Transfusion Medicine Fellowship Program
Overview and Objectives
Clinical and Educational Activities
Research
Benefits
Current Fellows
Program Faculty
Career Paths of Recent Graduates
Contact Information and How to Apply
Overview and Objectives
Purpose
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited Transfusion Medicine Fellowship at Hoxworth Blood Center is designed to offer physicians career development training which will enable them to assume leadership positions as Directors/Medical Directors of regional or community blood centers or hospital transfusion services.
The program has 6 full-time faculty members and one emeriti faculty member, each representing one or more special interests within the general field of Transfusion Medicine. Active research interests of the faculty include cytokine control of hematopoiesis, hemostasis, blood component production and storage, and stem cell biology.
Location of Training
Training is conducted primarily at Hoxworth Blood Center, a division of the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center. It is the only blood center in the country located within a large, university medical center. Hoxworth Blood Center distributes over 300,000 blood components annually. Hoxworth is the transfusion service for Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and Shriners Hospital, Cincinnati. The trainees also take call at University Hospital. Because of this, there are unique opportunities to participate in the evaluation and resolution of clinical problems associated with an active level I trauma center and transplantation center for liver, kidney, and stem cells. Transfusion support for neonatal and oncology patients provides an additional facet to the fellow's education.
Hoxworth is located on the grounds of the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center. One of the advantages of the affiliation with the Academic Health Center is the availability of the Health Sciences Library and UCiT. Both services encompass and support the Health Sciences Library, the Nursing Library, the Center for the History of the Health Professions, and information technology units that support computing at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Academic Health Center.
Clinical and Educational Activities
Program of Study
The fellowship year is intended to develop and enhance the unique competencies of the blood bank physician. In addition, opportunities are provided to develop management, communication, and teaching skills. Problem solving in each of these areas is emphasized. Candidates with a special interest in research may wish to continue the program for an additional year. Such requests are reviewed on an individual basis.
Certification
Candidates completing the year of fellowship training will be eligible to apply for the sub-specialty examination in blood banking given by the American Board of Pathology (ABP) if other ABP criteria are met. It is expected that all trainees will successfully take the board exam.
Clinical Training includes:
Donor selection
Automated blood collection
Therapeutic apheresis
Transfusion reactions
Transfusion practice
Hemolytic disease of the newborn
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
Neonatal & pediatric transfusion practice
Solid organ transplant support
Cellular therapies
Transfusion support of oncology patients
Blood component therapy
Trauma & emergency medicine
Coagulation & hemorrhagic disorders
Technical knowledge
Pretransfusion testing
Blood component preparation and storage
Serological problems/reference laboratory operations
Histocompatibility testing
Cryopreservation of blood
Stem cell collection & processing
Management and Teaching
Hospital transfusion committee
Designated & autologous blood donor programs
Quality assurance
Good manufacturing practices
Laboratory management
Inspection and accreditation
Inventory control
Donor recruitment
Communication of scientific information
Budget preparation
The fellows are required to participate in AABB audio conferences, journal clubs, and prepare transfusion medicine grand rounds. Fellows are to attend clinical conferences offered at the Academic Health Center especially to include coagulation rounds, hematology oncology rounds, and medical grand rounds.
Research
Professional Development
Each fellow is expected to investigate a clinical, technical, or management problem; gather and analyze data; develop solutions; and present a summary report to the Hoxworth staff. Presentation at a regional or national meeting is also encouraged.
Benefits
Information regarding contracts, benefits, and stipends may be found here.
Current Fellow(s)
First Year Fellow: Ajay Chandra Perumbeti, MD
Medical School: Northeastern ohio
Residency:
Ronald A. Sacher, MD, FRCPC
- Director, Hoxworth Blood Center
- Professor of Internal Medicine and Pathology, UC Academic Health Center
Susan L. Wilkinson, EdD, MS, MT(ASCP)SBB
- Associate Professor Emerita of Clinical Transfusion Medicine, UC Academic Health Center
Patricia M. Carey, MD
- Medical Director, Hoxworth Blood Center
- Associate Professor of Clinical Transfusion Medicine, UC Academic Health Center
Mandy Flannery O'Leary, MD, MPH
-Assistant Medical Director, Hoxworth Blood Center
-Assistant Professor of Clinical Transfusion Medicine, UC Academic Health Center
Thomas Leemhuis, PhD
- Division Director, Cellular Therapies, Hoxworth Blood Center
- Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, UC Academic Health Center
Jose A. Cancelas, MD, PhD
- Division Director Research, and Medical Director, Cellular Therapies, Hoxworth Blood Center
- Associate Professor of Pediatrics, UC Academic Health Center
- Director, Flow Core, Experimental Hematology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Alin Girnita, MD, D-ABHI
-Division Director, Transplantation Immunology
-Associate Professor of Surgery, UC Academic Health Center
Career Paths of Recent Graduates
2011
Mandy Flannery O'Leary, MD, MPH, is currently the Assistant Medical Director of Hoxworth Blood Center/University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center and the assistant director of Clinical Laboratories at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
2010
Dennis J Williams, MD is currently Medical Director, Kentucky Blood Center
Assistant Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Kentucky
Associate Director of Transfusion Medicine and Apheresis, University of Kentucky, Chandler Medical Center
2009
Corinne Goldberg, MD, is currently employed at the American Red Cross, Charlotte, North Carolina as the Assistant Medical Director.
2008
No Fellows
2007
Yasodah Jayamohan, MD, is currently employed at Appalachian Regional Hospital in Hazard, KY as an anatomic pathologist and cytopathologist.
2006
Venkata Samavedi, MD, is currently employed as a general internist in Houston, TX.
2005
Porselvi Chockalingham, MD, is currently a Hematologist Oncologist at VAMC, Martinsburg, WV.
Mahmoud Charif, MD, is currently an attending physiciian in hematology-oncology at the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center.
Jose Cancelas, MD, PhD, is the Division Director of Research at the Hoxworth Blood Center and is actively engaged in basic science and clinical trial research at Hoxworth Blood Center and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
Contact information and how to apply:
Bernadette Bennison
Hoxworth Blood Center
(513) 558-1203
bernadette.bennison@uc.edu
Eligibility
Applicants for the Fellowship Program must have received an M.D. degree from an accredited medical school and completed a residency training program as defined by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and be licensed, or eligible for licensure, to practice medicine in a state or territory of the United States. They must have taken and passed USMLE step III. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or have visas permitting residence in the United States.
How to Apply
Applicants should submit a letter of interest explaining career goals and objectives and reasons for desiring training in blood banking. In addition, applicants should submit a curriculum vitae and three references. Application deadline is March 31.
Selection of Fellows
The applicant's qualifications are reviewed by an admissions committee composed of the director of the program and faculty at Hoxworth Blood Center. Candidates whose applications meet the basic requirements are invited for a personal interview with the admissions committee.
Updated: 10/31/11