Program Director

Fernando F Corrales-Medina, MD
Email: ffc5@med.miami.edu

Associate Director

Joanna A Davis, MD
Email: jdavis3@med.miami.edu

Program Contact

Aliana Valenzuela (Program Coordinator)
Email: Aliana.valezuela@miami.edu

Program’s Information

The University of Miami/Jackson Health System Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Program is a fully accredited three-year program with diverse clinical and research opportunities in benign hematology, malignant hematology, pediatric oncology and pediatric bone marrow transplantation, with an emphasis in academic medicine.

One of the main goals of the program is that all fellows are exposed to basic (lab/bench) and clinical research during their three years of training. Scholarly activity is emphasized and there is global support for fellow-initiated clinical projects, academic journal submissions and more. The fellow also serves as the inpatient attending (with supervision) at the end of the third year, as a benchmark opportunity to demonstrate clinical competence and potential for independent practice.

The existence of both sickle cell and hemostasis (bleeding disorders/thrombosis) programs also provides access to special populations, as well as to the gamut of clinical trials affiliated with the benign hematology field.

Program’s Curriculum

Year 1: Clinical experiences will be comprised of 97% clinical rotations during the first year. Research exposure will comprise 3% of the trainee’s effort during the first year. The first-year fellow will be expected to have a direction for their primary research project by the sixth month of their first year. They should have identified an area of study (sickle cell disease, leukemia, etc.) and a potential mentor. With this purpose, the first-year fellow will have a two-week “research block” during the second-half of the year to allow them to focus on developing their primary and secondary projects. Unscheduled clinical time during the outpatient/elective months are also to be spent focusing on upcoming research plans.

Years 2-3: Clinical experiences will be comprised of 35 percent clinical exposure during the second and third years (continuity clinic, inpatient rotations and weekend/night calls). Research exposure will comprise 65 percent of the trainee’s effort during the second and third years.

Three months after the beginning of the second year of training, the fellow will present their research project to the Scholarship Oversight Committee for additional vetting and approval. This group will provide guidance for fellows in their progress throughout the research project.

Research Experience

Approximately 70% of the pediatric hematology-oncology fellow’s effort will be focused on research. All fellows are expected to create a primary research project – bench or clinical – under the mentorship of one of the hematology-oncology faculty members. In addition, there needs to be a secondary project. A goal for the program is that all fellows have basic lab/bench exposure during their three years.

Fellows are expected to create their primary project, and are responsible for consents, institutional review board submission and recruitment, if applicable. Each fellow is expected to have a manuscript ready for journal submission by graduation. There is also the expectation that either, or both, the primary and the secondary project will allow the fellow to prepare abstracts and posters for submission to one of the national meetings. Fellows will be also encouraged and supported by program directors, as well as by division attendings, to identify patients for case reports and poster sessions at national/scholarly meetings.