Department of Medicine

Alumni of the Hematology Oncology Fellowship

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Positions Held by Recent Graduates

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Class of 2023

Bahaa Amer Community practice, Florida Cancer Specialists
Jennifer Collins Community practice, Geisinger Medical Center, Pennsylvania
Omayra Gonzalez Pagan Academic practice, Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center
Eric Meyers Community practice, Texas Oncology
Aishu Moka Community practice, Appalachian Regional Health, Kentucky
Ramesh Pandey Community practice, Southern Oncology Specialists, North Carolina
Colbert Parker Academic practice, Michael E. Debakey VA Medical Center, Houston
Jingxin Sun Community practice, Kelsey Seybold, Houston, TX
Sudha Yarlagadda Academic practice, University of Chicago, Breast Oncology
Yang Zhou Community practice, Kelsey Seybold, Houston, TX

Class of 2022

Tamer Khashab Community practice, Kelsey-Seybold Cancer Center
Anaum Maqsood Academic practice, Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center
Katherine Sanchez Community practice, New Mexico Cancer Center
Yuanyue Sun Community practice, Kelsey-Seybold Cancer Center
Alejandro Velarde Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Fellowship, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Haotong Wang Community practice, Texas Oncology Austin
Zach Yeung Community practice, Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center

Class of 2021

Samer Al Hadidi Academic practice, University of Arkansas
Adanma Ayanabakkam Academic practice, University of Oklahoma
Nan Chen Academic practice, University of Chicago
Robert Davis Community practice, Oregon
Nicole Higashiyama Community practice, Kaiser Permanente, California
Katherine Linder Academic practice, Hackensack University Medical Center
Jinyu Lu Academic practice, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Sara Taveras Alam Academic practice, Baylor College of Medicine, VAMC

Class of 2020

Aimaz Afrough, M.D. MD Anderson Cancer Center BMT fellowship
Mahmoud Gaballa, M.D. MD Anderson Cancer Center BMT fellowship
Laura Meza-Rios, M.D. Baylor St. Lukes Woodlands, GI oncology
Patrick Prath, M.D. Private practice, Houston Methodist Sugarland
Karen Riggins, M.D. BCM GI Oncology
Anthony Wiseman, M.D. Private practice, Minnesota

Class of 2019

Manisha Chandar, M.D. Community practice, Ironwood Cancer and Research Centers, Phoenix Arizona
Kristina Goutsouliak, M.D. Community practice, Grand Junction, Colorado
Hussein Hamad, M.D. Academic practice, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center at Samaritan Medical Center (affiliate of Case Western Reserve University)
Quillan Huang, M.D. Academic practice, Assistant Professor, Baylor College of Medicine
Jan Kemnade, M.D. Academic practice, Clinical Instructor, Baylor College of Medicine
Tejo Musunuru, M.D. Academic practice, Assistant Professor, MD Anderson Cancer Center League City and UTMB Galveston
Ahmad Khalil Rahal, M.D. Community practice with adjunct assistant professor position with Medical University of South Carolina, Self-Regional Healthcare, Greenwood, South Carolina.
Srijana Rai, M.D. Community practice, Palouse Specialty Physicians, Moscow Idaho
Sumaira Shafi, M.D. Academic practice, Assistant Professor, West Virginia University

Class of 2018

Elaine Chang, M.D. Academic position for the Food and Drug Administration
Kelash Bajaj, M.D. Private practice, Texas Oncology, Midland/Odessa
Andrew Jackson, M.D. Private practice, Texas Oncology – The Woodlands
Harish Madala, M.D. Private practice, Virginia
Kirtan Nautiyal, M.D. Community practice, The Methodist Hospital - Sugarland
Ankur Varma, M.D. Stem Cell Transplantation Fellowship, MD Anderson Cancer Center

Class of 2017

Mehmet Akce, M.D. Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Gastrointestinal Oncology
Thiri Khin, M.D. Private practice, California
Jose Pacheco, M.D. Assistant Professor, University of Colorado, Lung Cancer Program
Jianbo Wang, M.D. Assistant Professor, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Genitourinary Oncology
Ryan Yates, M.D. Private practice, Mississippi

Class of 2016

Kanza Abbas, M.D. Private practice, Texas
Chitra Balasundaram, M.D. Private practice, Missouri
Shamail Butt, M.D. Private practice, Texas
Miho Dougherty, M.D. Private practice, Oregon
Ghana Kang, M.D. Private practice, Virginia
Abhishek Marballi, M.D. Private practice, New York
Yue Wang, M.D. Private practice, Texas
Musa Yilmaz, M.D. Assistant Professor, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Leukemia

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Testimonials from Our Graduates

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Fellowship at Baylor has various unique advantages: Located in the biggest medical center in the world, serving one of the biggest VA’s, The NCI comprehensive cancer center, state of the art center for cell and gene therapy & various research opportunities. But the most important asset is the camaraderie in the program, the faculty and the clinical experience. Stepping into the field of heme-onc was a daunting task, but the support that my faculty and co-fellows provided, has made this an amazing experience. It provided me with the time and opportunity to choose a structured research track, obtain CPRIT funding and pursue the Clinical Scientist Training Program – Certificate of Added Qualification. These experiences were critical in my journey as a young academic investigator, and has translated to a Masters in Clinical and Translational Science. I am thankful for the countless experiences and opportunities that fellowship at Baylor has offered me! 
 
Adanma Ayanambakkam, M.D.
OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center
Baylor College of Medicine 2021 Graduate

Joining a prestigious institute like Baylor was a dream come true for me. Three years of my fellowship fulfilled my wish to become a hematologist/ oncologist to serve the community with the best possible practice learned from an academic center and seeing the diversity of Heme and solid organ malignancies and at the same time variety of benign Heme cases. To me, BCM fellowship is the finest blend of cases one can encounter in their lifetime practice. The patient population at different hospitals gives the perfect combination of community practice and at the same time access to clinical trials and veteran care broadens the horizon. One year out of fellowship and seeing patients for one of the busiest private practices in West Virginia makes me feel how ready I was after training through all three years. I had my son born through my second year of fellowship.  With no family around, it was very tough, especially when it was time to take the boards. But what I learned during my training made me pass both boards on the first attempt. 

I am certain today that who I am is because of my finest training and mentors at BCM. 

Thank you for grooming me into who I am today. 

Sumaira Shafi, M.D.
Camden Clark Regional Cancer Center
West Virginia University Cancer Institute
Baylor College of Medicine 2019 Graduate

Baylor provided me a robust hematology and medical oncology fellowship training. The fellowship program had a unique clinical and academic setting. Throughout rotations, at different institutions at Texas Medical Center, I gained incredibly strong clinical training. Each hospital rotation provided me with experience in a wide range of diseases in benign hematology, malignant hematology and medical oncology in a very diverse patient population. Clinical and translational research opportunities were ample and readily available for fellows at Baylor`s NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center. Fellows were always encouraged to conduct research, connected with appropriate faculty in the same research area and guided well based on their interest. The faculty was very supportive and provided strong mentorship throughout my training. At the end of my training, I felt well-prepared for clinical practice and my academic career.

Mehmet Akce, M.D.
Emory University School of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine 2018 Graduate

I completed my hematology/oncology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in 2018. If I could go back to the time that I was applying for a fellowship, I would make the same choice to rank BCM first because it led to where I am today.

Things to know:

  1. It is part of a tertiary medical center, one of the largest medical centers in the world. This means you see as wide a range of pathology as you could see of almost any institution in the U.S.
  2. You rotate at the VA, county hospital, and 2 private hospitals (one of which is Methodist, where you do your bone marrow transplant rotation). This also is conducive to an education that covers the breadth of what you might want to be familiar with in clinical practice. 
  3. The strongest programs within the Hematology/Oncology Section are probably the Breast Center and Cell & Gene Therapy.
  4. The patient volume is high, which trains you to be efficient and triage complex issues.
  5. The program is one of the best hematology/oncology programs in Texas for training private-practice-oriented fellows. For those who are interested in research, there are research grants available which can provide a pathway into academia, but you should be proactive when it comes to communicating your interest in research with the faculty in your first year.

Elaine Chang, M.D.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Baylor College of Medicine 2018 Graduate