Overview

The Pediatric Advanced Hepatology Fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is a one-year ACGME accredited specialized program (established in 2010) for training of academic pediatric transplant Hepatologists. The program offers vast clinical experience in the evaluation, diagnosis, and management of primary and secondary liver diseases and focus in transplant hepatology along with opportunities to participate in innovative clinical, translational, and basic science research.

Training Tomorrow’s Leaders

Liver disease in children includes a large and growing list of distinct disorders.  With advances in research, the ability to diagnose and manage pediatric patients with diverse liver disease has improved as have liver transplant outcomes.

At CHOP, trainees work directly with experts from our Hepatology Center within the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, adult Hepatology, and Transplant surgery as well as faculty from a wide range of collaborating subspecialties (critical care, anesthesia, infectious diseases, pathology, radiology/interventional radiology, pharmacy, social work services, psychology, and others).  

Program Goals

Training is designed to accomplish the following goals:

• Train pediatric hepatologists as master clinicians to deliver effective and comprehensive medical care to children with primary or secondary liver diseases as well as in evaluation and management for liver transplantation
• Train pediatric hepatologists to be prepared for independent advanced practice in:
  • The epidemiology, pathophysiology, and natural history of pediatric liver disease
  • Evaluation and management of primary and secondary pediatric liver disease
  • Performance and interpretation of diagnostics including physical exam, laboratory evaluation, imaging modalities, liver biopsies and paracentesis and endoscopic management of esophageal varice
  • Evaluation for liver transplantation
  • Pre-, intra-, and post- operative care of liver transplant recipients
  • Evaluation and selection of deceased and living liver transplant donors
  • Administrative and policy issues in pediatric liver transplantation
  • Critical evaluation of hepatology literature
  • Psychosocial aspects of hepatology care including ethical considerations related to liver disease and transplantation
• Collaborate with leadership roles within academic settings and advocacy organizations
• Collaborate with other members of the care team, referring physicians, primary care physicians, and other providers within the national pediatric hepatology community.

Curriculum Overview

The curriculum is comprised of a variety of clinical and research experiences making up 13 blocks total and tailored to each trainee’s career goals. 

• Pediatric Hepatology inpatient service with built-in outpatient clinic time (6 blocks)
• Adult Hepatology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) (1/2 block)
• Adult Transplant Surgery at HUP (1/2 block)
• Transplant Infectious Disease at HUP (1/2 block)
• Electives such as Radiology, Pathology, Metabolism available (up to 1 block each)
• Research (up to 4-5 blocks)
• Vacation (1 block)

Fellows attend and participate in didactic and conference experiences, including weekly liver transplant team meetings, weekly adult-pediatric clinical hepatology and pediatric pathology conferences, monthly transplant clinical case review, M&M discussions, multi-disciplinary hepatobiliary tumor conference, and monthly Biesecker Liver Center Research conferences as well as CHOP transplant center quality improvement initiative meetings.   There are a variety of multi-disciplinary conferences with other teams attended on an ad hoc basis.  In addition, Fellows accompany faculty to UNOS region 2 meetings, SPLIT, AASLD, and/or ATC.

Special features:

Partnership with Penn: Trainees in this program benefit from the close relationship between the Pediatric and Adult liver programs at CHOP and Penn including joint clinical and research conferences, rounds, and research collaborations.

Partnerships within CHOP: Trainees in this program benefit from the presence of world class programs at CHOP in related areas including: 

• The genetics/metabolic disease group manages many referrals for rare disorders that result in liver disease, and which may be managed by liver transplant.
• The oncology group includes many solid tumor referrals including hepatoblastoma and other liver malignancies. In addition, our liver team collaborates in care of children with hepatotoxicity while undergoing chemotherapy and stem cell transplant.
• The Immune dysregulation team is a multi-disciplinary group of senior clinicians from Immunology, Rheumatology, Infectious disease, neurology, critical care, GI, and Hepatology. This team (which includes Dr. Tamir Diamond, transplant hepatologist) consults on complex multisystem disorders including some forms of acute liver failure.
   

How to Apply

Applicants for the Advanced Hepatology Fellowship must have completed a pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition fellowship in the United States or Canada before entering the program. Candidates from outside the U.S. or Canada require equivalent training.  Application is through ERAS/NRMP.

Prospective fellows are encouraged to contact Elizabeth Rand, MD, at rand@chop.edu with any questions regarding the program or application process.

Contact Us

Elizabeth Rand, MD
Advanced Hepatology Training Program Director
rand@chop.edu

Tiffany Bond
Program Coordinator
bondt1@chop.edu
Phone: 215-590-3247
Fax: 215-590-5326