Why Choose Mount Sinai?
The Mount Sinai Health System is an outstanding institution with a rich clinical tradition, a beautiful main facility based on New York’s Upper East Side, system hospitals throughout Manhattan and a faculty committed to training in all aspects of nephrology. Whether you decide to do research, enter private practice, specialize in kidney transplant, or a combination of the three, the Mount Sinai Health System provides the very best training ground for future nephrologists.
A Storied History & Reputation
Historically, Mount Sinai has led in the care of kidneys from beginning in the 20th Century. In 1917, Albert A. Epstein described the causation and treatment for edema in chronic parenchymatous nephritis, ever after known as Epstein’s disease.
After World War II, Dutch physician Wilhelm Kolff was invited to The Mount Sinai Hospital to train physicians in the use of his newly developed artificial kidney. In 1947, the first hemodialysis treatment in the United States was performed at Mount Sinai. When Kolff left Mount Sinai, his artificial kidney remained at the institution, where it continued to fascinate residents and young physicians on the staff, including Alfred P. Fishman, Irving Kroop, and Stephan Rosenak from Urology.
In 1957, a “proper facility” for dialysis was built at Mount Sinai, the first such service in New York City. This was led by Dr. Sherman Kupfer, who spent his career at Mount Sinai and made several contributions to the study of kidney disease. This increasing clinical activity led to the creation of a formal Nephrology Division within the Department of Medicine in 1959. Dr. Marvin F. Levitt was named the first Director of the Division. He had trained with the father of modern Renal Physiology, Dr. Homer Smith. Levitt soon created the Fellowship Program in Renal Disease, as well as an outpatient clinic, which followed kidney patients.
Over the years, the use of hemodialysis increased and the Division cared for many patients with chronic kidney disease. This led to Mount Sinai’s creation of a kidney transplant program, with the first operation – a success - performed in 1967. In 1977 the Robert Wood Johnson Jr. Renal Treatment Center opened as a joint program with the Department of Surgery. The Division has led in the development of innovations in the performance of continuous arterio-venous hemofiltration (CAVH), peritoneal and hemodialysis. The first clinical use of CAVH was at Mount Sinai.
Today, the Division continues to be known nationally and internationally for its innovations and the quality of care provided to our patients. The Division is ranked 11th nationwide by US News & World Report's Best Hospital Survey for 2019-20. We have the largest home peritoneal dialysis program in New York City.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Division actively responded to the complex needs of patients who were hospitalized with the disease. Our research and clinical experience has shown that nearly half of seriously ill patients require dialysis while in the hospital and beyond. Our Division's commitment to these patients and to the research we are doing to gain more insight into this virus can be found here.
Location
Mount Sinai is unique because it is located at the crossroads of one of the richest areas in the United States and one of the poorest. This nexus allows for an amazingly diverse patient population that is both highly demanding and highly in need of kidney care. And this offers you a unique opportunity for your training—one that most physicians don't get in their entire careers.
And of course, as a fellow at Mount Sinai you will live in New York City—one of the greatest, most diverse and exciting cities in the world. Physically, our main campus is right next to Central Park, which provides a quick escape into natural beauty for runs, walks, bike rides or just relaxation. You can participate in all the cultural and recreational activities that New York City can offer: theater, museums, music, restaurants, and sporting events.
Our fellows are provided the opportunity to get housing near the main campus on the Upper East Side through the Mount Sinai Real Estate Services Department. Our fellows are considered Category 1 trainees, meaning they are eligible to apply for and are guaranteed housing near Mount Sinai Hospital if they choose to do so.
But not everyone wants to live around their workplace and we make sure that our work and training schedule allows for our fellows with families to commute and reside anywhere in the New York City area.
For more information, please go to our Graduate Medical Education Office's housing website.
Highlights of Our Training Program
Clinical
- Opportunity to care for an amazingly diverse patient population throughout the Mount Sinai Health System
- We have the largest peritoneal dialysis program in New York City and one of the first institutions to introduce a home dialysis program
- Elective opportunities in kidney pathology, ultrasonography, onco-nephrology, palliative care and apheresis
- 24/7 line service coverage for temporary dialysis catheter placement. Fellows rotate on the line service
- Each fellow manages their own panel of outpatients (with attending supervision), in state-of-the-art Center for Advanced Medicine
- Exceptional training in Transplant Nephrology: Fellows are part of multidisciplinary team that treats and evaluates patients in all phases of pre and post transplant care
- Opportunities to see patients in onconephrology and diabetic kidney disease clinics
Research
- With more than 40 full-time faculty and nearly $13 million in annual NIH funding, our division is one of the best places to do nephrology research
- A majority of graduates over past 10 years now hold full-time academic faculty appointments
- Several grads have active NIH K (Research Career Development) Grant Awards, several others converted from K to independent R01 funding in past three years
- One of very few divisions in the US with 2 NIH T32 training grants
- Many of our faculty are on editorial boards of leading medical journals
- Opportunities for participation in Mount Sinai’s Clinical and Translational Science Award program
- Opportunities for participation in clinical trials
- One of a few renal divisions with multiple NIH R01-funded clinical researchers who previously held K23’s
Conferences & Environment
- Board Review sessions with key faculty
- Weekly fellows’ Case Conference, Clinical Conference, Core Curriculum, Journal Club, and Research conferences
- Transplant conferences: Peer Review (M&M) conference, Donor & Recipient Review Conferences, Journal Club, Laparoscopic Donor Review Conference, Pathology Conferences
- Monthly Interdisciplinary Parathyroid Conference
- Wellness Program run by an Attending trained in Nephrology - Palliative Care
- “Big sibling” peer and faculty mentoring of fellows
- Opportunities to learn from and participate in innovative medical education projects including social media
- Modern urine microscopy set up with phase contrast and smart phone imaging capabilities
- Fellows' "Jeopardy" competitions, Annual NephMadness Conference
Our Faculty
As a fellow in the Nephrology Division, you will work with an amazing group of physicians. We have one of the largest divisions nationwide and we have experts in a wide range of specialties. Regardless of what specific aspect of nephrology you are interested in pursuing, we have a faculty member who can mentor and work with you.
Fellowship Tracks
The goal of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Nephrology Fellowship Program is to train our Fellows to become leaders in Nephrology. To accomplish this goal, the Division offers a comprehensive clinical training program, with options for additional supported years for research or clinical training. All pathways are designed to train our Fellows to become outstanding clinical nephrologists, leaders, and educators. All fellows participate in scholarly projects under the guidance of accomplished faculty mentors.
Clinical Excellence
Our program has a number of unique training avenues that provide you a breadth and depth of training that you can't get at other institutions.
Glomerular Disease Center
The Glomerular Disease Center at Mount Sinai specializes in the care of patients with glomerular disease and actively enrolls eligible patients in clinical research trials. This is a unique opportunity for fellows to participate in the care of this patient population. For interested fellows, an additional one-year training program in glomerular diseases/onconephrology is available.
Home Dialysis Program
The Mount Sinai Hospital has one of the largest home dialysis programs in the country, with almost 100 active home hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients. Our fellows will train with our home dialysis team to learn about these important kidney replacement therapy modalities. For interested fellows, an additional one-year training program in home dialysis modalities is available.
Kidney & Pancreas Transplantation
The Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute (RMTI) at Mount Sinai is one of the largest adult and pediatric abdominal transplantation centers in the country. Our fellows obtain training in not only kidney and pancreas transplantation, but also in the management of kidney disease in recipients of liver, heart, and small bowel transplant. Interest fellows can complete a one-year American Society of Transplantation (AST) accredited training program in kidney and pancreas transplantation.
The Strength of Our System
As a fellow of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, you have the opportunity to leverage the expertise and resources of the largest health care provider in the New York City area. As part of the Mount Sinai Health System, our fellows have access to world-class educational, research and clinical resources at our seven hospitals across the system.
These hospitals vary from our main campus institution, The Mount Sinai Hospital, where the majority of our educational and research work is done, to Mount Sinai Beth Israel which serves the community on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, to Mount Sinai West and Morningside which serve a diverse group of patients on the west side of Manhattan. Additionally we have other community based hospitals in Queens, Brooklyn and on Long Island and we have a large clinical and research presence at the James J. Peters Bronx VA.
Recent Graduates' Successes
The academic success of the Mount Sinai Nephrology Fellowship Program is supported by the track record of our graduates. Of our graduates since 1999, the majority now hold full-time academic faculty positions. Over the past eight years, our fellows have published over 90 peer-reviewed publications and our recent graduates have been highly successful in competing for National Institutes of Health (NIH) mentored career physician-scientist development awards (K08 and K23). Our success in training fellows to become successful physician-investigators is rivaled by very few US programs.
Wellness
We believe that our fellowship provides a unique combination of a rigorous training program lead by a group of faculty who create a supportive and open atmosphere. Don't get us wrong, we work hard. But while we emphasize the educational experience, we are committed to achieving a healthy work-life balance. Our wellness program, led by Holly Koncicki, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Nephrology), focuses on stress reduction, regular check-ins, and empowering our fellows to feel comfortable about raising questions or concerns.
Contact Us
Cassidie Derras Program Coordinator Division of Nephrology cassidie.derras@mssm.edu
1 Gustave L. Levy Place Box 1243 New York, NY 10029 (212) 241-0693