Contact Us

Program Director, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program
Fernando F. Corrales Medina, MD
Email: [email protected]

Program Coordinator, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program
Aliana Valenzuela
Phone: (305) 585-4017
Email: [email protected]

Application Information

Eligibility:
We participate in the National Resident Matching Program. All of our categorical and advanced training class positions are filled through the NRMP. We do not offer out-of-match positions.

How to Apply:
Applications are accepted via the Electronic Residency Application System.

Deadline:
Applications are accepted from July to November. Interviews are held from August to November.

Call Schedule

First-year fellows have weekend-calls, twice a month. Second and third year fellows have weekend calls, once a month. There are no in-house calls.

Locations

Jackson Memorial Hospital

1611 N.W. 12th Avenue

Miami, FL 33136

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Holtz Children’s Hospital

1611 N.W. 12th Avenue

Miami, FL 33136

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Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

1475 N.W. 12th Avenue

Miami, FL 33136

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Possible Additional Locations

Fellows may rotate/consult at additional locations, including, but not limited to:

Jackson North Medical Center

160 N.W. 170th Street

North Miami Beach, FL 33169

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Program Requirements

Medical Licensing Examination:
All applicants must successfully complete Steps 1, 2 and 3 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination prior to acceptance into the program.

Postgraduate Training:
There is postgraduate training required in the form of an ACGME-accredited pediatric residency training program. Applicants must already be enrolled in a pediatric program or have completed their pediatric program prior to the start of the fellowship program.

Visas

The J1-Visa: Alien Physician Program, sponsored by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, is the standard visa for residents/fellows who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

For specific program eligibility/qualifications or additional information, please contact:

Lourdes Boet
Hospital Services Supervisor
Physician Services Department

Jackson Health System
1611 N.W. 12 Ave. ACC West L101
Miami, FL 33136-1122
Phone: 305-355-1122
Fax: 305-355-1123
Email: [email protected]

Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Fellowship

Mission & Vision

Our vision at the University of Miami’s Department of Pediatrics is to be one of the preeminent nationally and internationally recognized leaders in innovative education, research, scholarship and clinical care in pediatric hematology-oncology. We offer comprehensive treatment and consultation to our patients, their families and the community. We also provide outstanding mental health education and multidisciplinary training to the next generation of child psychiatrists and investigators.

Mission & Vision

Our vision at the University of Miami’s Department of Pediatrics is to be one of the preeminent nationally and internationally recognized leaders in innovative education, research, scholarship and clinical care in pediatric hematology-oncology. We offer comprehensive treatment and consultation to our patients, their families and the community. We also provide outstanding mental health education and multidisciplinary training to the next generation of child psychiatrists and investigators.

Program Director’s Welcome

The University of Miami/Jackson Health System Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Program is a fully accredited three-year program with an emphasis on diverse clinical and research opportunities in benign hematology, malignant hematology, pediatric oncology and pediatric bone marrow transplantation, with an emphasis in academic medicine.

Program Director’s Welcome

The University of Miami/Jackson Health System Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Program is a fully accredited three-year program with an emphasis on diverse clinical and research opportunities in benign hematology, malignant hematology, pediatric oncology and pediatric bone marrow transplantation, with an emphasis in academic medicine.

One of the main goals of our program is that all fellows are exposed to basic (lab/bench) and clinical research during their three years of training. Scholarly activity is emphasized and there is global support for fellow-initiated clinical projects, academic journal submissions and more. In addition, second-year fellows attend a six-month didactic course covering the basics of scholarly activity within an academic milieu. The fellow also serves as the inpatient attending (with supervision) at the end of the third year, as a benchmark opportunity to demonstrate clinical competence and potential for independent practice. The existence of both sickle cell and hemophilia/thrombosis programs also provides access to special populations, as well as to the gamut of clinical trials affiliated with the benign hematology field.

Our health system is home to the world-class Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and UM Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine’s Hemophilia Treatment Center, the only pediatric and adult, federally supported, HTC in South Florida.

In addition to the access of, and practice in, outstanding centers of care, the geographic location of the program affords trainees a uniquely diverse patient population. With the expanded catchment area extending to the Caribbean and South and Central America, the situation provides additional experiences as the trainees learn how to navigate the needs of the different demographic populations in both a county hospital (Jackson Memorial Hospital) and private institution (UHealth Tower) setting.

-Fernando F. Corrales Medina, MD

Description

Our health system is home to the world-class Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and UM Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine’s Hemophilia Treatment Center, the only pediatric and adult, federally supported, HTC in South Florida.

In addition to the access of, and practice in, outstanding centers of care, the geographic location of the program affords trainees a uniquely diverse patient population. With the expanded catchment area extending to the Caribbean and South and Central America, the situation provides additional experiences as the trainees learn how to navigate the needs of the different demographic populations in both a county hospital (Jackson Memorial Hospital) and private institution (UHealth Tower) setting.

-Fernando F. Corrales Medina, MD

Philanthropic Benefactor

The Pediatric Hematology-Oncology fellowship is funded in part by The Allen Family Foundation. Committed leaders in the South Florida community and multi-generational supporters of the UHealth-Jackson mission, the Allens specifically selected this program to celebrate its clinical excellence and the profound role that its fellows play in saving the lives of vulnerable children.

Fast Facts

Accreditation

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education

Number of Fellows per Year?

1

Duration of Fellowship?

3 years

Program Highlights

Only NCI-designated cancer center in South Florida

Only pediatric & adult, federally supported, hemophilia treatment center in South Florida

Largest sickle-cell program in South Florida

Clinical Experience

Overview

Although most of the clinical rotations for our hematology-oncology/blood and marrow transplant program take place during the first year of fellowship training, clinical training in pediatric hematology-oncology occurs throughout all three years. Thus, under the supervision and guidance of the faculty, fellows will assume graded responsibility as educational experience and procedural skills increase.

Year 1

Clinical experiences will be comprised of 97 percent clinical rotations during the first year. Research exposure will comprise 3 percent of the trainee’s effort during the first year.
The first-year fellow will be expected to have a direction for their primary research project by the sixth month of their first year. They should have identified an area of study (sickle cell disease, leukemia, etc.) and a potential mentor. With this purpose, the first-year fellow will have a two-week “research block” during the second-half of the year to allow them to focus on developing their primary and secondary projects. Unscheduled clinical time during the outpatient/elective months are also to be spent focusing on upcoming research plans.

Years 2-3:

Clinical experiences will be comprised of 35 percent clinical exposure during the second and third years (continuity clinic, inpatient rotations and weekend/night calls). Research exposure will comprise 65 percent of the trainee’s effort during the second and third years.
Three months after the beginning of the second year of training, the fellow will present their research project to the Scholarship Oversight Committee for additional vetting and approval. This group will provide guidance for fellows in their progress throughout the research project.

Educational & Other Experience

There are formal educational offerings mostly every day of the week during the academic year.
Core curriculum lectures are presented by the faculty, fellows (with the supervision of a faculty member) or an invited speaker from outside divisions. Topics include core faculty presentations (reviews of topics, discussion of individual research), outside presentations – hemophilia physical therapy, pain center, palliative care and radiation oncology, among others. Additionally, there is journal club and fellow-lead topical discussions, as well as discussions led by the representatives of the Miami Clinical and Translational Science Institute which are intended to present an approach which will allow fellows to critically analyze academic articles and publications.
Tumor board occurs every two weeks with a site disease specific group meeting (involving presentations and discussions with in-house faculty, members of the department and visiting faculty) held for a half hour at the end of each tumor board. Selected cases from either the inpatient or outpatient areas are presented by the fellows (with the supervision of the faculty with more expertise on that area). The presentations include a brief overview of the disease under consideration. The designated faculty discussants – either from hematology/oncology or an outside specialty – are expected to provide more background into the options for management, as well as their experiences with similar cases.
All fellows are also encouraged to attend grand rounds/seminars scheduled at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, which will also provide an avenue for identifying a research/lab mentor.

Research

Approximately 70 percent of the hematology-oncology fellow’s effort will be focused on research.
All fellows are expected to create a primary research project – bench or clinical – under the mentorship of one of the hematology-oncology faculty members. In addition, there needs to be a secondary project. A goal for the program is that all fellows have basic lab/bench exposure during their three years.
Fellows are expected to create their primary project, and are responsible for consents, institutional review board submission and recruitment, if applicable. Each fellow is expected to have a manuscript ready for journal submission by graduation. There is also the expectation that either, or both, the primary and the secondary project will allow the fellow to prepare abstracts and posters for submission to one of the national meetings. Fellows will be also encouraged and supported by program directors, as well as by division attendings, to identify patients for case reports and poster sessions at national/scholarly meetings.

Resident Scholarly Activity Program

All fellows will participate in this well-organized program in which, through a series of online and live sessions, they are taught to navigate the academic process, gaining understanding of what is necessary to create, research and institute a research project. All fellows are expected to produce an extra manuscript appropriate for publication as a consequence of this program.

Your Faculty

Warren Alperstein, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation

Ofelia Alvarez, MD
Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Director, Pediatric Sickle Cell Program
Co-Director of University of Miami Sickle Cell Center

Julio C. Barredo, MD
Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine, and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Toppel Family Endowed Chair and Director, Division of Pediatric Hematology- Oncology
Director, Children’s Cancer Programs at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Fernando F. Corrales Medina, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Director, Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Program
Medical Co-Director, Pediatric Hemophilia Program, Hemophilia Treatment Center

Dr. David Crawford, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Director, Pediatric Stem Cell Transplantation

Dr. Joanna Davis, MD
Associate Director, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program
Associate Professor, Clinical Pediatrics
Medical Director, Pediatric Hemophilia Program, Hemophilia Treatment Center

Aditi Dhir, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Director, Pediatric Phase I program
Director, Pediatric Cancer Predisposition Clinic

Dr. Bradley Gampel, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Pediatric and AYA Neuro-Oncology Program

Dr. E. Dela Ziga, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Director, Bone Marrow Transplant Fellowship Program

Alumni Placements Include:

Broward General Health System
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine

Alumni Placements Include:

Broward General Health System
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine