Johns Hopkins All Chidren's Hospital Pediatric BMT Fellowship

The Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) fellowship is a one-year program designed to train the next generation of leaders in BMT.

Innovative Learning Environment

The Johns Hopkins All Children’s pediatric BMT fellowship program offers an innovative, collaborative, personalized and learner-centric environment. Fellows will develop superior skills in delivering family-engaged patient care through a systems-based model, advocating for safety, quality and value-based care, and in advancing scientific research and investigation.

The Johns Hopkins All Children’s Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute includes Florida’s largest pediatric blood and bone marrow transplantation program. Our program has excellent outcomes for children who need stem cell transplants to treat leukemia, lymphoma, immunodeficiency syndromes and other forms of cancer and blood diseases.

Our program was one of the first pediatric centers in the United States to offer “reduced intensity” transplants in an effort to minimize the toxic effects of radiation and chemotherapy. We perform hematopoietic stem cell transplants and were the first certified pediatric center in Florida to offer CD19 directed chimeric antigen receptor T (CART-T) cell therapy and we perform more CAR-T procedures on children than any other center in the state.

Our program provides a full range of blood and marrow transplant services, including stem cell sources (bone marrow, peripheral blood and cord blood) as well as donor types (haploidentical, unrelated and related). 

Our simulation center will expose Johns Hopkins All Children’s BMT fellows to state-of-the-art simulation experiences with the most advanced technology available for simulation-based learning.

Research and Investigation

The Johns Hopkins All Children’s BMT fellowship program provides the fellow a range of opportunities to pursue clinical, integrative basic science and translational research, as well as quality improvement and educational scholarship.

Our Clinical and Translational Research Training Track and other mentoring programs support residents, fellows and junior faculty on a pathway toward independent, successful investigation in clinical and translational research in child health and disease. 

BMT fellows have access to research collaborations with a variety of key entities, including but not limited to: 

  • Johns Hopkins Medicine: Trainees have access to the resources and infrastructure of the entire organization, including collaboration with our colleagues in Baltimore.
  • Moffitt Cancer Center: We are the only pediatric affiliate of Moffitt, an internationally recognized cancer center located in Tampa and Florida’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated comprehensive cancer center. We share their accreditation with the Foundation for Accreditation of Cellular Therapies (FACT). Trainees will have access to Moffitt clinical and research collaborations and will spend time on their campus in a clinical capacity.
  • Primary Immune Deficiency Treatment Consortium (PIDTC): Johns Hopkins All Children’s is one of 43 centers participating in the PIDTC. The PIDTC is a collaboration of North American centers studying therapy for rare primary immune deficiency diseases (PIDs), including severe combined immune deficiency (SCID), Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) and chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). Additionally, our program collaborates closely with USF Immunology and has a combined regularly scheduled BMT/Immunology clinic to manage PID patients pre- and post-transplant.

Our BMT fellowship program also has access to the only pediatric biorepository in Florida that is accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP). The overall vial storage capacity is up to 3 million tube samples. 

Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute Overview

The Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital treats common and rare pediatric cancers and blood disorders and offers patients a wide range of therapies, including cutting-edge immunotherapy such as our CAR-T cell therapy program using Tisagenlecleucel, and access to the latest clinical and pharmaceutical trials across multiple consortiums.

Our oncology and hematology programs take a whole-team approach to treating cancer and blood disorders. We work alongside specialists and subspecialists across our hospital, including social workers, Child Life specialists, a psychologist, oncology nurses, pharmacists, patient educators and nutritionists and are ready to meet a patient's needs all in one location.

We understand the complex physical and emotional needs of children with cancer and blood disorders. 

We participate in clinical trials and are committed to scientific research. Our affiliation with The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore connects us to even more clinical trials and emerging cures for childhood cancer. We are also members of the Children’s Oncology Group, the world’s most experienced organization in the clinical development of new therapies and treatments for children with cancer; as well as the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Treatment Consortium.

At a Glance

  • Duration: 1 year
  • Fellows per year: 1
  • Location: Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, a 259-bed academic medical center in St. Petersburg, Florida
  • Average BMTs per year: 30
  • CAR-Ts in FY20: 17

Application Information

Requirements:

  • Successful completion of ACGME-accredited General Pediatric Residency
  • Planned completion of ACGME-accredited Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship
  • Board certification in General Pediatrics
  • Board eligible or board certified in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
  • Eligible to obtain a Florida Medical License

Interested applicants should email the following information to the program coordinator:

  • Letter of Interest — Personal statement describing qualifications and career goals
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Dean’s Letter/Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE)
  • Medical school transcript
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Photograph (optional)
  • USMLE scores (Step 1, 2 CK and CS, and 3), or COMLEX (Level 1, 2 CE and PE, and 3), or MCCQE (Exams 1 and 2)
  • ECFMG certificate number (if applicable)

NOTE: J1 Visa sponsorship is not available at this time.

To apply, please use our online application form at the link below.

Pediatric BMT Fellowship Application



Program Director

Deepakbabu Chellapandian, M.D.

Bone Marrow Transplant

Dr. Chellapandian is the division chief of blood and marrow transplant and specializes in bone marrow transplant as a hematologist-oncologist and serves as director of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy for Non-Malignant Conditions (CCGNC) in the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute. He joined the hospital staff in 2017. Dr. Chellapandian earned his medical degree from Madurai Medical College and then trained at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, both in India. He completed a residency in pediatrics at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Chellapandian completed a pediatric hematology-oncology and bone marrow transplantation fellowship at Hospital for Sick Children/University of Toronto in Canada and an advanced fellowship on bone marrow transplantation and cellular therapy at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

View Deepakbabu Chellapandian’s Bio

Deepakbabu Chellapandian, M.D.

Fellow

Krista Grinde, D.O.

Dr. Krista Grinde is a graduate of the pediatric blood and marrow transplant fellowship program, class of 2023. She is currently a board certified Pediatric Hematologist Oncologist, specializing in BMT at the University of Iowa Health Care.

Krista Grinde, D.O.