Training tomorrow's leaders

The primary goal of the Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship Program is to train academic pediatric gastroenterologists. We define academic gastroenterologists as those who are excellent clinicians encompassing skills in broad aspects of evaluation, diagnosis and management of primary and secondary diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and who are active in advancing the field by participating in research and/or education.

The first year of the program is devoted principally to clinical training, with both inpatient and outpatient activities and participation in an active consult service. The second and third years of the program are devoted primarily to laboratory and/or clinical research. An additional year may be added for training in clinical nutrition or advanced transplant hepatology.

Specialized fellowship and training opportunities

In addition to the Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship Program, we also offer the following independent training opportunities:

Advanced Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Fellowship

The Advanced IBD Fellowship is a two-year specialized training program offering unparalleled clinical depth and rigor, as well as opportunities for cutting-edge translational and basic science research. Learn more.

Advanced GI Motility Fellowship

The Advanced GI Motility Fellowship is a 1-year advanced training program offering unparalleled clinical depth and rigor, as well as opportunities for translational and basic science research in motility disorders. Learn more.

Advanced Nutrition Fellowship

The Advanced Nutrition Fellowship is a one-year, specialized training program focused exclusively on pediatric nutritional challenges. Learn more.

Aerodigestive Medicine Fellowship 

The Aerodigestive Medicine Fellowship is a one-year, specialized training program focused on educating physicians in aerodigestive medicine. Learn more.

Pediatric Nutrition Fellowship

The Pediatric Nutrition Fellowship Training Program is a three-year fellowship program designed to prepare pediatricians for a career in academic clinical nutrition and research. Learn more. 

Pediatric Advanced Hepatology Fellowship

The Pediatric Advanced Hepatology Fellowship is a one-year ACGME accredited specialized program aimed at training academic pediatric transplant Hepatologists. Learn more.

Leadership

Elizabeth C. Maxwell, MD
Email Dr. Maxwell

GI Fellowship Program Directors

Kathy Loomes, MD – Director of Research Training
Elizabeth Rand, MD – Associate Director of Clinical Training
Amanda Muir, MD – Associate Director of Research Training

Pediatric Hepatology Fellowship Program Director

Elizabeth Rand, MD 
Email Dr. Rand

Pediatric Nutrition Fellowship Director

Sherri Cohen, MD
Email Dr. Cohen

Pediatric IBD Fellowship Program Director

Lindsey Albenberg, DO
Email Dr. Albenberg

Advanced GI Motility Fellowship

Prasanna K. Kapavarapu, MD
Email Dr. Kapavarapu

Aerodigestive Medicine Fellowship 

Michael A. Manfredi, MD 
Matthew J. Ryan, MD
Email Dr. Manfredi or email Dr. Ryan  

Fellowship Coordinator

Tiffany Bond
Ph: 215-590-3247
Fax: 215-590-3606
Email Tiffany Bond

Information about the program

• Training provided in an internationally renowned tertiary care pediatric hospital affiliated with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
• Clinical educators include an extensive GI and Nutrition faculty with diverse interests and expertise in the gamut of gastrointestinal diseases and procedures
• Clinical and educational programs include:
     ° General gastrointestinal diagnostic service
     ° Inflammatory bowel disease
     ° Acute and chronic liver disease
     ° Liver transplantation
     ° Motility disorders diagnosis and management
     ° Home total parenteral and enteral nutrition
     ° Feeding and dysphasia disorders
     ° Hyperlipidemias and nutrition support service
     ° Related nutrition programs, such as the Celiac disease center
• Outpatient service with more than 16,500 patient visits per year
• Inpatient service with more than 700 admissions per year and an average daily census of 15-20 patients
• State-of-the-art endoscopy and diagnostic suite, with more than 3,500 procedures performed per year
• State-of-the-art gastrointestinal motility center with procedures including esophageal, ano-rectal, and antral-duodenal manometry, as well as biofeedback procedures
• State-of-the-art nutrition and growth lab for clinical research and procedures, including resting energy expenditure, dual X-ray absorptiometry and total body electroconductivity
• Active inpatient and outpatient consult services
• Formal association with other medical personnel including: medical subspecialists, surgeons, radiologists, nurse practitioners, nurses, nutritionists, psychologists and social workers

The history, expertise and compassion that make Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia unique are also what makes it the best place for medical trainees.

Specific information by years and/or rotation

First year

Inpatient service

Goals: As described in the guidelines provided by the North American Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN), the fellow should become competent in rendering age-appropriate inpatient care from evaluation to discharge of a broad range of primary and secondary gastrointestinal diseases, including intestinal mucosal diseases, motility disorders, hepatobiliary diseases, pancreatic disorders and functional problems from mouth to anus. Furthermore, the fellow should become competent in the performance of diagnostic and therapeutic invasive procedures. The fellow should learn to evaluate and ameliorate barriers to access for care and psychosocial impact of disease to utilize available ancillary services and deliver cost efficient care.

Objectives: The fellow will participate, with supervision from attending physicians, in all aspects of the care of patients of all ages hospitalized under the GI service at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. This care includes initial evaluation, formulation of differential diagnosis and work up, participation in diagnostic procedures, interpretation of laboratory, radiologic, pathologic and other testing, treatment and discharge planning. The fellow will perform daily duties as described in the Fellows Handbook. The fellow will also participate in teaching residents and students on rounds and at the bedside as well as in didactic sessions. The fellow will attend all teaching conferences.

Outpatient service

Goals: As described in the NASPGHAN guidelines, the fellow should become competent in rendering age-appropriate outpatient care from evaluation through long-term follow up or discharge from clinic as indicated for each disease process. The fellow should provide care to patients with a broad range of gastrointestinal diseases including intestinal mucosal diseases, motility disorders, hepatobiliary diseases, pancreatic disorders and functional problems from mouth to anus. Additionally, the fellow should learn to evaluate and ameliorate the psychosocial impact of disease, utilize available ancillary services and deliver cost efficient care.

Objectives: The fellow will, with supervision from attending physicians, organize outpatient evaluation, diagnostic procedures and treatment, including hospital admissions as necessary. The fellow will perform history and examination, review of outside data and present cases to the attending physician as per the Fellows Handbook. The fellow will generate a clinic note and an associated letter to the referring physician.

Consult service

Goals: The fellow should become proficient in the evaluation of primary and secondary gastrointestinal signs and symptoms in infants and children hospitalized with non-GI disease. The fellow should be able to perform a complete history and examination and review any prior medical evaluation and testing (including discussions with other teams and review of pertinent radiology and/or pathology testing). Formulations and recommendations must be reviewed with the supervising attending physician and then communicated to the referring team and placed in the patient record in a timely and respectful fashion.

Objectives: The fellow will evaluate all patients as requested by any primary service at the Hospital. The fellow will present cases, write notes and communicate with the primary service as per the Fellows Handbook. The fellow will attend and make presentations in rotation at all teaching conferences.

Procedure service

Goals: The fellow should become increasingly proficient in the performance of various GI invasive procedures including patient assessment, sedation, procedural techniques and post-procedure monitoring and management. The fellow will ultimately develop skills to become independently proficient in diagnostic procedures such as upper and lower endoscopy, rectal suction biopsy, liver biopsy, paracentesis and manometry. The fellow will gain experience in additional diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, including capsule endoscopy, pH/impedance probe testing, esophageal dilation, sclerotherapy, banding and polypectomy.

Objectives: The fellow will review charts of scheduled outpatient procedures daily, will participate in the consent process, conscious sedation and/or collaboration with the general anesthesia team, the procedure, post-procedure management, communication with patients and families and generation of reports.

Additional rotations

Goals: The major goal of these rotations is to provide additional experience and insight into other specialties important to the evaluation and treatment of children with GI disorders, particularly Nutrition, Hepatology, short bowel syndrome (our Intestinal Rehab Program), Radiology, Pathology and Endoscopy.  The fellow will attend Continuity Clinic and participate in teaching conferences as allowed by the selective schedule.  Radiology and Pathology rotations are available by discussion with the program director.  

Objectives:

• Nutrition — The first year fellow will spend a one-month (total) rotation on the Nutrition service and will participate in various nutrition clinics (cystic fibrosis, renal disease, weight management (obesity), home total parenteral nutrition, Feeding Team, etc.). The fellow will learn to perform nutritional evaluation, generate TPN formulations and interpret various nutritional tests, including bone densitometry, body composition testing and other specialized testing as determined by the nutrition service.
• Hepatology — The first year fellow will spend one month (total) rotation on the Liver service and will participate in evaluation and management of all transplant recipients hospitalized for operative or subsequent admissions, inpatient consults related to liver transplantation, and outpatient hepatology clinic (including liver transplant evaluations). The fellow will observe any liver transplant surgeries that are performed. The fellow will gain a focused experience in pediatric liver disease and will attend hepatology conferences.
• Intestinal Rehabilitation: Each fellow will spend 2 weeks total rotating on IRP service and will participate in a mix of inpatient and outpatient experiences designed to provide exposure and experience in the evaluation and management of children with intestinal failure.  Fellows will participate in new patient consultation, follow up consults, outpatient TPN rounds, conferences, and other activities as directed by the IRP attending.
• Research Development: Each fellow will spend 1 week meeting with potential research mentors, meeting research teams, attending conferences or other activities to explore research opportunities in order to begin the process of choosing a research mentor/project.  In advance of this week, each fellow with meet with the Division Chief and Director of Research Training (at a minimum) to select potential mentors to visit.

Night and weekend call

Goals: The goal of night and weekend call is to provide the fellow with experience in the telephone triage of patients with acute changes in new or chronic illness and to provide training in cross-covering inpatients.

Objectives: The fellow will obtain sign-out information from the inpatient and/or consult fellow as applicable prior to taking on-call responsibilities. Responsibilities are described in the Fellows Handbook.

First-year clinical rotations

• Approximately 13 weeks inpatient service
• Approximately 13 weeks consult service
• Approximately 13 weeks procedure/consult service
• Four weeks Nutrition
• Four weeks Hepatology
• Four weeks of vacation
• One-half day a week dedicated to the outpatient clinic

Second and third years

Research experience

Goals: Each fellow will undertake a specific project or projects — under the direct guidance of a research mentor — with the goal of significant participation in research. This is one of the requirements of the American Board of Pediatrics for certification in Pediatric Gastroenterology, the NASPGHAN guidelines and our program goal to produce graduates who will become academic gastroenterologists. The division chief, program director and director of research training will assist each fellow in the selection of an appropriate project and mentor.

Objectives: The specific objectives of each project will vary greatly depending on the project selected and the mentor chosen. The long-term goal is for each fellow to submit for publication at least one manuscript related to the research experience. It is expected that fellows will have significant participation in designing the project, interacting with the appropriate regulatory committees, performing studies, analyzing data, and writing a related manuscript. The fellow will attend project specific national/international conferences as recommended by the mentor as well as the standard clinical GI conferences.  Fellows will meet twice per year with their scholarship oversight committee (SOC) to provide updates on projects, share data, and receive feedback on progress of their research.

Outpatient service

Goals: See First year, Outpatient service

Objectives: See First year, Outpatient service

Night and weekend call

Goals: See First year, Night and weekend call

Objectives: See First year, Night and weekend call

Research expectations and opportunities

• Our training program offers rigorous laboratory and/or clinical research training under the guidance of faculty in the division, other divisions/departments of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and/or other departments of the University of Pennsylvania and its School of Medicine
• Research training may be funded by the division, including a NIH training grant in Gastrointestinal Sciences (held by the division), or any one of several other related training grants, by foundation grants, or divisional grants
• Research projects are selected during the first year under the guidance of the director of research training, assisted by the program director and division chief and other mentors
• The CHOP GI fellowship program includes a rich research environment, including these areas of investigation in the division:
  • Molecular biology of the enteric nervous system
  • Central nervous system control of gastrointestinal function
  • Immunology of the intestinal tract and abnormalities in inflammatory bowel disease, including very early onset IBD (VEO-IBD)
  • Clinical and molecular biology studies of hepatobiliary diseases including Alagille syndrome and biliary atresia
  • Intestinal and hepatic lipoprotein metabolism in hyperlipidemia
  • Nutritional status assessment in chronically ill children
  • Factors influencing the development of infant and childhood obesity
  • Energy requirements, growth and body composition in children with cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease
  • Evaluation of calcium metabolism and bone mineralization in TPN-fed children
  • Evaluation of community-based dietary education programs for children with hypercholesterolemia
  • Clinical research in inflammatory bowel disease, liver disease, nutrition, liver transplantation and pancreatic disease
  • Genotype and phenotype studies in Alagille syndrome
  • Growth and nutrition in chronic liver disease
  • Pathobiology of cystic fibrosis liver disease
  • Cellular cholesterol metabolism and atherosclerosis
  • High density lipoproteins and cholesterol transport
  • Structure-function relationships of lipoproteins and apolipoproteins
  • Intestinal absorption of cholesterol and vitamins
  • Stress neurobiology and neurophysiological correlates of stress-induced pathology
• Opportunities for research training in state-of-the-art laboratories at affiliated institutions, including the Departments of Medicine, Biochemistry, Genetics, Microbiology, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Physiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, The PennCHOP Microbiome Program and the Wistar Institute
• High publication output and placement in academic positions for fellowship graduates

Conference Schedules

Weekly

Pathology conference

Interesting biopsy results from the previous week are presented on screen via a projection microscope by a pediatric pathology faculty member and discussed by the multidisciplinary participants.

Outpatient clinic conference

Rotating schedule of Journal Club, research presentations and combined discussions with various services, including Radiology, General Surgery, Nutrition, Pulmonology and Allergy/Immunology.

Clinical case conference

Presentation of an interesting case in CPC style format by the fellow to the GI divisions of Children's Hospital and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Following the case presentation, there is a discussion of disease epidemiology, pathophysiology and treatment. Both adult and pediatric GI fellows and multidisciplinary faculty participate in this conference.

GI lecture series

• Summer GI physiology lectures
• Pediatric Grand Rounds
• GI Grand Rounds
• Nutrition lecture series
• Nutrition journal club
• Surgical Grand Rounds
• Digestive and liver disease research seminar
• Pediatric GI Chief Rounds
• HUP Hepatology conference

Special programs

• Raffensperger Symposium
• Philadelphia GI Training Group Symposia
• Komarov Research Prize

How to apply

The three-year fellowship seeks physicians who will have completed two to three years of training in an accredited residency program in order to sit for the American Board of Pediatrics certifying examination. Applications are submitted via the electronic residency application system (ERAS) and are processed via the national residency matching program (NRMP).

National Resident Matching Program (NRMP)

Our fellowship program participates in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). To learn more, visit NRMP, or contact the program at 202-828-0676.

Other requirements

To carry out its mission, it is of critical importance for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to keep our patients, families and workforce safe and healthy and to support the health of our global community. In keeping with this, CHOP has mandated all workforce members (including trainees) on site at any CHOP location for any portion of their time be vaccinated for COVID-19 as a condition of employment.

This mandate also applies to workforce members or trainees performing work for CHOP at non-CHOP locations. Additionally, all workforce members based in or regularly scheduled to work at any New Jersey location are mandated to be both vaccinated and boosted for COVID-19, with booster timing consistent with applicable guidelines. The CHOP COVID-19 vaccine mandate is in alignment with applicable local, state and federal mandates. CHOP also requires all workforce members and trainees who work in patient care buildings or who provide patient care to receive an annual influenza vaccine. Employees may request exemption consideration for CHOP vaccine requirements for valid religious and medical reasons. Please note start dates may be delayed until candidates are fully immunized or valid exemption requests are reviewed. In addition, candidates other than those in positions with regularly scheduled hours in New Jersey, must attest to not using tobacco products.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, national or ethnic origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other protected category. CHOP is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor seeking priority referrals for protected veterans.

CHOP is committed to building an inclusive culture where employees feel a sense of belonging, connection, and community within their workplace. We are a team dedicated to fostering an environment that allows for all to be their authentic selves. We are focused on attracting, cultivating, and retaining diverse talent who can help us deliver on our mission to be a world leader in the advancement of healthcare for children.

We strongly encourage all candidates of diverse backgrounds and lived experiences to apply.

Contact

Tiffany Bond
Fellowship Coordinator
Ph: 215-590-3247
Fax: 215-590-3606
Contact by email.

Diversity

The division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, & Nutrition values diversity among our staff at all levels including diversity of race, ethnicity, sexual preference and gender identification. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia provides support to this process through the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the CHOP Multicultural Physicians Alliance.

Find related information through the Penn Alliance of Minority Physicians.