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Pediatric Pulmonary Fellowship

Welcome to the Miller Children’s Hospital – UCI Pediatric Pulmonary Fellowship Program. The field of Pediatric Pulmonology is in an exciting stage of growth.  With less than 1,000 specialists in this field nationwide and increasing pulmonary disease frequency in children too young adults, the field of Pediatric Pulmonology is poised to make a great impact on millions of children and young adults across the country.  From common conditions such as asthma and exercise-induced bronchospasm to the esoteric children’s interstitial lung diseases and cystic fibrosis, Pediatric Pulmonology covers the spectrum of disease burden.  The field continues to grow in coverage of co-morbid conditions as well including myopathies, sickle cell disease, congenital heart disease, and much more.  Among the many pediatric subspecialties, Pediatric Pulmonology perhaps stands to meet the greatest need with the greatest advancements in the next decade.

The history of Pediatric Pulmonology starts with programs like ours.  Founded by Dr. Eliezer Nussbaum in the early 1980s, the Pediatric Pulmonology Fellowship Program at Miller’s Children Hospital has continuously been accredited for over 30 years.  Dr. Nussbaum, a pioneer in the field of Pediatric Pulmonology and Pediatric Intensive Care, established the training program with the core goal of training the next generation of clinicians and researchers in the field. 

Over three decades later, the fellowship program boasts alumni who practice across the United States and worldwide functioning as attendings, practitioners, and divisions chiefs of top universities.  The fellowship program is housed within one of the largest Pediatric Pulmonology divisions in the country counting over 9,000 outpatient visits per year in the pulmonary center alone. 

Director’s Message

Letter from Dr. Randhawa

"Every fellow should complete the program knowing they can advance the field of Pediatric Pulmonology."

Serving as Program Director since 2010 has been an inspiring experience.  Organizing and operating a training program in Pediatric Pulmonology is hard work with one focused goal:  Every fellow should complete the program knowing they can advance the field of Pediatric Pulmonology.  Instilling confidence during training is the key.  Confidence in clinical care, administrative skills, procedures, research and professionalism allows our fellows to leave our program and advance their careers as leaders in our field.  The training program’s philosophy drives the fellows’ 3-year experience.  While the program offers rigorous exposure to clinical and research rotations, it also is focused on your well being.  Fellows have ample time to achieve work-life balance during training.  Our program believes in training the whole person – clinician, researcher, and human.

Faculty 

Directors

Dr. Inderpal Randhawa, Medical Director
Medical School: Northwestern University Medical School
Residency: Combined Internal Medicine & Pediatrics, Loma Linda University Medical Center
Fellowship: Clinical Immunology & Allergy, UCLA School of Medicine
Fellowship: Laboratory and Transplant Immunology, UCLA School of Medicine
Fellowship: Pediatric Pulmonology, UC Irvine School of Medicine
Fellowship: Pulmonology (Adult), Specialty Pathway, ABIM
 
Dr. Eliezer Nussbaum, Fellowship Program Founder
Medical School: Sackler Medical School, Tel Aviv
Residency: The Mount Sinai Hospital Services, City Hospital Center at Elmhurst, NY
Fellowship: Pulmonary Fellow, Rainbow Babies, and Children's Hospital and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
 

Faculty 

Dr. Cyrus Shahriary
Pediatric Pulmonary/Cystic Fibrosis Medical Director- Pediatrics PFT lab
UCI Assistant Clinical Professor
Medical School: Ghazvin University of Medical Science, Ghazvin, Iran
Residency: Maimonides Infants and Children’s Hospital of Brooklyn
Fellowship:  Pediatrics Pulmonary Fellowship at UCI/ Miller Children’s Hospital
 
Dr. Jen Jen Chen
Pediatric Pulmonologist at Miller Children’s Hospital
Assistant Clinical Health Science Professor at University of Irvine
MD-Physician Data Scientist at Curai
Medical School: Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
Residency: University of California Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine
Fellowship:  University of California Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, CA
 
Dr. Elizabeth Foley
Pediatric Pulmonologist, Miller Children's Hospital
Medical School: New York Medical College
Residency: Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York/ Long Island 
Fellowship:  Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford
 
Dr. Bugsu Ovunc
Pediatric Pulmonologist, Miller Children's Hospital
Attending Physician, TPIRC
Medical School: Hacettepe University School of Medicine
Residency: Boston Children’s Combined Residency Program, Categorical Pediatrics
Fellowship: Boston Children’s Hospital, Division of Respiratory Diseases 

Affiliated Faculty 

 Dr. Stephanie Abrams
Pediatric Gastroenterologist & Hepatologist
 
Dr. Gary Feldman
Diplomate in Sleep Medicine of the American Board of Pediatrics & Medical Director, Pediatric Division
 
Dr. Christopher Babbitt
Medical Director of the PICU
 
Dr. Antoine Soliman
Medical Director of the NICU & Associate Professor of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
UCI School of Medicine
 

Clinical Sites 

Miller's children hospital & LB Memorial

Miller Children’s & Women's Hospital Long Beach provides specialized pediatric care for children and young adults, with conditions ranging from common to complex — as well as maternity care for expectant mothers — all under one roof. Only five percent of all hospitals are children’s hospitals, making them unique not only to children’s health care needs in the community, but across the region. Miller Children’s is one of only eight free-standing children’s hospitals in California.

UCI

Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy.
 

Research

Each fellow will select a primary research mentor who will chair their Scholarly Activity Oversight Committee. This individual must be approved by the program director. The research mentor should be the lead on the fellow’s research project design, implementation, and execution.

The research mentor does not have to be affiliated with UCI, Miller’s, or TPIRC. However, the research mentor will hold responsibilities toward the fellow’s scholarly activity requirement. Most fellows will select a research project and primary research mentor by the middle of their first year of training.

Curriculum 

Fellow Lecture Schedule 

The Fellows Didactic lecture series is a weekly conference designed around knowledge acquisition and teaching geared towards core topics to pediatric pulmonary practice and serves as a basis for Boards Preparation.

Topics

  • Ventilators

  • Common disorder of prematurity

  • Digital Health Care

  • Hemodynamic Physiology

  • Pulmonary Hypertension

  • Respiratory Failure

  • Pediatric Airway (ENT)

  • Cardiology considerations CPET

  • Sleep Disorder

  • Allergic Rhinitis

  • Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis (ABPA)

  • Novel Therapies

  • Bronchoscopy

  • Steroid Sparing Agents

  • Novel Therapies for CF

  • CRFLD (GI)

  • Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) (Infant & Peds)

  • Immunology

  • Chronic Respiratory Failure

  • Long Term Ventilator

  • Sickle Cell

  • Journal Club

  • Upper Airway & Immunocompromised Host

  • Cystic Fibrosis

  • Lung Primary & Secondary Immune Defense

  • Immunodeficiency

  •  Asthma (Updates)

  • Nebulized Medications, IV Antibiotics, Resistance Mechanisms

  • Hemodynamic/Lung Mechanic/High Altitude Physiology

  • Chronic Cough/Recurrent Pulmonary Infiltrate
    Radiology Conference

The Radiology Department at Miller’s remains dedicated to the care of our patients and the education of our fellows. Aside from an “open door” consultation policy on any patient, fellows regularly interact with the director of Pediatric Radiology, Dr. Son Nguyen.

CT, MRI, reconstructive imaging, and ultrasound are all reviewed in didactic sessions on a monthly basis with Dr. Nguyen or his colleagues. Understanding radiology is complex. Mastering the skill of radiologic interpretation is achieved by the end of fellowship allowing our graduates to succeed in real-world practice.

Grand rounds

Grand Rounds occur every Friday at Miller’s year-round. The Pulmonary Division comprises 20% of all Grand Rounds presentations. Our attendings, with their diverse backgrounds, are subject matter experts nationally on a variety of pulmonary topics. In addition, we regularly invite scholars in the field of pulmonary to present at Grand Rounds. Fellows’ attendance is mandatory. However, the quality of presentations and didactics of Grand Rounds is such that it’s a no-miss event for many trainees at the institution.

Clinical Pathological Conference

The Clinical Pathological Conference (CPC) is a highlight of every fellow’s time at Miller’s. The CPC highlights the age-old model of medical training during which an entire department learns of a complex disease through the presentation of clinical pathology. Each fellow selects, prepares, and presents at least one CPC during the fellowship. The goal of the CPC is to utilize a single patient case and present the complexity of the case from the bedside to biopsy and from treatment to outcome.

Western States Pediatric Pulmonary Case Studies

The University of Arizona Pediatric Pulmonary Center facilitates the monthly Western States Pediatric Pulmonary Case Study for pediatric pulmonologists, fellows, and trainees. These case studies have grown from only including the Western States to national and international participants. Each month there is a new presenter from one of the participating institutions.

Application Process

All applications for the fellowship training program must be submitted through ERAS and must consist of at least the following:
  • Fellowship application (via ERAS)
  • Personal Statement
  • Curriculum
  • Three letters of recommendations
  • Dean’s Letter
  • A copy of your USMLE score(s)
  • Medical School Transcript
  • ECFMG Statues Report (for international medical graduates)
     

All documentation must be received before an applicant’s file is reviewed. Applicant files are processed in the order which they are received. Program staff begin interviewing potential candidates in mid-August and continue through the end of September. For questions regarding ERAS, please contact myeras@aamc.org or (202) 862-6264. We participate in the National Resident Matching Program’s (NRMP) Fall Pediatric Subspecialties match.

Current Fellows

Fellows 

Dr. Yaron Fireizen
Medical School: St. George's University School of Medicine
Residency: Flushing Hospital Medical Center, NY
Why UCI/MCH: I chose a pulmonary fellowship program at Miller Children’s Hospital because of its extensive and diverse exposure to a wide variety of pulmonary related conditions - from the most basic to the most complex.  The level of mentorship provided to the fellow is like no other; from clinical to research there is ample support and encouragement to pursue my interests.

Dr.  Nastasia Nianiaris
Medical School: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Residency: Pediatrics: BronxCare Health System
Why UCI/MCH:I chose a Pediatric Pulmonary Fellowship at Miller Children's Hospital because I'm pursuing a career in medicine that provides hands-on elements with strong intellectual and problem-solving components. With a fully equipped pulmonary lab and exposure to diverse and rare pathologies, this fellowship promises just that experience. Additionally, the program leadership is strong, supportive, and motivating. My attendings are quickly becoming mentors, constantly asking what I want from my career, and tailoring the learning experience to encourage refining my strengths and developing strategies to progress my weaknesses. It's very clear that fellows function as an integral and respected part of the team. I look forward to meeting all my patients, fostering trusting personal and professional relationships, and immersing myself in all the learning opportunities, cultural experiences, and Southern California sunshine this position has to offer. May I grow to become the mentors I've met here and the best possible Pediatric Pulmonologist.
Dr.  Dibanni Vasquez
Medical School: The University of Iberoamerican University, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Residency: Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center Pediatric Residency,Bronx, New York

Why UCI/MCH: I chose UCI\MCH because I wanted to be involved in all aspects of the care continuum, create long-term relationships with patients and physicians, help the underserved, be involved with community health programs, and be alongside fellows with diverse interests, backgrounds, and career goals.

Contact Us

For more information about applying to our pulmonary fellowship program, please contact:
Angel Arvizu (for Dr. Eliezer Nussbaum, Pulmonary Fellowship Director)
Pulmonary Fellowship Coordinator
2801 Atlantic Ave., ground floor
Long Beach, CA 90806
562-933-8749/8748
aarvizu@memorialcare.org

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