Innovations in Pediatric Surgery Fellowship Program
The Division of Pediatric Surgery at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford offers a non-ACGME accredited, fully-funded 1-2 year fellowship. This program is designed for highly motivated mid- or post-general surgery residency candidates interested in becoming successful, independent basic or clinical investigators, and future leaders in academics.
The main objective for the fellowship is to graduate individuals who will advance the field of pediatric surgery. Fellows will develop and conduct high-quality research protocols under the guidance of experienced faculty with advanced degrees in basic science and clinical investigation. At the completion of the fellowship, participants will have gained hands-on experience in local, regional and national research, presentation of research results at high-profile professional meetings and publications in peer-reviewed journals.
Our diverse faculty allows for the development of a variety of clinical and basic science research interests, reflecting the general nature of our specialty. More specifically: minimal access surgery and endoscopy, bariatric surgery, fetal therapy, short bowel syndrome, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, necrotizing enterocolitis, surgical oncology, vascular anomalies, and large databases analyses such as NSQIP-Pediatrics. The fellowship is intended to include 70% of research time and 30% of clinical time, and the fellow should work less than 80 hours a week. The Program Coordinator and the Program Director (Samrawit Gebregziabher and James Dunn, MD respectively) will be in charge of monitoring works hours.
Examples of clinical time include:
- Scrubbing in the operating room for selected cases related to research projects.
- Participating in selected outpatient specialty clinics.
- Enrolling patients for clinical trials and participating in the clinical care associated with them.
- Call schedule participation: Many of the studies we perform include patients that come in after hours, in a more unpredictable fashion, i.e. gastroschisis management, operative versus non operative management of appendicitis, research in trauma, fetal therapy, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, necrotizing enterocolitis, etc.
- The fellow will also participate in our weekly division meeting that includes our Core Course didactic session, Journal Club, Morbidity and Mortality conference, and different subspecialty conferences with the Radiology, Pathology, and Gastrointestinal services.
Eligibility
Applicants should have completed at least the PGY-3 year with a minimum of 3 years in an ACGME-accredited general surgery residency program by the start of the fellowship. A current curriculum vitae, a statement of interest, and one letter of recommendation from the candidate's current program director or chair are required. Prior experience with statistical software (i.e. SAS/SPSS) is preferred.
Goals
During the fellowship, the graduate should:
- present their work in national/international meetings
- publish their results in the pediatric surgery literature
- gain clinical experience in the field of pediatric surgery
- advance the field of pediatric surgery
Current Fellows
Pamela Emengo, MD
Pamela Emengo, MD, is currently serving as a Innovation Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Division of Pediatric Surgery. She obtained her MD degree from the Jacobs School of Medicine in New York and presently holds the position of a general surgery resident at Mount Sinai in New York.
Pamela's research focuses on the convergence of technology, clinical methodologies, and translational approaches to address contemporary challenges within the realm of pediatric surgery. Simultaneously, she is enrolled in a Master's in Public Health program at the University of California, Berkeley.
Following the completion of her dedicated research period, Pamela intends to resume her residency and subsequently pursue a pediatric surgery fellowship, aiming to further enhance her expertise in the field.
Norah Liang, MD
Norah Liang, MD, is a general surgery resident at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is currently completing her Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Longaker lab and serving as an Innovation Pediatric Research Fellow in the Division of Pediatric Surgery. Originally from Long Island, NY, Norah earned her AB in Chemistry from Harvard University and her MD from UCSF.
Her diverse research background includes prior work on translational research involving targeted cancer chemotherapeutics and outcomes research in cardiac and pediatric surgery. Norah aspires to become a pediatric surgeon, with a keen interest in exploring the surgical applications of fibrosis. Outside of her professional pursuits, she enjoys running, baking, and exploring farmer's markets.
Helene Nepomuceno, MD
Helene is a clinical and research postdoctoral fellow through the Stanford Innovations in Pediatric Surgery program. She received her B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX where she completed her thesis on the role of tight junction proteins in the structural reorganization of epithelial cells. She received her medical degree from the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine and recently completed her residency in general surgery at Sunrise Consortium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Helene is an aspiring pediatric surgeon dedicating the next chapter of her training to further developing her skills in research and contributing to the understanding and treatment of pediatric surgical diseases. She has a background in health policy, leadership, and advocacy and looks forward to combining her interests in a career spent advocating in and out of the operating room, through policy, and through innovation aimed at improving health for the littlest of patients.
Carly Celebrezze, MD
Carly is a postdoctoral research fellow within the Division of Pediatric Surgery at Stanford. She received her B.S. in Human Physiology at the University of Oregon. For her thesis, she studied the pulmonary function of adults with a history of very preterm birth. She then received an MSc in Global Health and Development at University College London in the U.K.
While there, she worked with a civil society organization in India to evaluate the socioeconomic factors impacting childhood stunting. Upon return to the U.S., she worked at a community health center in central Washington, expanding healthcare provided to migrant farmworkers and underserved populations. She received her MD from Washington State University. She is a now a general surgery resident at the University of Kentucky. While at Stanford, she will be working on utilizing springs in different capacities to lengthen bowel with the aim of improving the quality and longevity of life in children with short bowel syndrome. Upon completion of her postdoctoral research fellowship, she will return to Kentucky to complete residency. She aspires to pursue pediatric surgery fellowship.
Contact Us
For more information about the Pediatric Surgery Fellowship Training Program, please contact:
Samrawit Gebregziabher
Pediatric Surgery Fellowship Coordinator
(650) 723-6439
