Message from Program Director
The Division of Rheumatology at Westchester Medical Center offers a highly motivating two-year ACGME-accredited fellowship program located in Westchester County- a beautiful suburb in close proximity to New York City. The fellowship provides an extensive clinical training in rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders under close supervision of highly motivated and well trained faculty. Year-long didactic lecture series, journal clubs, research conferences and case presentations form the core of the training program with emphasis on evidence-based medicine. Strengths of the program include high volume of inpatient consultations with highly diverse pathology, well-run outpatient continuity clinics, elective rotations with an academic pediatric rheumatologist and faculty member in the outpatient practice. The program provides an environment that supports and encourages fellow’s experience as teachers by closely observing and instructing medical students and residents on rheumatology electives. Along with faculty, the fellows participate in annually administered teaching modules for second year medical students at the affiliated New York Medical College. The small size of the program allows an especially supportive training environment and fellows are encouraged to stay our lifelong colleagues. The program aspires to provide the highest quality care to the patients while inspiring residents and fellows to discover the excitement and challenges of caring for patients with rheumatic diseases.
Opportunities for clinical and bench research are available and facilitated by the availability of researchers in various basic science departments at the affiliated New York Medical College. Fellows are encouraged to present research projects at the national and regional meetings, as well as write well-researched clinical reviews and case series. Fellows are also encouraged to research and develop Quality Improvement projects with a goal to better patient care.
Julia Y. Ash, MD
Division Chief
Fellowship Program Director
Program Overview and Curriculum
The Division of Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology addresses the full range of immunologically mediated disease. It consists of four full-time physicians, two clinical immunologists/allergists and two rheumatologists who care for patients with an array of immunologic disorders: allergic diseases, asthma, allergic rhinitis, immunodeficiency and food allergy. Rheumatologic disorders comprise rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, osteoarthritis, Lyme arthritis and a full range of other less common or more difficult to diagnose musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases. Members are involved in direct patient care, training of medical students, residents, fellows and practicing physicians, and research aimed at improving the health of people in general.
Research, both clinical and translational, bridges the gap between basic science research and clinical medicine. With funding from the NIH, Dr. Dattwyler’s group is working to develop new diagnostic tests for a number of infectious diseases, including Lyme disease. The new Lyme tests are designed to fill the gaps that exist in testing today, particularly for the early diagnosis of Lyme disease.
A new oral vaccine technology in development would have an array of potential uses, from protection against infectious diseases to treatment for food allergy. The CDC is sponsoring field trials to determine if an oral bait vaccine against Lyme disease can help control its spread in wildlife and the ticks that feed on them, thereby reducing the tick population that spreads Lyme bacteria to humans. The oral vaccine technique is also under study as a possible means of protection against other bacterial infectious diseases.
Current Fellows
Academic Year 2022-2023
Second Year Fellow
Kyu-in Lee, MD
Medical School: New York Medical College | New York, NY
Residency Program: Westchester Medical Center | Valhalla, NY
First Year Fellow
Jaspreet Bhatti, MD
Medical School: Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED)
Residency Program: Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell at Lenox Hill Hospital Program
Alumni
Sindhuja Korem, MBBS, MD
Medical School: Gandhi Medical College, Secunderabad
Residency Program: Monmouth Medical Center Program (Internal Medicine - General)
Alina Kifayat, MBBS, MD
Medical School: Khyber Medical College | Pakistan
Residency Program: Westchester Medical Center | Valhalla, NY
Adriana Moncayo, MD
Medical School: Universidad de Guayaquil Facultad de Ciencias Médicas | Guayaquil, Ecuador
Residency Program: St. Barnabas Hospital | Bronx, NY
Faculty
Amy Wasserman, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, New York Medical College
Attending Physician, Westchester Medical Center
Clinical Interest: Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus, Kawasaki Disease and other rheumatic diseases of the joints, soft tissue, and connective tissue.
Kirk Sperber, MD, MPH
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine | Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology
New York Medical College
Clinical Interest: Immunology
How to Apply
Please access the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (FREIDA) for more information on our program. View our program listing on FREIDA.
Applications
Applications
should be submitted through the Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS),
which can be accessed using the following link: https://apps.aamc.org/myeras. Applications may
be submitted starting July 6, 2023.
Applicants
must have completed a residency in Internal Medicine by June 2024.
Please
note that our program requires a minimum of three letters of
recommendation, including one from the Internal Medicine Residency Program
Director.
Interviews
Fellowship programs may begin reviewing applications in ERAS on
July 20, 2023. Our program will notify applicants through ERAS as to whether
they have been selected for an interview.
Interviews
will take place in September/October 2023, and applicants will be provided with
detailed information regarding the logistics of the interview days.
To ensure a uniform interview process that is equitable for all applicants, our fellowship interviews will be held exclusively virtually.
Match
The program participates in the National Residency Matching Program
(NRMP). Our NRMP program code is: 2157150F0.
The deadline for submitting Rank Order Lists is November 15,
2023, and Match Day is November 29, 2023.
Visa
Sponsorship
Westchester
Medical Center will support J-1 visas sponsorship by the ECFMG.
Contact Us
Brigita Avgustini
Program Manager
Brigita.Avgustini@WMCHealth.org