Johns Hopkins Transplant Nephrology Fellowship

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Application Process

Thank you for your interest in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Transplant Nephrology Fellowship Program.

If you are interested in applying, please email Dr. Divyanshu Malhotra at [email protected], Transplant Nephrology Fellowship Program Director, and Mrs. Terri Lynn Hennel at [email protected], Fellowship Program Coordinator, after May 15 and attach the following items:

• Resume
• One-page personal statement
• Letter of good standing from your current Program Director
• Two letters of recommendations

We receive applications after May 15. We conduct our interviews in July, August, and September.

If you have any questions, please contact the Transplant Fellowship Program Director, Dr. Divyanshu Malhotra at [email protected].

Mission

We aim to provide comprehensive training in transplant nephrology to feed the national transplant workforce with physicians well-equipped to provide high quality patient care, promote innovation, advance transplant research, and severe as future leaders in the transplant community. 

Description

History:  

The transplant nephrology fellowship program has been accredited by the American Society of Nephrology and American Society of Transplantation (ASN/AST) since 2003. The training is complementary to the ACGME-accredited general nephrology fellowship. The Kidney, Pancreas, Heart, Liver, and Lung transplantation programs are UNOS-certified.

Duration:

The Transplant Nephrology Fellowship at Johns Hopkins is one year duration. Academic year starts July 1 and ends on June 30. Off cycle applicants are considered on case by case basis. 

Positions:

1-2 per academic year.  

Requirements: 

• The applicant must be board-certified or board-eligible in Internal Medicine and Nephrology by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) or an equivalent body if the applicant is an international scholar.  

• Individuals should have completed or be completing an American College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) fellowship in general nephrology or its equivalent if the applicant is an international scholar.

Facilities: 

The Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Transplant Center (CTC) performs an average of 220 kidney transplants and 5-10 kidney-pancreas transplants yearly.  We follow over 3000 kidney and kidney-pancreas transplant patients in the outpatient center. Transplant Nephrology is the primary renal consultant for solid organ transplant recipients.   The average yearly number of these other solid organ transplants performed is:  Liver (100), Lung (25), and Heart (20).

Transplant Nephrology Teaching Staff

Curriculum

Clinical Curriculum

Inpatient Curriculum: 24 weeks

During the inpatient time, the transplant fellow will gain experience in the following clinical areas: 

• Fresh Kidney and Kidney/Pancreas Transplants: 
  • Preoperative evaluation and preparation of transplant recipients and donors.
  • Immediate post-operative management of transplant recipients, including administration of immunosuppressive medications and transplant induction protocols
  • Diagnosis and management of delayed graft function
  • Post-transplant dialytic management 
• Primary Renal Transplant Service: 
  • Gain experience in the medical management of rejection, including use of immunosuppressive medications (pharmacology and risks) and other modalities (i.e. plasmapheresis)
  • Recognize and manage the surgical and non-surgical complications of transplantation including the differential diagnosis of acute and chronic graft dysfunction
  • Diagnose and manage acute and long-term infectious complications of solid organ transplantation.
  • Diagnose and manage long-term non-infectious complications (hematologic, cardiovascular, and metabolic) of kidney/kidney-pancreas transplant recipients in the inpatient setting.
  • Education and leadership objectives:
    • The transplant fellow will have teaching responsibilities toward general nephrology fellows, residents, and students rotating on transplant service 
    • Serve as a role model for the junior trainees on transplant team
• Transplant Nephrology Consults: 
  • Learn the principles of evaluation for combined kidney-other organ transplantation
  • Manage allograft dysfunction and immunosuppression in ICU patients 
  • Manage immunosuppression and medical issues of kidney transplant patients hospitalized to non-medicine services 

Outpatient curriculum: 

• Objectives: 
  • Demonstrate ability to generate diagnostic, consultative, therapeutic and follow-up plans 
  • Gain experience in assessment of graft function, immunosuppressive therapy and related medical issues, as well as assessment of chronic and sub-acute transplant related complications.
  • Demonstrate competency in evaluation of potential kidney and pancreas transplant recipients and potential kidney donors 
• Clinics: The clinic is staffed by a transplant nephrologist, renal transplant fellow and transplant coordinators. 
  • The transplant fellow must be primarily responsible for 30 outpatient recipients for at least three months after transplantation 
  • Each transplant nephrology fellow must obtain experience evaluating 25 potential kidney transplant recipients and 10 potential living donors
• Meetings: The fellow is expected to participate in selection committee and policy meetings. An example of weekly meeting schedule is below: 

Kidney Transplant Meetings

• Tissue typing rotation: 1-2 weeks duration. During this rotation, the transplant fellow will have exposure to:
  • Tissue HLA typing: serological methods and molecular (DNA) methods. 
  • Antibody screen: Solid phase PRA (Flow PRA, Luminex, ELISA) and Single Antigen Beads (SAB) testing. 
  • Cross-matches: Complement Dependent Cytotoxicity (CDC) cross-match, Flow Cytometry cross match, and Virtual cross-match.  
• Other organ transplant experience: one week of combined inpatient/outpatient liver transplant or lung transplant services rotation 
• Pathology elective: one week of elective in renal transplant pathology is available. 

Other clinical responsibilities: 

• Each transplant nephrology fellow must observe at least 3 renal transplants, at least one of which is a living donor transplant and one a deceased donor transplant. 
• Each transplant nephrology fellow must also observe at least 3 organ recovery procedures, at least one of which is from a deceased donor and one from a living donor. 

Research Curriculum: 

• The transplant fellow is strongly encouraged to sign up to the Introduction to Clinical Research Summer (ICTR) course at Bloomberg School of Public Health 
• The transplant fellow will identify a research mentor based on his/her interest
• The transplant fellow is expected to take advantage of professional development opportunities at School of Public Health 
• The transplant fellow is expected is expected to attend the weekly research meeting and provide progress reports
• The minimum expected scholarly activities are: One abstract to ATC, one review paper, and one original research paper 

Educational Curriculum: 

• The transplant fellow is expected to attend mandatory conferences and didactics
• The transplant fellow is expected to present at general nephrology fellows noon conference. 
• The transplant fellow is expected to present at renal grand round
• Perform adequate literature searches of clinical problems and concerns
• An example of weekly didactics schedule is shown below: 

Professional Development

• There are many resources through the Bloomberg School of Public Health 
• Review and apply for funding and training opportunities announced routinely from the renal division 
• Apply for AST membership 
• Attend Transplant Fellows Symposium National meeting
• Attend American Transplant Congress

Evaluation

• Each transplant nephrology fellow is required to complete an evaluation form every 6 months and at the completion of the 12-month fellowship. This will be sent by AST fellowship accreditation office. 
• The fellow will get quarterly evaluation by faculty for inpatient rotations and every 4 months for outpatient rotations. 

Alumni

2024 Current Fellows:
Kanza Haq, Current Transplant Nephrology Fellow, Johns Hopkins University— Baltimore, MD
Nora Alzahrani, Current Transplant Nephrology Fellow, Johns Hopkins University— Baltimore, MD

2023:
Manal Alotaibi, Transplant Nephrologist, Umm Al-Qura University, College of Medicine— Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Karla Carias Martinez, Transplant Nephrologist, Renal Medicine Associates— Alberqueque, New Mexico

2022:
Sam Kant, Transplant Nephrologist, Johns Hopkins University— Baltimore, MD
Vignesh Viswanathan, Transplant Nephrologist, Iowa Kidney Physicians— Des Moines, IA

2021:
Christina Mejia, Transplant Nephrologist, Johns Hopkins University— Baltimore, MD
Ramnika Gumber, Assistant Professor, Nephrology/Transplant, University of Michigan— Ann Arbor, MI

2020:
Yousuf Kyeso, Transplant Nephrologist, University of Chicago— Chicago, IL 

2019:
Anshul Bhalla, Transplant Nephrologist, University of Tennessee— Memphis, TN
Sudhir Thaduri, Transplant Nephrologist, University of Alabama— Birmingham, AL

2018:
Amtul Alaa, MD, Transplant Nephrologist, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center— Boston, MA

2017:
John Manllo Dieck, MD, General Nephrologist and Transplant, South Texas Kidney Specialists— McAllen, TX

2016:
Sami Alasfar, MD, Transplant Nephrologist, Johns Hopkins University— Baltimore, MD

2015:
Shadi Nijim, MD, Transplant Nephrologist, Johns Hopkins University— Baltimore, MD

2014:
Fahad Alotaibi, Transplant Nephrologist— Saudi Arabia
Nadear Elmahi, MD, Transplant Nephrologist— Dallas, TX

2013:
Fizza Naqvi, MD, Transplant Nephrologist, Johns Hopkins University— Baltimore, MD

2012:
Gaurav Gupta, Transplant Nephrologist, Virginia Commonwealth University— Richmond, VA

2011:
Bassam Abu Jawdeh, MD, Transplant Nephrologist, University of Cincinnati— Cincinnati, OH