Onco-Nephrology Fellowship
Kidney complications, because of cancer or its treatment, are becoming increasingly more prevalent in our population. Treatments for these onco-nephrology conditions are changing rapidly, and exciting new advances in basic and clinical research offer a promise of even more effective therapies to come.
As a research-intensive section in the Internal Medicine division, our faculty, fellows, and staff provide state-of-the-art clinical care for patients with kidney diseases and generate new knowledge with the ultimate goals of improving our understanding and treatment of these diseases. The research is fostered by several NIH-funded grants. We also teach Onco-Nephrology to medical students, residents, and fellows, while training the next generation of Onco-Nephrologists through our outstanding Onco-Nephrology fellowship program. Under the direction of Farhad Danesh, M.D., the Section of Nephrology includes eight clinical faculty members and three research faculty members. In 2014, the Section of Nephrology established and received approval (TMB 503-19-45-67) for the first Onco-Nephrology Fellowship Program. The program was approved as a 1- to 2-year fellowship for two trainees per year. Eight fellows have completed the program since its inception. The Onco-Nephrology fellowship training is 12 months in duration with the option of an additional 12 months.
Future Fellows
2025-2026 Onconephrology Fellows
We are currently seeking candidates who are interested in applying for the 2025-2026 Onco-Nephrology Fellowship. For more information about the program, please see below.
Current Fellows
Juan Jose Cintrón-García, M.D.
Dr. Cintrón-García received his medical degree from Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara in Mexico and completed his internal medicine residency at Damas Hospital/Ponce Health Sciences University in Puerto Rico. He pursued multiple fellowships in Transfusion Medicine, Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, Geriatric Medicine, and most recently completed his Nephrology fellowship at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago. Dr. Cintrón García envisions Onco-Nephrology as the culmination of his diverse training, where all his extensive background converges, and is passionate about growing in this emerging field. His academic interests include the immunologic basis of diseases and the renal adverse effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Nada Youssef, M.D.
Dr. Nada Youssef received her medical degree from Beirut Arab University in Lebanon and completed her internal medicine residency at American University of Beirut Medical Center where she served as a Chief Resident. She then pursued a fellowship in Nephrology at the University of Iowa Hospital. She had publications and presentations on topics such as blood transfusion during the COVID-19 pandemic and Burkholderia Cenocepacia infections. Her extracurricular activities include volunteering in clinics for underserved populations and participating in various medical and student organizations.
Alumni
Kiran Shivaraj, M.B.B.S.
2023-2024
Dr. Shivaraj received his medical degree from Kasturba Medical College and pursued internal medicine residency training at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center. He subsequently completed a fellowship in Nephrology at Westchester Medical Center in New York. Presently, Dr. Shivaraj is completing his fellowship in transplant Nephrology at The University of Miami.
Anna-Eve Turcotte, M.D.
2021-2022
Dr. Anna-Eve Turcotte is on faculty at Université de Sherbrooke in Canada, where she also did her renal fellowship before training in Onco-Nephrology at MD Anderson. She is the first trained Onco-Nephrologist at her academic hospital.
Praveen Ratanasrimetha, M.D.
2021-2022
Dr. Praveen Ratanasrimetha is currently an Attending at a top teaching hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. He did a renal fellowship at University of Pittsburgh before joining the MD Anderson Onco-Nephrology program. He is the first trained Onco-Nephrologist in Asia.
Harini Bejjanki, M.D.
2020 - 2021
Dr. Bejjanki is currently in private practice in Houston, TX. She attended the MNR Medical College in Fasalwadi, India, completed her postgraduate training in internal medicine at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan and her nephrology fellowship at the University of Florida.
Omar Mamlouk, M.B.B.S.
2019 - 2020
Dr. Mamlouk joined the section of Nephrology’s faculty in December 2020. He attended the Jordan University of Science and Technology and completed his postgraduate training at Harvard Medical School and the University of Texas – McGovern Medical School. Dr. Mamlouk’s clinical areas of interest include: onco-nephrology, immunotherapy nephrotoxicity (check point inhibitor and CAR-T cell), stem cell related thrombotic microangiopathy. His main research area is studying the epidemiology and treatment of checkpoint inhibitor related nephrotoxicity.
Jamie Lin, M.D.
2017 - 2019
Dr. Jamie S. Lin is an Assistant Professor and physician-scientist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Lin received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2005 and her M.D. from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine in 2010. She completed residency training in Internal Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in 2013 and her Nephrology fellowship as a NIH T32 and F32 scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2017 Dr. Lin was awarded the Sharon Anderson Research Fellowship from ASN and joined MD Anderson as an Onco-nephrology fellow. Her QI project, DARRT (dose adjustment for renal replacement therapy), was selected for MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Commission on Cancer Standards. Dr. Lin is a recipient of the NIH K08 award, the Division of Internal Medicine Immuno-Oncology Toxicity award, and the MD Anderson Cancer Center Institutional Research Grant. Her research interests are in (1) podocyte biology and diabetic kidney disease and (2) immune checkpoint inhibitor associated nephrotoxicity.
Umut Selamet, M.D.
2016 - 2017
Dr. Selamet is currently an Assistant Professor at the Harvard Medical School and an Onco-Nephrologist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) in Boston. She graduated from Istanbul University in 2000 and completed her postgraduate felowship training at the University of California, San Diego in 2016. Following her Onco-Nephrology training at MD Anderson, she served as the Director of the Onco-Nephrology Program at the UCLA prior to her current position.
Jaya Kala, M.D.
2015 - 2016
Dr. Kala currently is an Assistant Professor and Chair of Onco-Nephrology at the University of Texas Health Science Center - McGovern Medical School, Houston, TX. Dr. Kala also enjoys a joint appointment with Section of Nephrology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She attended the Lady Hardinge Medical College, University of Delhi, India and completed her postgraduate training at the Cleveland Clinic and the University of Texas - McGovern Medical School. Dr. Kala has received the 2019 NFK Young Investigator Research Grant Award, Southeast Texas Research Grant and is the Principal Investigator: Isosorbide Mononitrate for Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) Induced Kidney Injury.
Charles Minn, M.D.
2014 - 2015
About the Program
Program Structure & Curriculum
Onco-Nephrology is an emerging medical subspecialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of renal disease in cancer patients. Although kidney disease is very common in cancer patients, most Nephrology trainees have little exposure to renal syndromes that are unique to patients with cancer, being caused either by the cancer itself or by its treatment.
Training in Onco-Nephrology provides experience in the management of:
- Nephrotoxicity from traditional chemotherapy as well as targeted therapy
- Renal disease after stem cell transplant
- Myeloma-related kidney disease
- Paraneoplastic renal disease
- Electrolyte disorders secondary to cancer or cancer therapy
Additional experience would be gained in Critical Care Nephrology and renal replacement therapy. Furthermore, the fellow will gain valuable experience in the psychosocial aspects of renal replacement therapy during “near” end-of-life care. Cases that are rare in standard Nephrology fellowship training programs are commonly seen by the Section of Nephrology at MD Anderson. After the completion of one year of training, the fellow is expected to be knowledgeable about appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to cancer patients who present with renal complications.
- The fellowship will be composed of nine months of clinical duties and three months devoted to research. Clinical duties will include providing care on the inpatient consult service as well as two half-day outpatient clinics. Research may be bench-driven or clinical as deemed most appropriate by the fellow and program director. The goal will be to complete an abstract and/or manuscript by the end of the fellowship. An optional 2nd year of fellowship may be pursued if mutually agreed upon by the fellow and program director. The reason for the additional year is to provide an option for trainees who want to have further clinical training or to have more time for research.
The Onco-Nephrology Fellowship Program is approved by the MD Anderson Graduate Medical Education Committee and the Texas Medical Board. This program is a non-ACGME accredited program but adheres to the ACGME guidelines.
Research Opportunities & Career Development
The Section of Nephrology at MD Anderson provides many opportunities for the direct care of cancer patients. The fellow will experience the field of Onco-Nephrology by treating patients under the direct supervision of the MD Anderson faculty. The fellow will examine patients on the inpatient Nephrology consult service as well as in the outpatient clinics at MD Anderson. The fellow will be interacting with rotating nephrology fellows from Baylor College of Medicine and The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. The fellow will perform diagnostic and therapeutic procedures as well as formulate care plans specific for the cancer patient with renal complications. The initial four weeks will consist of an orientation period where the fellow will be directly supervised by the staff physician. A didactic curriculum composed of core lectures given by the faculty will further enhance understanding and training of the fellow during orientation.
During the next phase (4-8 weeks), the fellow will have progressive increase in clinical duties under the direct supervision of an assigned faculty member. There will be a progressive and incremental increase in patient care responsibilities as the fellow demonstrates the skills outlined in the competency-based goals and objectives. Upon successful completion of this phase, the fellow will have a face-to-face meeting with the program director to discuss advancement in fellow status. The fellow will then be incorporated into the regular Nephrology rotation. Further instruction and supervision will be introduced as needed in this phase. The fellow will have the opportunity to discuss clinical cases and receive feedback regarding performance in weekly debriefing sessions with the supervising faculty and/or program director. These sessions will further direct topics for discussion in lectures provided by the staff.
Program Leadership
Farahd Danesh, M.D., Professor
Section Chief
Onco-Nephrology Program Director
Our Faculty
Fellows will participate in clinical activities under faculty supervision:
Farhad Danesh, M.D., Professor and Section Chief
Sheldon Chen, M.D., Professor and Onco-Nephrology Program Director
Ala Abudayyeh, M.D., Associate Professor
Jamie Lin, M.D., Assistant Professor
Omar Mamlouk, M.D., Instructor
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must hold either a M.D./D.O. degree or foreign equivalent along with a valid certificate from Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). The applicant also must have a USMLE Step I and USMLE Step II CK & CS, FLEX, SPEX, or COMPLEX exam transcript as part of a minimum list of documents. Before an applicant can be considered for appointment, the following requirements must be received:
- Completed online application form
- Curriculum vitae
- An accredited fellowship program in Nephrology
- Three letters of recommendation
- Official Medical School Transcript
- Letters of Good Standing from current clinical training program
- Certificates from all completed internship, residency, or fellowship training programs
- ECFMG certificate, if applicable
- Licensure Exam Transcripts
- Credential evaluation of foreign medical school transcript(s)
- Personal interview with faculty members
Selection Process
Consideration of fellowship candidates occurs in the fall for a start date of July 1 the following year. The Onco-Nephrology Fellowship Program Committee interviews candidates and extends offers based on the outcomes from the interviews.
How to Apply
If you are interested in applying, contact the Program Coordinator Lauren Sutton at LMSutton1@mdanderson.org to request a New Innovations/DISCOVER application account and initiate the process. Applications open in the fall.
Why Houston
- World’s best restaurants from dives to high end. You can dine around the world without leaving town.
- Numerous parks, including Hermann Park which has an outdoor theater and large zoo.
- An academic and cultural arena that includes Baylor College of Medicine, Rice, University of Houston, and St. Thomas Universities, the Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Contemporary Arts, and Menil Collection.
- Close proximity to Houston's noted symphony orchestra, opera, theater and ballet.
- Great sports teams: Rockets, Astros, Dash, Dynamos, and Texans.
- Other sites of various activities available within a few minutes' drive include Moody Gardens, Sam Houston Race Park, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, SplashTown Waterpark, Downtown Aquarium, Space Center Houston, Lone Star Flight Museum, San Jacinto Battlefield, NRG Stadium, Minute Maid Park, Toyota Center and the George R. Brown Convention Center.
- The cost of living is moderate and housing is very reasonable.
- View the MD Anderson About Houston page and Why Houston Guide.
- For entertainment, restaurants and things to do, visit Houston Culture Map.
Life at MD Anderson
- Compensation: GME Stipend Levels for Fiscal Year 2020-2021
- Vacation: 3 weeks per year with flexibility on choice of vacation time.
- Book and Travel Funds: Residents are awarded $3,000 over the four year program divided into two funds, books/educational material ($1000) and travel/conferences/workshop ($2000). In addition, residents are sponsored by the program for 1-2 conferences annually ($2000 per conference).
- Fitness Facilities: Free access to the 16,000 square foot institutional fitness center with strength-training cardiovascular equipment, yoga, spin and group exercise rooms. The center is open Monday thru Saturday and closed on Sunday. Free group classes are available to MD Anderson employees. Personal trainers are available for a fee.
- Benefits: Complete benefits package that includes medical, dental and disability insurance, a parking subsidy, institutional cell phone and laptop. Please see Graduate Medical Education Trainee Manual 2020-2021 for full details.