Meet the Fellows

 

What drew you to this field

Pediatric Nephrology affords variety in diagnoses and the ability to be outpatient and inpatient at all levels of acuity. You are able to foster close, long-term patient and family relationships, which is incredibly rewarding. Additionally, nephrologists are impressive educators and advocates, eager to mentor future nephrologists!

What are your clinical interests? How did you become interested in this area?

I am especially interested in transplant, critical care nephrology, and fetal medicine. Additionally, I am passionate about medical education and utilizing simulation and technology as a means for teaching. 

Why did you choose Lurie?  

The people! I was impressed by the current fellows and faculty on my interview day.  Lurie has complex pathology, a diverse patient population, and a robust transplant experience.  Not only is the Nephrology department renowned, but we are fortunate to work in an entire hospital committed to education and providing cutting-edge care.

What do you do for fun or to relax? 

 I love traveling, music (I play the violin), being on the lake, and trying new foods!

What do you love most about Chicago?

I am new to Chicago, but love the many neighborhoods there are to explore. Each has its own personality. Chicago has fantastic arts/music festivals, is definitely a foodie city, and has countless parks to explore.

 
What advice would you give a resident thinking of entering the field of nephrology?  

I highly recommend doing an elective rotation to see the day-to-day of the field! Ask about their daily workflow as many nephrologists do a mix of inpatient (ICU and regular inpatient) and outpatient. It's always exciting!  Nephrology is a field filled with passionate educators and mentors, who are fortunate to be involved in care across all specialties of the hospital. 

What are your clinical interests? How did you become interested in this area?

• Because Transplant transforms lives. 

 Why did you choose Lurie?

• During my interview day, Lurie felt like home. I felt the faculty genuinely cared about me as a person and as a future colleague. I chose Lurie to surround myself with people willing to challenge me to be the best person and pediatric nephrologist I can be. The volume and diversity of patients and the wide range of renal pathology treated at Lurie are unmatched. And finally, I know first-hand the compassionate and dedicated care provided to all patients that come to Lurie. Blessed I can pay it forward!

 What do you do for fun or to relax?

• I enjoy eating at new restaurants and trying new foods. Chicago has about 58 Bib Gourmands and 24 Michelin-rated restaurants. I plan to explore them all by the end of the fellowship. I enjoy swimming, perhaps one of the best forms of exercise. I love spending time underwater and hearing water splashing. But my favorite thing to do is traveling and exploring new cultures with my family.  

 What advice would you give residents thinking of entering the field of Nephology ?

• Renal physiology is intimidating, but only if you let it be. Instead, focus on learning all the ways you can exploit it to take care of your patients. Also, watching a child receive a kidney transplant and leave the hospital with a new chance at life is an incredible experience. Don't miss out on witnessing the miracle of organ donation. Come join us!

What drew you to this field?

As a pediatric resident, I had just completed a busy week on the pediatric nephrology service where we had patients requiring manual peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis, and continuous renal replacement therapy. The patients’ needs spanned from the outpatient pediatric dialysis unit to the nephrology floor, neonatal intensive care unit, and pediatric intensive care unit. I had begun experiencing the complexities of the field and felt drawn towards developing a greater understanding of the patient population. I enjoyed the combination of critical thinking and the importance of relationships with patients and their families.

 What are your clinical interests? How did you become interested in this area?

Acute care nephrology and renal replacement therapy are where my current interests lie. I thoroughly enjoy seeing patients in both the neonatal intensive care unit and pediatric intensive care unit. I look forward to first meeting a patient and being with at his/her side while traversing the path from diagnosis to dialysis and eventually transplantation.

What are your research interests?

I am inspired by my patients and hope to participate in a translational research project during fellowship.

Why did you choose Lurie?

The people! Although the interview and onboarding process has been virtual this year, I already feel welcomed as an integral member of the team. Lurie Children’s Hospital has a large, diverse patient population with a breadth of diagnoses and in turn patient care needs. I look forward to learning from my patients as we navigate the different steps of their diagnoses together.

What do you do for fun or to relax?

I am a big book lover and always have my kindle on me. I am also looking forward to traveling again, especially to Ann Arbor for University of Michigan football games!

What do you love most about Chicago?

I grew up in the suburbs just outside Chicago and loved driving into the city for Cubs games, to visit the Shedd Aquarium, and see musicals on Broadway in Chicago. I am now so excited to officially be a resident of the city and explore the lakefront, farmers markets, and sample all the neighborhood restaurants!

What drew you to this field:
I first became interested in nephrology after participating in Kidney Kamp during one of my fourth-year medical school rotations. Throughout my residency I continued to enjoy learning about renal physiology. I realized nephrology had the perfect combination of continuity of care, long-term relationships with patients and their families, diversity in pathology, and acuity for me.

What are your clinical interests? How did you become interested in this area?
My interests in nephrology are still relatively broad. During residency I enjoyed rotating through our inpatient dialysis unit, as well as working with the transplant team. Overall, I have always been interested in patient advocacy and working to decrease barriers for patients and their families. I hope to do more work in this area with our patient population throughout fellowship.

Why did you choose Lurie?
During my interview I was impressed by the collegiality and collaboration I observed between the faculty and fellows during a didactic session. It was a very welcoming and positive learning environment and I felt it would be one I would succeed in. We also get referrals for complex patients, and have a high volume of patients, including transplants! This all makes for a great environment to learn in during fellowship. I felt truly welcomed by the faculty and fellows during my interview. Lastly, I knew I wanted to work with a diverse patient population and knew I would be able to do so in a city as diverse as Chicago!

What do you do for fun or to relax?
I enjoy trying new foods and restaurants and love to do so with friends and family! I also enjoy traveling and exploring new places with family, as well as photography, and baking.

What do you love most about Chicago?
I am new to Chicago but so far have really enjoyed exploring the Lakefront Trail by running and biking, as well as finding new favorite restaurants!

What drew you to this field?

• I like the diversity of clinical practice within nephrology. You can have continuity with patients in clinic and create longterm connections, and then later that day see extremely sick patients in the ICU. I also like renal pathophysiology and the objective/numbers aspect of the field.

 Why did you choose Lurie?

• I wanted to be at a large pediatric hospital where I would have a high volume of patients and see a wide variety of kidney disease. I am doing a combined adult and pediatric nephrology fellowship and am happy to be at a program that was excited to help me combine two fellowships.

 What do you love most about Chicago?

• Chicago is the best city in the world! It has everything you could want in a big city but also has a variety of neighborhoods that have different things to offer. There is always something to do in Chicago whether it is going to a sporting event, trying a new restaurant, going to a concert/show or spending time outside at the parks and beaches.

Where you are coming from, family, pets, fun facts, and hobbies?

I’m a New Yorker! Excited to get to know the Windy City. 

Research Interests &/or current research projects.

Interested in drivers of racial and ethnic inequities in renal transplant outcomes. Also interested in acute kidney injury. Currently working to understand how non English language preference affects your renal outcomes.

What are you looking to get out of our program?

Looking forward to learning all things kidney! Interesting in exploring current and new interests.

What are you looking forward to about starting at Lurie (fellowship, Chicago, moving, etc.)

Lurie is clearly a place of growth and innovation, I’m looking forward all the learning and development that awaits. I’m also ready to explore Chicago and making my way through the food and art scene! 

What’s your favorite dessert?

A favorite dessert when having a sweet tooth is a tough choice but either flan or fudge cake. 

 

Do you have any allergies or dietary restrictions?

Peanut allergy

 

Where you are coming from, family, pets, fun facts, and hobbies?

I grew up in a small town in Southwest Virginia. My husband and I both met at Virginia Tech and have lived in Virginia our entire life so we are very excited about moving to Chicago! I love cooking, traveling, hiking, and trying new restaurants.

Research Interests &/or current research projects.

I'm interested in nephrotic syndrome, hypertension, and advocacy. I have worked on a nephrotic syndrome action plan as well as several hypertension QI projects but I'm looking forward to exploring all of the areas of research Lurie has to offer.

What are you looking to get out of our program?

Lurie sees a very diverse population and is considered to be a high volume center.  I'm looking forward to train at such a prestigious institution and learning from both my patients and colleagues.  In addition, I'm excited to have a more hands-on experience with transplant and dialysis.

What are you looking forward to about starting at Lurie (fellowship, Chicago, moving, etc.)

I'm really excited to be surrounded by such wonderful people while training at such an amazing institution. Although the interview and onboarding process was virtual, the people I encountered at Lurie were so welcoming and made me feel like I was truly part of the family from the beginning! Since my husband and I lived in Virginia our entire life, we are excited to explore the city life!

What’s your favorite dessert?

That's tough! I have a ginormous sweet tooth but if I had to pick i'd say Tiramisu or lemon blueberry cake/muffins!

Do you have any allergies or dietary restrictions?

Vegetarian