 2022

“I wanted to go to CHOP for my fellowship training because I knew I wanted to go somewhere where I would get robust clinical AND research training, and I was not disappointed! I felt like there was very strong mentorship from both a clinical and research standpoint, and CHOP has fantastic infrastructure for facilitating fellow research. I was also able to get my MSCE from UPenn during my fellowship time, which has been extremely useful in my early research career. The best part is that I felt absolutely supported by all the faculty and made lifetime friends with my co-fellows. It was a truly collaborative environment, and I still stay in touch with many of my CHOP colleagues to this day!”

-Wendy Bravo, MD, class of 2023

“My fellowship at CHOP provided exceptional mentorship, rigorous clinical training, and meaningful research opportunities that shaped my growth as a pediatric nephrologist. The experience opened doors to national-level opportunities and collaborations that have been instrumental in my professional development. Just as importantly, the colleagues and friends I gained during my time at CHOP are truly indispensable!”

-Lela Villegas, MD, class of 2022

Conference Schedules

Weekly

Monday

• 12 - 1:00 p.m. – Fellows’ Core Teaching
• 3 - 4:30 p.m. – Peritoneal Dialysis Patient Review

Tuesday

• 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. – Inpatient Review
• 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. – Post-Transplant Patient Review

Wednesday

• 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. – Pediatric Grand Rounds
• 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. – HUP Renal Transplant Conference
• 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. – Urology/Nephrology/Radiology Rounds

Thursday

• 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. – Hemodialysis Patient Review
• 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. – Outpatient Review
• 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. – HUP Renal Grand Rounds

Friday

• 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. – Renal Grand Rounds

How to apply

Our fellowship program participates in the ERAS universal application process. Please visit the ERAS website for an application and information about our program.

The following information should be uploaded into the ERAS program:

1. Completed on-line application
2. Current photograph (released only after interview is offered)
3. Personal statement
4. Three letters of recommendation
5. Dean's letter (MSPE)
6. Medical school transcript
7. Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the USMLE, taken within the 7-year time frame as required by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or equivalent scores
8. If a graduate of a medical school outside the United States, Canada or Puerto Rico, valid ECFMG certificate or one that does not expire prior to the start of the fellowship
9. If a not a citizen of the United States or permanent resident, copy of current, appropriate visa

The fellowship directors review completed applications. Selected candidates will then be invited to interview.

Other requirements

To carry out its mission, it is of critical importance for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to keep our patients, families and workforce safe and healthy and to support the health of our global community. CHOP requires all workforce members and trainees who work in patient care buildings or who provide patient care to receive an annual influenza vaccine. Employees may request exemption consideration for CHOP vaccine requirements for valid religious and medical reasons. Please note start dates may be delayed until candidates are fully immunized or valid exemption requests are reviewed. In addition, candidates other than those in positions with regularly scheduled hours in New Jersey, must attest to not using tobacco products.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, including Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities.  CHOP does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, or any other legally protected categories in any employment, training, or vendor decisions or programs. CHOP recognizes the critical importance of a workforce rich in varied backgrounds and experiences and engages in ongoing efforts to achieve that through equally varied and non-discriminatory means. 

Med/peds fellowship

General information

We offer a 4-year combined internal medicine and pediatrics (med/peds) fellowship program with our neighboring institution, the University of Pennsylvania. The med/peds fellow will spend their first year as a clinical adult Nephrology fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, their second year as a clinical pediatric Nephrology fellow at CHOP, and their third and fourth year focused on research with some continued clinical responsibilities in both adult and pediatric Nephrology. All four years will be supervised under both the CHOP and Penn program directors. At the successful conclusion of training, the med/peds fellow will be eligible for board certification with both the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) and American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM).

Specific information by year/rotation

Penn adult clinical year 1

Consult service: 30 weeks
Dialysis: 2 weeks
Transplant: 4 weeks
Nightfloat: 4 weeks
Elective: 8 weeks
Vacation: 4 weeks

CHOP pediatrics clinical year 2

Inpatient service: 14 weeks
Consult service: 14 weeks
Outpatient dialysis (may include adult experience): 6 weeks
Outpatient transplant: 6 weeks
Outpatient continuity clinic (may alternate with adult clinic): 5 weeks
Elective/board prep: 3 weeks
Vacation: 4 weeks

Research years 3 & 4

*Clinical activities divided between adult and pediatric Nephrology.
Inpatient service: 1 week
Consult service: 1 week
Outpatient dialysis (1/2 day per month): 1 week
Outpatient transplant (1/2 day per month): 1 week
Outpatient continuity clinic (1/2 day per week): 5 weeks
Scholarly activity (classes, research, QI, teaching): 39 weeks
Vacation: 4 weeks

Program leadership

Penn program director

Amanda Leonberg-Yoo, MD

Penn program coordinator

Laura Watabu

CHOP program director

Erum Hartung, MD, MTR

CHOP program coordinator

Jamie Jarrett

How to apply

Residents interested in applying to our med/peds fellowship program should apply to Penn Nephrology via ERAS at season opening. If selected for an interview, they will meet with both Penn and CHOP program faculty. At the conclusion of interview season, the resident will rank Penn via the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). If matched with Penn, this also means a match with CHOP, and CHOP will set aside a fellowship slot for the following academic year.