Program Director: Sandy Ramos, MD
The Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship Training Program focuses on providing State-of-the-Art care for High Risk pregnancy and has a strong emphasis on training in basic science and clinical research.
The Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship Program at University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine is approved for three fellows in any three-year cycle. This fellowship provides a broad base in the practice of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, incorporating both clinical and basic science elements, and is focused on preparing graduates for careers in academic medicine.
Clinical Experience
Training
of fellows is centered at UCSD Jacob’s Medical Center in La Jolla, with a
delivery rate of approximately 260 per month, of which 50-60% are high-risk,
encompassing a wide range of complex obstetrical problems. UCSD Medical Center
has an outstanding Neonatal Intensive Care Unit adjacent to the delivery unit.
An
especially strong aspect of our training program is our Fetal Care &
Genetics Center, a multidisciplinary unit receiving referral patients from
throughout San Diego County and the Pacific Rim, sited adjacent to 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.
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, the faculty includes Thomas Moore, Andrew Hull, Louise Laurent, Gladys Ramos, Jerry Ballas, Leah Lamale-Smith and Douglas Woelkers. We are currently actively pursuing projects focused on placental dysfunction, placenta accreta, 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. Ordinarily, our fellows spend at least 50% 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
All Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellow positions are filled through the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP). 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:
- An ERAS application (Common Application Form)
- A personal statement
- At least three letters of recommendation (from Ob/Gyn, Surgery, Medicine, Pediatrics, etc.)
The UCSD Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship Training Program participates in the National Resident Matching Program. You must also call or write the NRMP for application. Your file should be complete with us by
May 31st of the year preceding your fellowship. Interviews will be scheduled between the last week of August through first week of September. If you would like to discuss the fellowship or for more information, feel free to call Laura Diaz (858) 249-1207.