Primary Care Research in Community Health

Columbia University offers an exciting two-year fellowship program in general medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine focusing on urban community health. The Primary Care Clinician Research Fellowship in Community Health is a collaborative effort of the Divisions of Child and Adolescent Health and the Center for Family and Community Medicine, the Mailman School of Public Health, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. This fellowship provides a strong academic and clinical foundation for primary care physicians who will dedicate their careers to caring for poor minority children, adolescents, and adults, while also leading the campaign to reduce health disparities.

This fellowship focuses on health disparities and community health research and entails the following:

• Advanced training in research skills including completion of research projects and a publishable manuscript(s) in urban community health
• Pursuit of a Masters of Science in epidemiology at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
• Core didactic curriculum in fellows' meetings consisting of research skills and academic development
• Clinical practice and teaching of primary care in an urban underserved community in New York City

Research

Each fellow is assigned to a research advisor and a mentor within the Divisions of General Medicine and Child and Adolescent Health and the Center for Family and Community Medicine.

Fellows will be expected to present their work at regional and national meetings and prepare at least one publishable manuscript. Examples of recent project topics conducted by fellows include the following:

• Mental health
• Cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary disease
• Immunizations
• Diabetes
• Immigrant health
• Stroke
• Health services research
• Obesity
• Medical education
• Medical home
• Breastfeeding
• Child abuse

Research training may focus on core disciplines, including health services research, health disparities, epidemiology, and community health. Fellows have the opportunity to draw on the linkages between the three primary care programs, Columbia University's NIH-funded CTSA, the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, and the Northern Manhattan Center of Excellence on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NOCEMHD), which is a National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) EXPORT center.

Mailman School of Public Health

The completion of a graduate research degree at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health is a centerpiece of our program. Mailman was one of the first schools of public health in the nation. It is committed to addressing health needs locally, in Washington Heights and Harlem, as well as globally through research, education, and service. Mailman also has outstanding research and degree programs in epidemiology, biostatistics, population family health, health administration, sociomedical sciences, and environmental health. The master's coursework provides a strong core curriculum in theory and quantitative and qualitative methods that are critical to a primary care research career. Our collaboration with Mailman allows our fellowship trainees to receive advanced training in public health and opportunities for shared research.

Fellows Meetings

Fellows take part in biweekly fellows' meetings, where they can present their research at various stages of development and learn skills related to statistical software, research ethics, manuscript preparation, grant writing, and job planning.

Clinical Practice

The Divisions of General Medicine and Child and Adolescent Health and the Center for Family and Community Medicine have a well-established network of primary care practices staffed by faculty and residents committed to community health. Each of these community health centers is located in an urban, underserved community. Fellows will join one of our practices where they will see patients independently and precept residents and medical students. Fellows will see patients for two clinical sessions a week. Starting midway through their first year fellows begin to co-precept residents as well. Fellows also have an option to spend two weeks co-attending on the inpatient wards.

The Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) funds the fellowship. Federal guidelines restrict the fellowship to US citizens and permanent residents. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from underrepresented minorities. In addition to MD applicants, we also accept PhD applicants interested in primary care-related research.

How to Apply

Positions are available for July following the application date. Interviews are granted on a rolling basis; the deadline for submission is October 15.

Interested candidates should fill out the application form here, and email the following items to Melissa Stockwell, MD, MPH:

• A personal statement of no more than 500 words that includes the background, interests, and career goals of the applicant
• A curriculum vitae, with emphasis on research experiences
• Two letters of recommendation from faculty members (a letter from the chairman of the Department of Medicine/Pediatrics/Family Medicine, as per field, or residency program director is recommended)

Applications should be addressed as follows:

Pediatric candidates
Melissa Stockwell MD, MPH
mss2112@columbia.edu
Division of Child and Adolescent Health, Columbia University
622 West 168th St, VC417, New York, NY 10032
Tel (212) 305-6227
Fax (212) 305-8819

Internal Medicine candidates
Steven Shea MD, MS
ss35@columbia.edu
Division of General Medicine, Columbia University
630 West 168th St, PH 15, New York, NY 10032
Tel (212) 305-9379
Fax (212) 305-9349

Family Medicine candidates
Richard Younge, MD, MPH
rgy2103@columbia.edu
Center for Family and Community Medicine, Columbia University
630 West 168th St, PO Box 100, New York, NY 10032
Tel (212) 304-7244
Fax (212) 544-1938

Current Fellows

Jennifer Warmingham
General Pediatrics
2023-present
PhD Clinical Psychology, University of Rochester
Doctoral Clinical Internship (Child & Adolescent Track), University of Rochester Medical Center

Ines Robles Aponte
General Medicine
2022-present
Residency: Mt Sinai Medical Center

Margo Fingeret
General Pediatrics
2024-present
Residency: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)

Past Fellows

Anjali Vora, 2022-2024
General Pediatrics
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, NY

Danielle Rome, 2022-2024
General Medicine
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY

Amanda Esteves, 2021-2023 (joint with Patient Safety fellowship)
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, NY

Arielle Elmaleh-Sachs, 2020-2022
Assistant Professor of Medicine, and of Population Health, New York University, New York, NY

Nadia Liyange-Don, 2019-2021
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY

Rebecca Leeds, 2019-2021
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY

Morgan Finkel, 2018-2020
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, NY

Kelsey Bryant, 2018-2020
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Mt Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY

Marguerite Costich 2017-2019
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, NY

Rosa Mendoza 2017-2019
Assistant Professor and Clerkship Director, Family Medicine, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University, Assistant Director, JFK Family Medicine Residency Program

Hye Gi Shim, 2017-2019
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY

Vanessa Scott 2016-2018
Clinical Assistant Professor, University of California, San Diego Division of Academic General Pediatrics, San Diego, CA

Allison Crawford 2016-2018
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Section of General Internal Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Mindy Brittner 2015-2017 (joint with Adolescent fellowship)
Core Faculty, Harlem Residency in Family Medicine, The Family HealthCenter of Harlem, The Institute for Family Health, New York, NY

Sharon Rikin, 2015-2017
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Associate Director for Ambulatory QI, Department of Medicine, New York, NY

Hima Ekanadham, 2014-2016
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY

Cristina Fernandez, 2014-2016
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, NY

Nathalie Moise, 2013-2015
Associate Professor of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY

Noe’ Romo, 2012-2014
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein Medical Center, Director of the Jacobi Medical Center Pediatric Violent Trauma Follow up Clinic and of the Community Violence Prevention Initiative, New York, NY

Urmi Desai, 2012-2014
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY

Negar Aliabadi, 2012-2014
Medical Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA

Elizabeth Oelsner, 2011-2013
Associate Professor of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY

Jessica Singer, 2010-2012
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY

Rhea Powell, 2010-2012
Associate Professor of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA

Jonathan Shaffer, 2010-2012
Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Colorado, Denver, CO

Jennifer Chuang, 2010-2012 (joint with Adolescent fellowship)
Section Chief, Adolescent Medicine, St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, Paterson, NJ

Ayesha Siddiqui, 2009-2011
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY

Dana Sirota, 2009-2011
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, NY

Annika Hofstetter, 2009-2011
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, WA

Carrie Bernstein, 2009-2011 (joint with Adolescent fellowship)
Instructor in Pediatrics, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA (Last academic position)

Maya Rom Korin, 2008-2010
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Environmental Medicine & Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, NY

Omolara Thomas Uwemedimo, 2008-2011
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine; Director, Pediatric Global Health Program Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York; Associate Program Director, Global Health Track, General Pediatrics Residency Program at North Shore- LIJ Health System, Great Neck, NY