Fellowship Training Program in Maternal-Fetal Medicine

Faculty

• Thomas Kelly, MD - Director, Division of Perinatal Medicine; Director, Maternity Services; Director, Fourth Year Subintership

Expertise - medical complications of pregnancy and fetal diagnosis.

• Jerasimos Ballas, MD

Expertise - maternal chronic illeses such as diabetes and hypertension, diagnosis fetal abnormalitiies by ultrasoud, and invasive placentation.

• Andrew Hull, BMBS, FRCOG, FACOC - Director, Fetal Diagnosis and Treatement Center

Expertise - pregnant women with chronic medical problems, including HIV; pregnancies complicated by fetal disorders such as isoimmunization and complex birth defects; and placental disorders such as invasive placentation.

• Leah Lamale-Smith, MD

Expertise - performing invasive fetal procedures for prenatal screening and diagnosis, including chorionic villus sampling (CVS), amniocentesis, and fetal blood samling and intrauterine transfusions.

• Louise Laurent, MD, PhD - Vice Chair, Translational Research; Director, Perinatal Research

Expertise - treating women who are at risk for preeclampsia or fetal growth restriction.

• Thomas R Moore, MD - Interim Chief Medical Officer

Expertise - treating women with chronic medical complications of diabetes and prenatal diagnosis of fetal abnormalities

• Sandy Ramos, MD - Director, Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellowship Program; Director, Diabetes and Preegnancy Program

Expertise - treating women with chronic medical complications such as diabetes to help ensure safe deliveries of healhty infants while maintaining optimal health of mothers.  She is also experienced in managing invasive placentation and other fetal high-risk issues.

• Robert Resnik, MD (Emeritus)

Expertise - treating fetal growth restriction and placenta accreta.

• Maryam Tarsa, MD - Director or Quality

Expertise - fetal imaging and treating pregnant women with autoimmune disorders, infectious diseases and transplants.  She also cares for women having twins or higher-order multiples.

• Douglas Woelkers, MD

Expertise - preeclampsia, thrombophilia and placental insufficiency

• Richard Wolf, DO

Expertise - fetal imaging, amniotic fluid abnormalities, blood clotting disorders during pregnancy and blood group (Rh) incompatibility

Clinical Experience

Training of fellows is centered at UCSD's Jacob's Medical Center in La Jolla, with a delivery rate of approximately 260 per month, of which 50-60% are high-risk, encomapssing a wide range of complex obstetrical problems.  UCSD Medical Center has an outstandingNeonatal Intensive Care Unit adjacent to the delivery unit.

An especially strong aspect of our training program is our Fetal Care and Genetics Center, a multidisciplinary unit receiving referral patients from throughout San Diego County, located near our campus in La Jolla.  This center is staffed with geneticists, our own Maternal-Fetal Medicine faculty, and dedicated fetal sonographers.  Affiliated with the center are specialists in the disciplines of pediatric urology, neurosurgery, nephrology, teratology, and perinatal pathology. 

Education

Our aim is to prepare academic leaders for a career in MFM with a solid foundation for leadership. Specific educational activities are organized to maximize the fellowship education opportunity:

UCSD

• Weekly didactic sessions with the entire clinical faculty, sonographers, and genetic counselors.. Sessions are 1.0 hour long and consist of interactive seminars on subjects relevant to MFM, anesthesia, NICU, critical care, and placental pathology.  
• Bimonthly Department Grand Rounds with faculty, residents, fellows and invited speakers. Sessions are 1 hour long. Fellows are expected to attend and participate in the MFM Grand Round lecture which occurs once annually.
• Department Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) conferences with faculty, residents and fellows. Sessions are 1 hour long and recur the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th Wednesday afternoon.
• Fetal Diagnosis Conference is a multidisciplinary group discussion of cases followed from prenatal diagnosis through delivery.  Fetal and maternaloutcomes are reviewed.  Continuing treatment and management plans are also reviewed.  There is also a guest speaker invited to discuss important fetal diagnosis topics.  The conference occurs every second and fourth Tuesday of the month.
• OB Quality Meeting is a monthly meeting where OB quality goals are discussed.  These include, CMQCC benchmarks, NTSV rate, and OB hemorrhage

Additional conferences include:

• Infectious Diesease Core Lecture every 1st and 3rd Wednesday
• NICU M&M every 1st Wednesday
• Quarterly MFM/OB journal club at faculty homes.  Session are 2 hours long and consist of critical review of selected manuscripts.
  

Conferences Outside of UCSD

• SMFM annual pregnancy conference
• UCLA annual fetal echo caonference
• SMFM first year fellows retreat
• GOHO second year unltrasound course
• Banner critical care in obstetrics symposium
• UCSF genomics boot camp
• UCIC meeting

Research

The majority of clinical fellows conduct a primary prospective translational research project, as well as secondary projects that are typically retrospective clinical or ultrasound studies. Under the leadership of Perinatal Division Faculty members or an affiliated research mentor. We are currently actively pursuing projects focused on placental dysfunction, invasive placentation, and spontaneous preterm birth, which are aimed at discovery of exosome, metabolomic, and microbiome biomarkers and elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlying these conditions.

The structure of research and clinical service activities of our fellows is flexibly determined according to the needs and desires of the individual fellow. According to the new certification standards for Maternal- Fetal Medicine, ABOG requires at least 12 months of their time in protected clinical or basic science research and the remainder in diagnostic ultrasound, perinatal consultation, and intensive inpatient management of complicated pregnancy. Fellows function on our service at the Attending Physician level and thus are also responsible for an appropriate proportion of resident and medical student teaching. During fellowship, fellows typically publish 2-6 manuscripts and present regularly at Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Society for Reproductive Investigation meetings. A list of our recent fellows and the academic programs to which they have been recruited following completion of fellowship follows.

Application Process

Application materials are submitted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS), via the Dean's Office of the applicant's medical school. We accept application ONLY through ERAS.

A complete application file consists of:

1. An ERAS application (Common Application Form)
2. A personal statement
3. Three letters of recommendation (from Ob/Gyn, Surgery, Medicine, Pediatrics, etc.)

Appllication Deadline

Please send your letters with your application to ERAS by Friday, May 1^st, 2020.

Interview Dates for Application

Interviews will be scheduled between mid-July through end of August 2020.

Match

All Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellow positions are filled through the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP). You must also call or write the NRMP for application.

If you would like to discuss the fellowship or for more information, feel free to call Hitomi O'Briant (858) 249-1207 or hobriant@health.ucsd.edu