Infectious Disease Fellowship

General ID inpatient consult service:

There is 1 fellow assigned with teaching attending to the General ID service. Number of consults a day could vary from two-five a day. Along with the usual “bread and butter” of infectious diseases, the fellow will see a wide range of patient population and types of consults including CNS infections, endocarditis, fever of unknown origin, opportunistic infections in HIV patients, osteomyelitis, surgical site infections, malaria from a returning traveler, rickettsial diseases, tuberculosis, critically ill patients (Medical ICU, Surgical ICU, Neurocritical care ICU, Trauma ICU, Cardiothoracic ICU), and obstetrics/gynecological related infections. An ID pharmacist joins rounds approximately 3 times a week.
Duration: approximately 7 months

Immunocompromised Hosts (ICH) inpatient consult service:

There is 1 fellow assigned to the ICH service with a physician assistant (PA) and teaching attending. Number of consults a day can vary from two-five a day. This rotation is unique since we see consults from providers from the Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) – the largest cancer institute in New Jersey. At the end of their fellowship, the fellows will be experienced in caring for and providing consultations in immunocompromised patients with leukemia, lymphoma, bone marrow transplant, solid organ transplant (heart, kidney and pancreas) and left ventricular device (LVAD) related infections. The fellows will also learn how to provide consultation in infectious disease management in transplant recipients/donors, and pre and post-transplant evaluation. Duration: approximately 6 months

Microbiology

Fellows will spend two 2-week blocks during their first year in our state-of-the-art microbiology lab led by our two pathology-trained MD/PhD clinical microbiologists. The fellow rotates through each work area including intake, respiratory, wound, blood benches, as well as the AFB, virology, parasitology, and mycology. This bench rotation includes formal training by a bench technologist as well as (supervised) applications such as organism identification, antibiotic susceptibility testing, latex agglutination.

In addition, the fellow has contact with the microbiology laboratory on a daily basis throughout the year as clinical cases arise for discussion with the laboratory team. Duration 1 month

Research:

Our fellows complete a scholarly project as part of their fellowship training and ACGME requirement in an area consistent with their interest. They are encouraged to submit their findings for a poster presentation at the end of their fellowship or publish in a high impact journal. Duration: 8 months

Outpatient experience

• 1st year
  • 12 months of continuity care clinic (HIV, Hepatitis, General ID, Hospital follow-ups)

• 2nd year
  • Transplant ID clinic (6 months)
  • Elective per fellow’s choice (5 months)
  • Sexually transmitted Disease Clinic (1 month)

• Fellows Bootcamp Didactic Series – during July/Aug/Sept
• Antimicrobial stewardship meeting every 3 months

All conferences start at 1:00pm, wit the exception of:
*Infection Prevention Meeting at 12:30pm

• Completion and passing of all three USMLE step
• ABIM board certified or board eligible
• The accepted applicant must obtain a full NJ license (limited license if on visa)
• A valid ECFMG certificate for all foreign medical graduates
• Completion of a US ACGME accredited 3 year IM residency program

Basilides Fermin, MD
Fellowship Year 1
Medical School: Universidad Iberoamericana
Residency: Wyckoff Heights Medical Center Program 

Farah Sahibzada, DO
Fellowship Year 1
Medical School: New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Garnet Health Medical Center Program

Vishak Kumar, MD
Fellowship Year 2
Medical School: American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine
Residency: Nazareth Hospital Program 

Amy Pulikeyil, MD
Fellowship Year 2
Medical School: Amala Institute of Medical Sciences
Residency: Capital Health Regional Medical Center