Message from Program Director
Thank you for your interest in the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine fellowship program at Westchester Medical Center. We aspire to world-class training and mentoring of the next generation of clinicians, educators and researchers in the field of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. The program is based in Valhalla, NY, which is one of the bucolic northern suburbs of New York City located in Westchester County extending along the eastern bank of the Hudson River.
The fellowship is a three-year program fully accredited by the ACGME. Three to four fellows are accepted each year for a total of 11 Pulmonary/Critical Care fellows. A Nephrology/Critical Care fellow joins the program for the third year of that fellowship track to make a total of 12 trainees per year. Westchester Medical Center, the main training site for the program, is a 415-bed tertiary/quaternary referral center and flagship hospital for the 1,700-bed WMCHealth system spanning the Hudson Valley. It is also the primary teaching hospital for New York Medical College. Westchester Medical Center is known for having one of the highest case mix indices in the United States, meaning that its patients are among the most clinically complex of any hospital in the country. At this site, Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine fellows learn to care for a population encompassing all medical and surgical subspecialties, including transplantation of the kidney, liver, heart, and bone marrow. Westchester Medical Center is the future home of a new Critical Care Tower, a $220 million project that will span 162,000 square feet and rise five stories. Learn more.
Additionally, fellows gain non-medical critical care experience through core rotations in a Neurosciences ICU and elective rotations in other intensive care units. Both primary and consultative management of patients receiving ECMO is commonplace. Westchester Medical Center provides interventional pulmonology services for a large catchment area, and the fellows rotate with the hospital’s interventional pulmonology section. In collaboration with the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, Westchester Medical Center is home to a large cystic fibrosis program, which affords fellows the opportunity to learn about the management of this unique and challenging population. The weekly chest clinic staffed by the fellows offers them an opportunity to exercise supervised autonomy in the care of a diverse, underserved patient population with complex needs, among them a heavy burden of sleep-disordered breathing. A large simulation center used for fellow training is located on the grounds of New York Medical College.
For a contrasting community-based experience, the fellows rotate at two affiliate sites located in New York City. Saint Barnabas Hospital is a busy inner-city facility known for its advanced asthma care and multifaceted critical care service. Metropolitan Hospital Center provides exposure to the outpatient care of the prototypical community patient with pulmonary disease. We believe that this combination of complementary training sites offers the broadest possible clinical scope, preparing fellows for practice in any environment upon graduation.
As part of a program based at an academic medical center and closely allied with New York Medical College, the fellows are granted six months of research time between second and third year to pursue scholarly projects with the encouragement and mentorship of the faculty. They also interact with New York Medical College medical students in multiple settings. There is an extensive list of conferences designed with trainees in mind, including Chest X-ray and CT conferences, Pathology conference, Thoracic tumor board, clinical case conference, M&M, and CF conference among others. There is a divisional Grand Rounds series as well as a “boot camp”-style preparatory crash course for first-year fellows in the summer months. Running weekly is a core curriculum lecture series composed of both faculty and fellow presentations.
The Westchester Medical Center Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine fellowship program participates in ERAS and invites applications from candidates interested in its mission of providing premier clinical training in an environment conducive to scholarly output. As a reflection of the multicultural patient population we serve in the environs of New York City, we pride ourselves on attracting a similarly diverse and inclusive group of fellows.
Sincerely,
Oleg Epelbaum, MD
Program Director
Message from Director of Pulmonary and Critical Care Department at Westchester Medical Center
Program Overview and Curriculum
The Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program at Westchester Medical Center was established in 1980 and is fully accredited by the ACGME. It currently consists of 11 PCCM fellows and a Nephrology/Critical Care fellow covering three training sites: Westchester Medical Center, Saint Barnabas Hospital and Metropolitan Hospital Center.
WESTCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER
Westchester Medical Center is the primary training site for the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine fellowship at Westchester Medical Center and the future home of a new Critical Care Tower, a $220 million project that will span 162,000 square feet and rise five stories. Learn more. The Westchester Medical Center experience consists of the following rotations and approximate durations over three years of training:
- Pulmonary Consultation (6 mo.)
- Medical ICU (3 mo.)
- Neurosciences ICU/Other non-medical ICUs (3 mo.)
-
Interventional Pulmonology (3 mo.)
- Research/Elective (6 mo.)
- Anesthesia/Airway (0.5 mo.)
- Night Float (equivalent of 4.5 mo.)
Fellows assigned to all rotations other than MICU and Night Float attend weekly continuity Chest Clinic. Numerous options are available for elective rotations, including pulmonary hypertension, CCU, trauma ICU, and thoracic radiology among others. A pulmonary rehabilitation rotation at the renowned Burke Rehabilitation Hospital is available. Scholarly initiatives are encouraged and promoted by the faculty, resulting in consistent fellow participation in international conferences and numerous fellow-authored publications in reputable journals. Reimbursement is provided for conference presentations, publication fees, hands-on courses, and pulmonary board preparation.
The fellows rotating at Westchester Medical Center attend and take part in the following conferences:
- Case Conference
- M&M
- Pathology Conference
- Chest X-ray Conference (led by the chief of Radiology)
- Chest CT Conference (led by a dedicated thoracic radiologist)
- Ultrasound Conference (led by Harald Sauthoff, MD)
- CF Conference
- Journal Club (led by Neil Schluger, MD)
- Physiology Conference
- Faculty Lectures
- Thoracic Tumor Board
- Critical Care Grand Rounds
- Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine Grand Rounds
AFFILIATE SITES
Saint Barnabas Health System (division chief: David H. Chong, MD) is a bustling NYC hospital located in the Bronx. The fellows at SBH rotate on the following services:
- Pulmonary Consultation
- Medical ICU
- Pulmonary Clinic
The SBH rotations expose the fellows to a different spectrum of disease than the one encountered at WMC, specifically new presentations of infectious disease, challenging toxicology, and immunotherapy for refractory asthma. Fellows also play the primary role in the evaluation and management of patients with ischemic stroke and acute coronary syndromes from initial presentation through the ICU course. Every day prior to ICU rounds, they gather with the faculty for an hour-long morning report during which management decisions and Pulmonary/Critical Care topics are discussed. Fellows rotating at SBH also attend other conferences organized by the SBH faculty, among them a multidisciplinary thoracic tumor board. SBH has its own energetic internal medicine residency program, and the fellows interact extensively with SBH house staff.
Metropolitan Hospital Center (division chief: Natoushka Trenard, MD, MPH) is a municipal Manhattan hospital that, like SBH, is home to its own busy internal medicine residency program. While at MHC, the fellow rotates on the following services:
- Medical ICU
- Pulmonary Consultation
- Pulmonary Clinic
MHC is known for its “bread and butter” mix of critical care and pulmonary cases. Close interactions between faculty, fellows, and house staff are the norm in the small-scale environment of MHC.
Current Fellows
Class of 2025
Anthony Esposito, DO
Medical School: NY Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Baystate Medical Center/UMass
Lawrence Huang, DO
Medical School: Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Westchester Medical Center (Chief Resident)
Dishant Shah, MD
Medical School: All India Institute of Medical Sciences
Residency: Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai (West)
Ralph Sabang, MD
Medical School: Cebu Institute of Medicine, Cebu City, Philippines
Residency: Westchester Medical Center
Nephrology/Critical Care
Michelle Kirk, MD MS
Medical School: Ohio State University College of Medicine
Residency: Michigan State University Health Care
Class of 2026
Matthew Alexander, MD
Medical School: Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv, Israel
Residency: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (West)
Georgina Ang, MD
Medical School: University of the East/Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center College of Medicine, Quezon City, Philippines
Residency: Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell (Forest Hills)
Areen Pitaktong, MD
Medical School: Texas A&M University System Health Science Center College of Medicine
Residency: Westchester Medical Center
Class of 2027
Hansol Choi, MD
Medical School: Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
Residency: Jacobi Medical Center/AECOM
Shwe Synn, MD
Medical School: University of Medicine 1, Yangon, Myanmar
Residency: Montefiore/AECOM (Wakefield Campus)
Kuldeep Ghosh, MD
Medical School: Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
Residency: Metropolitan Hospital Center/NYMC
Fellowship (Infectious Diseases): Westchester Medical Center
Nora Martini, DO, MSc
Medical School: Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: St. John's Riverside Hospital
Where Our Fellows Have Gone After Training:
Class of 2024
- Stony Brook University Hospital, Stony Brook, NY
- Faculty: Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
- University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
- Faculty: Long School of Medicine – UT Health San Antonio
- NYC Health+Hospitals/Kings County, Brooklyn, NY
- Faculty: SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
- UPMC Passavant, Pittsburgh, PA
Class of 2023
- Memorial Hermann, Houston, TX
- St. Barnabas Health System, Bronx, NY
- Faculty: CUNY College of Medicine
- Vassar Brothers Medical Center/Nuvance Health, Poughkeepsie, NY
Class of 2022
- Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana, IL
- Faculty: University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana
- Garnett Health Medical Center, Middletown, NY
- Faculty: Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Memorial Medical Center—Sutter Health, Modesto, CA
- HealthAlliance—WMCHealth, Kingston, NY
Class of 2021
- Baptist Memorial Hospital, Memphis, TN
- Faculty: University of Tennessee
- NYC Health+Hospitals Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, Bronx, NY
- Faculty: Weill Cornell Medical College
- Community Medical Center/RWJ Barnabas Health
- Lehigh Valley Health Network Hematology/Oncology Fellowship
Class of 2020
- Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA
- Faculty: University of Massachusetts
- Central Florida Pulmonary Group, Orlando, FL
- Westside Regional Medical Center, Plantation, FL
Class of 2019
- NYC Health+Hospitals Harlem Hospital, New York, NY
- Faculty: Columbia College of P&S
- St. Barnabas Hospital, Bronx, NY
- Faculty: CUNY School of Medicine
- Hurley Medical Center, Flint, MI
- Faculty: Michigan State University
Faculty
WESTCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER
Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
Neil W. Schluger, MD
Dean, New York Medical College School of Medicine
Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College
Focus: Tuberculosis, Public Health, International Health
Fellowship: New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center
Dipak Chandy, MD
Co-Director, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
Professor of Medicine and Neurology, New York Medical College
Focus: Medical and Neurocritical Care, Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine
Fellowship: The Mount Sinai Hospital
Lawrence DeLorenzo, MD
Co-Director, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
Director, Medical ICU
Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College
Focus: Pulmonary Medicine, Medical Critical Care
Fellowship: Metropolitan Hospital Center at New York Medical College
Oleg Epelbaum, MD
Program Director, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship
Director, Fellow Chest Clinic
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College
Focus: Pleural Procedures, Advanced Diagnostic Bronchoscopy, Medical Critical Care
Fellowship: The Mount Sinai Hospital
Morgan Soffler, MD
Associate Program Director, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship
Assistant Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College
Focus: Sleep Medicine, Medical Education
Fellowship (PCCM/Sleep): Massachusetts General Hospital/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Harald Sauthoff, MD
Professor of Medicine (Pending), New York Medical College
Focus: Critical Care Echocardiography, Point-of-Care Ultrasonography, Medical Critical Care
Fellowship: NYU Langone Medical Center
Audrey Daggan, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College
Focus: Critical Care, Pulmonology, Telemedicine
Fellowship: New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia
Stuart Lehrman, MD
Medical Director, Pulmonary Function Laboratory and Sleep Laboratory
Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College
Focus: Sleep Medicine, Pulmonary Physiology
Fellowship: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Kassem Harris, MD
Director, Interventional Pulmonology
Associate Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College
Focus: Interventional Pulmonology
Interventional Pulmonology Fellowship: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Abhishek Sarkar, MD
Interventional Pulmonology
Assistant Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College
Focus: Interventional Pulmonology
Interventional Pulmonology Fellowship: Johns Hopkins Hospital
Lisa Paul, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College
Focus: Cystic Fibrosis, Neuromuscular Disease, Ambulatory Pulmonary Medicine
Fellowship: Westchester Medical Center
Karyi Coyle, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College
Focus: Asthma Immunotherapy, Ambulatory Pulmonary Medicine
Fellowship: The Mount Sinai Hospital
Neurocritical Care
Stephan A. Mayer, MD
Director of Neurocritical Care and Emergency Neurological Services
Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery, New York Medical College
Focus: Emergency Neurology
Neurocritical Care Fellowship: New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia
Fawaz Al-Mufti, MD
Medical Director, Neurocritical Care
Associate Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Radiology, New York Medical College
Focus: Neurocritical Care, Endovascular Stroke Therapy
Neurocritical Care Fellowship: New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia
Neuroendovascular Fellowship: Rutgers University
Jon Rosenberg, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery
Focus: Neurocritical Care
Neurocritical Care Fellowship: New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia-Cornell
Andrew Bauerschmidt, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery
Focus: Neurocritical Care
Neurocritical Care Fellowship: New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia-Cornell
Associate Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Radiology, New York Medical College
Focus: Neurocritical Care, Endovascular Stroke TherapNeurocritical Care Fellowship: New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia
Assistant Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College
Focus: Critical Care, TelemedicineCritical Care Fellowship: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
SAINT BARNABAS HOSPITAL
David H. Chong, MD
Director, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
Professor of Medicine, CUNY School of Medicine
Focus: Medical Education, Sepsis, POCUS, International Health
Fellowship: New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia
Daniel E. Laurie, MD
Section Chief, Pulmonary Medicine
Assistant Professor of Medicine, CUNY School of Medicine
Focus: Quality, Lung Nodules
Fellowship: NYU Langone Medical Center
Theresa Henson, MD, MBA
Site Director, Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship
Assistant Professor of Medicine, CUNY School of Medicine
Focus: Medical Education
Fellowship: Westchester Medical Center
Lisa N. Glass, MD, PhD
Research Director
Assistant Professor of Medicine, CUNY School of Medicine
Focus: Medical Education, Obstructive Lung Diseases
Fellowship: The George Washington University
Christopher Grantham, MD
Director, Medical ICU
Associate Professor of Medicine, CUNY School of Medicine
Focus: Hospital Administration
Critical Care Fellowship: Montefiore Medical Center
Cordelia Sharma, MD
Critical Care Medicine
Focus: Critical Care
Critical Care Fellowship: UPMC
Yasmin Leigh, DO
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Focus: Medical Education
Fellowship: Westchester Medical Center
Puja Bhardwaj, MD
Director of Sleep Medicine
Focus: Sleep Medicine
Fellowship: Geisinger College of Health Sciences
METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL CENTER
Natoushka Trenard, MD, MPH
Chief, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Site Director, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship
Fellowship: NYU Langone Hospital
Armeen Poor, MD
Director, Critical Care Services
Focus: Critical Care Medicine, ARDS
Fellowship: The Mount Sinai Hospital
Julia Budde, MD, MPH
Focus: COPD
Fellowship: The Mount Sinai Hospital
Saema Tahir, MD
Focus: Sleep
PCCM Fellowship: Drexel University College of Medicine
Sleep Fellowship: Temple University Hospital
Applications
Our program participates in ERAS, the Electronic Residency Application Service.
Applications are accepted through the Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS). To be considered complete, an application must have the ERAS Common Application Form, medical school transcript, official USMLE transcript, Dean's letter (MSPE), Step I, II, III Exam scores, letters of recommendation from Program Director of any previous medical residency training, and at least three letters of recommendation from Faculty who have worked with the candidate within the past year.
Interviews
Our program will notify applicants through ERAS as to whether they have been selected for an interview.
Applicants to our program in the 2024 recruitment season will have the option of indicating a preference for an in-person or a virtual visit. More information will be provided to those selected to be interviewed.
Match
The program participates in the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP).
The deadline for submitting Rank Order Lists is November 20, 2024, and Match Day is December 4, 2024.