Pediatric Transplant Hepatology Fellowship
About the Fellowship
Children’s Hospital Colorado is proud to offer an ACGME-accredited fellowship training program in Pediatric Transplant Hepatology.
The goal of the one-year fellowship is to train future leaders in the field of pediatric transplant hepatology.
The program provides comprehensive training in inpatient and outpatient care of children with a wide variety of hepato-biliary problems, including those who require transplantation.
Fellows will spend approximately 50 percent of their time participating in a mentored research project. In addition, there will be opportunities to educate and supervise pediatric residents and GI fellows.
Children's Hospital Colorado
Children’s Hospital Colorado is a 444-bed hospital located on the Anschutz Medical Campus east of Denver and is home to the only pediatric liver transplant center in Colorado and surrounding states. The program aims to perform between 12 and 20 pediatric liver transplants per year and follows 110 post-transplant patients.
Children’s Hospital Colorado was one of the first centers in the country to perform pediatric liver transplantation and now has over 30 years of programmatic experience. Six board-certified pediatric transplant hepatologists and three transplant surgeons interact closely with faculty from radiology, pathology, anesthesiology, and infectious diseases to provide outstanding individualized multi-disciplinary clinical care.
The clinical service draws patients not only from the state of Colorado, but also from Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Utah, and New Mexico.
The program also has a strong research track-record with involvement in multiple NIH-funded basic and clinical liver research programs (e.g., ChiLDReN, CFLD, PALF, IWITH, SPLIT, BARC, MITOHEP and industry studies), offering a unique academic environment for successful training in advanced pediatric transplant hepatology.
Program Leadership | |
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Amy Feldman, MD Transplant Hepatology Fellowship Program Director |
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The program includes a curriculum that fulfills eligibility requirements of the American Board of Pediatrics for the newly offered sub-specialty certification in Pediatric Transplant Hepatology.
The fellow will spend six months of the
year on the inpatient and consultation liver/transplant services at Children’s Hospital Colorado. 1-month will be spent on a clinical rotation at The University of Colorado participating in adult liver transplant rounds and outpatient transplant
hepatology clinic. The remaining five months of the year will be dedicated to a clinical, translational, or basic science research project in the areas of pediatric hepatology and transplantation medicine.
Throughout the entire
year, the fellow will participate in bi-weekly hepatology/transplant clinic at Children’s Hospital Colorado. The Fellow will be involved in all aspects or pre-, peri-, and post-transplant care.
Call Responsibilities
There are no formal call responsibilities. However, the transplant fellow will be expected to observe 3 liver transplants, go out on 3 organ procurements, and be present at 1 living donor organ retrieval. In addition, transplant fellows are encouraged to observe 2 intra-operative cholangiograms, 2 Kasai procedures, and at least 1 percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography procedure. Although they are not formally on call, transplant fellows will be alerted overnight if there is a patient with acute liver failure, GI bleeding requiring sclerotherapy or banding, or urgent transplant evaluation.
Vacation
The fellow will have 3 weeks of vacation that can be taken in 1 or 2-week blocks according to ACGME regulations.
The transplant fellow will have five months of time to dedicate to a clinical, translational, or basic science research project in the areas of pediatric hepatology or transplantation medicine. With over 3.5 million dollars per year in grant support, the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology/Hepatology offers endless research opportunities for our fellows.
Within our division, there is clinical, translation, and basic science research occurring in the areas of liver transplantation, infectious hepatitis, CF-related-liver disease, NAFLD, biliary atresia, primary sclerosing cholangitis, TPN induced liver injury, disorders of bile acids synthesis/transport, mitochondrial liver disease, and immunizations and infections in the transplant population.
Weekly Conferences
Pediatric GI/Liver Fellows Rounds
Specific patient cases are presented for all fellows and faculty. There is open discussion about differential diagnosis, evaluation, acute management, chronic management.
Pediatric Liver Topic Conferences
One hour interactive lectures given by liver faculty on a variety of liver and transplant specific topics.
Liver Team Meeting Including Candidate Selection
Every week we have a multidisciplinary conference (including the hepatologists, transplant surgeons, transplant pharmacists, transplant dieticians, social workers, and transplant
nurse coordinators) for 1-2 hours to discuss all liver inpatients and outpatients. We review all potential transplant candidates and those children who are active on the transplant list. We discuss nutritional management of pre-transplant patients,
option for live donation, exception scores, and other transplant-specific topics.
Monthly Conferences
Pediatric Liver Pathology Conferences
Our liver pathologist Dr. Capocelli reviews normal liver histology and liver disease processes. Transplant specific pathology includes acute cellular rejection, chronic rejection, ischemic
injury, biliary injury, viral injury, PTLD, drug-toxicities.
Pediatric Liver Radiology Conferences
Our radiologists review liver cases that have presented to the inpatient/outpatient teams over the past month.
Pediatric Liver Research Conferences
Liver faculty presents one hour long lectures on their active research projects. Our faculty has expertise in research on a variety of liver topics including biliary atresia, disorders of
bile acid synthesis and transport, TPN induced liver disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cystic fibrosis induced liver disease, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, mitochondrial liver disease, immunizations and infections in the transplant population.
Pediatric Liver Journal Club
Fellows and faculty critically review seminal articles and recently published papers about liver disease and liver transplantation.
Fellows and faculty critically review seminal articles and recently published papers about liver disease and liver transplantation.
Pediatric GI/Surgery Combined Conference
One hour long topic conferences on liver diseases that require joint management by pediatric hepatology and pediatric surgery. Topics in the past have included liver transplantation, liver
tumors, surgical shunts for portal hypertension, liver transplant options (whole transplant vs. left lobe transplant vs. left lateral lobe transplant vs. living donation).
Pediatric Hepatobiliary Conference
Our liver radiologist Lorna Browne reviews liver, biliary, and transplant patients that have presented over the past month.
Educational Responsibilities of the Transplant Fellow
Each transplant fellow will present:
- A liver transplant topic conference
- A research presentation at the conclusion of their 1-year fellowship
The transplant fellow will be responsible for presenting all transplant candidates whose evaluation they participate in at our weekly team meeting/candidate selection meeting. Fellows will learn how to write letters for evaluation/transplant approval. They will also learn how to write PELD-appeal letters for transplant exception points
David Willcutts, MD
Medical School: University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
Residency: University of Texas Southwestern Pediatric Residency
Fellowship: University of Texas Southwestern Gastroenterology Fellowship
Email: David.Willcutts
The fellowship is available for interested individuals who are board eligible/certified in General Pediatrics and have completed an ACGME accredited 3-year fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology.
In-order to apply, please email the following documents to Dr. Amy Feldman at amy.feldman@childrenscolorado.org
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- Your curriculum vitae
- Three letters of recommendation (one of which should be from your current Division Chief or Fellowship Program Director)
- A personal statement describing your career goals and interest in transplant hepatology
The application deadline is August 1. We will interview candidates from May through December.
For more information regarding our program, please contact:
Amy Feldman, MD
Transplant Hepatology Fellowship Program Director
Email: Amy.feldman@childrenscolorado.org
or
Meg Book-Smith
Transplant Hepatology Fellowship Coordinator
Email: Meggan.Book-Smith
Phone: 720-777-2738
| Diversity / Equity / Inclusion |
We are committed to creating a diverse environment for students, residents, fellows, and faculty. We believe that an environment of inclusiveness and respect promotes excellence and that a setting where diversity is valued leads to the training of physicians who are prepared to practice culturally effective medicine and meet the needs of the various populations we serve. Visit our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion webpage for more.... |
| Well-Being / Resilience |
By embracing wellness and improving personal resiliency, physicians can reconnect with the meaning of their work and fend off stress. Reducing or eliminating burnout also has practical implications for the entire department such as improving patient safety, student advancement, and the overall campus environment. |
