Neonatology and Perinatology

Application Deadline	October 1
Length of Program	3 years
Program Start Date	July 5
Number of Positions Available	5

Tina Leone, MD
- Fellowship Director
- View Full Profile

Overview

The Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine (NPM) Training Program of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center provides fellows with the comprehensive training they need to become outstanding, compassionate neonatology clinicians, skilled researchers, and confident educators. The program is tailored to each individual’s interests and career goals, offering opportunities for scholarship through a wide range of activities. Graduates of our program go on to advance the field throughout their careers through leadership, research, and education.

Clinical Care

The clinical experiences available to our fellows expose them to a wide variety of neonatal problems and conditions and the full range of severity of illness. Fellows are responsible for all patients on the clinical service and develop expertise in managing neonates with any medical and surgical diagnosis. Our unique Infant Cardiac Intensive Care Unit provides fellows opportunities to manage patients with congenital heart disease throughout their initial hospitalization, both before and after surgical intervention. Through our excellence in neonatal respiratory management, fellows learn to provide care in a manner that leads to minimal long-term complications. For the sickest patients we provide extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support when traditional management is not sufficient. Fellows are integral members of the medical and surgical teams who care for all of our patients.

Research

All fellows develop a substantive individual research project and complete a scholarly product that will add to the general knowledge of their subject area and advance their academic career. Fellows are encouraged to develop a clinical, translational, or basic science research project based on their unique interests and career goals. Each fellow works with a mentor who will guide him or her through the project, and there are many opportunities for fellows to present their research at local and national meetings. The curriculum also includes activities and workshops designed to provide a background understanding of evidence-based medicine, statistical methods, as well as support for manuscript writing, grant preparation, and presentation skills. Through these activities fellows develop the skills needed for a successful academic career and for life-long learning.

Education

Throughout the program fellows have opportunities to teach other healthcare professionals with different levels of experience, and fellows are integral to the training of pediatric residents and medical students who rotate through our NICU. They learn effective communication skills that are useful in interactions with other team members and with the families of our critically ill patients.

Fellows work in multidisciplinary teams to improve our systems of healthcare delivery and ensure a safe practice environment. Every fellow participates in quality improvement projects within the NICU and participates in the patient safety activities of our unit. Fellows also practice and share their own activities that create balance in their lives and promote long-term personal well-being. From the first day of the training program, fellows are critical members of our neonatal intensive care community.

Benefits

Residents are employees of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and affiliated with Columbia University Irving Medical Center. With these affiliations come many benefits!

How to Apply

Applications to our fellowship are processed through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) system. Materials are accepted starting in July for fellowship positions beginning the following year. Those who wish to apply must be board eligible or board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. Please note that a completed application includes:

Completed ERAS forms
Three letters of recommendation, including one letter from the applicant's department chairman or residency director
Curriculum vitae
Personal statement
Additional information, such as USMLE transcript and photo, are recommended

Acceptances to the fellowship are made through the Pediatric Specialties Fall Match of the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP). Please refer to the NRMP website for details about the match submission deadline.

Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital are equal opportunity employers; applications from women and minorities are encouraged. Please note that Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital do not sponsor H1B visa trainees.

Contact

Veronica Bonfante-Luciano
Program Coordinator
212-305-8500
vb2376@cumc.columbia.edu

Current Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellows

Catherine Austin, MD
- Third-Year Fellow
Residency: McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University
Dr. Catherine “Caty” Austin completed medical school at Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University and residency at Northwestern Medicine Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. She is interested in NICU operations, particularly length of stay and implementation of generative AI tools in health care enterprises. In 2023-2024, she completed the Silverman Fellowship, focusing on technology innovation for health care systems with the Transformation Team at New York Presbyterian. Outside of the hospital she enjoys running in the many parks and along the waterways of NYC and baking for her co-fellows!
Eliza Gentzler, MD
- Third-Year Fellow
Residency: New York Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia
Dr. Eliza Gentzler completed medical school at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City and completed pediatric residency here at New York Presbyterian – Columbia. Her research interests include using data collected from bedside monitoring to predict clinical decompensation or neurological injury. On days off, she enjoys running, exploring New York City restaurants, and hanging out with her two cats.
Nicholas Puoplo, MD
- Third-Year Fellow
Residency: Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai
Dr. Nicholas “Nick” Puoplo completed medical school at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, prior to completing residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Nick is interested in connecting basic science research to clinical neonatology, specifically regarding nutrition and gastrointestinal development. When out of the hospital, Nick enjoys spending his time running, snowboarding or indoor rock climbing.
Julia Vickery, DO
- Third-Year Fellow
Residency: Loma Linda University
Dr. Julia Vickery completed medical school at the University of North Texas - Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. She then completed her pediatrics residency at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital in Southern California. Julia is interested in cardiac neonatal intensive care and congenital heart disease and her current research focuses on NEC in the premature congenital heart disease population.
Teddy John Wohlbold, MD, PhD
- Third-Year Fellow
Residency: New York Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia
Dr. Teddy John Wohlbold completed medical school at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he also obtained a PhD in microbiology studying influenza virology and vaccine design. He then matched here into the New York-Presbyterian Columbia Integrated Research Pathway where he completed his pediatric residency. He is currently researching the development of infant natural killer cells in the laboratory of Emily Mace, PhD.
Etze Chotzoglou, MD
- Second-Year Fellow
Residency: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dr. Etze Chotzoglou completed medical school at Hacettepe University School of Medicine in Ankara, Turkey. She completed her pediatric residency training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. She is interested in clinical and translational research studying neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, neonatal chronic lung disease, pulmonary hypoplasia, and their long-term outcomes.
Shaoxin Lu, MD
- Second-Year Fellow
Residency: Baylor/Texas Children’s Hospital
Dr. Shaoxin Lu completed medical school at University of Mississippi School of Medicine. She completed her pediatrics training at Baylor/Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, TX. She then completed a Pediatric Palliative Medicine fellowship at Northwestern/Lurie Children’s Hospital prior to coming to Columbia for NICU. She is interested in perinatal counseling, periviability, complex decision making.
Ami Patel, MD
- Second-Year Fellow
Residency: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Dr. Ami Patel completed medical school at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and did her pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She is interested in QI initiatives targeting sepsis and hospital-acquired infections in neonates, in addition to POCUS. When she’s not working, Ami enjoys reading, going for long walks exploring various NYC neighborhoods, and trying new restaurants!
Micha Thompson, MD
- Second-Year Fellow
Residency: New York Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia
Dr. Micha Thompson completed medical school at Weill Cornell Medicine where she was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha society. She then went on to do her pediatric residency training at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where she stayed on as chief resident. Dr. Thompson's interests are in neurodevelopment and improvement in health care systems and care delivery. On her off days, she enjoys hanging in Central Park with her daughter and going to her favorite NYC restaurants.
Megan Tagerman, MD
- Second-Year Fellow
Residency: New York Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia
Dr. Megan Tagerman completed medical school at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans. She then returned home to the Northeast for pediatrics residency at Columbia. During her time as a resident, her passion for neonatology grew and she gained clinical research experience in the field of neonatal sepsis. She chose to stay on as a neonatology fellow at Columbia with hopes of building a career in academic neonatology.
Pavani Chitamanni, MD, MBBS
- First-Year Fellow
Residency: SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Dr. Pavani Chitamanni completed medical school at Andhra Medical College in Andhra Pradesh, India and trained in pediatrics at Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) in Puducherry, India. She then completed her pediatric residency at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, New York. She is interested in neonatal hemodynamics and neonatal resuscitation, with a specific focus on the role of various human factors in neonatal resuscitation. Outside of work, she enjoys skating, indoor gardening, and Carnatic music.
Sam Kase, MD
- First-Year Fellow
Residency: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Dr. Samuel “Sam” Kase grew up in New York City and completed medical school and pediatric residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai where he stayed on as chief resident. Dr. Kase is interested in medical education, communication, periviability, and neonatal palliative medicine. When outside of the hospital, he can often be found walking his dog in Central Park!
Nicholas Santaniello, MD
- First-Year Fellow
Residency: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Dr. Nick Santaniello completed medical school at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine and did his pediatric residency and chief residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is interested in hospital systems and operations, quality improvement work, and medical education. Outside the hospital, he enjoys cooking and has recently started playing tennis.
Sheetal Sriraman, MBBS
- First-Year Fellow
Residency: Suny Downstate Health Sciences University
Dr. Sheetal Sriraman graduated from Kasturba Medical College at Manipal University in India. She completed her pediatric residency at the State University of New York, Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn. Her professional interests include medical education and the use of point-of-care ultrasound in clinical settings. She aims to enhance healthcare delivery with a focus on health equity. Outside of work, Sheetal finds joy in experimenting with different recipes, hiking, and practicing yoga.
Faith Williams, MD
- First-Year Fellow
Residency: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Dr. Faith Williams completed medical school at Washington University in St. Louis and pediatric residency at New York Presbyterian/Columbia. She is interested in ethical decision-making for peri-viable infants and infants with congenital heart disease. Outside of the hospital, she is an avid reader and ballet dancer.