The Onco-Nephrology Fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) provides fellows with ample opportunity to evaluate, diagnose, and manage renal diseases unique to cancer patients. During this one year of subspecialty training, fellows will become skilled at identifying and managing nephrotoxicity resulting from cancers, the chemotherapeutic and biologic agents used to treat malignancies, bone marrow transplant, and renal diseases related to chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy.
Fellows are exposed to the diverse manifestations of myeloma-related kidney disease and monoclonal gammopathies of renal significance, as well as stimulating and complex fluid and electrolyte disorders and paraneoplastic glomerular diseases. The onco-nephrology fellow will be an integral member of a complex multidisciplinary team, working closely with oncologists, surgeons, intensivists, interventional radiologists, and members of the ethics and palliative care teams.This one-year position is open to applicants who have completed an ACGME-accredited fellowship innephrology or equivalent foreign medical training in nephrology.
Overall Goal
The program will provide comprehensive subspecialty training in the diagnosis, evaluation, and management of kidney diseases in cancer patients. The fellow rotates on the bone marrow transplant, multiple myeloma, genitourinary (GU) oncology, GU surgery and CAR T cell teams. Additional electives are available based on the candidate’s interests.
Members of the Renal Service provide mentorship for clinical and basic science research, enabling academic productivity and development for our onco-nephrology fellows.
Our graduating fellows are expected to become national and international leaders in the emerging subspecialty of onco-nephrology.
Eligibility Requirements
The position will be open to applicants who have completed a two-year fellowship in nephrology accredited by theACGME or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Canada, or applicants who have completed other foreignequivalent training in nephrology.
Duration
The total duration of the fellowship will be one year with one year. Fellows will accrue six months of inpatient clinical rotations and six months of research training. During their clinical time, the fellow will rotate in two- to three-week blocks on the inpatient onco-nephrology, bone marrow transplant, CAR T cell and multiple myeloma teams. Fellows will also gain clinical experience with the outpatient bone marrow transplant, multiple myeloma, GU oncology, GU surgery and onco-nephrology teams.
Training Program Sites
The primary training site will be Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s hospital.
Curriculum
During a six-month period, fellows participate on inpatient and outpatient clinical rotations on the following teams: renal, bone marrow transplant, car t cell, genitourinary oncology and genitourinary surgery. During the six months of research, the fellow will be assigned to a mentor within their area of clinical focus. The mentor will be directlyresponsible for supervising the fellow and will meet with the fellow at regular intervals to facilitate their progress.During this period, fellows will learn:
- How to formulate a research hypothesis
- Project-appropriate research methodology
- Data interpretation
- Presentation skills
- Scientific writing
Formal Didactic Experience
Onco-nephrology fellows will have opportunities to attend and present at various onco-nephrology conferences at MSK, including a monthly Journal Club and Onco-Nephrology Symposia. Fellows can also benefit from the combined MSK/Weill Cornell Medical College didactic conferences (Renal Pathology Conference, Renal Grand Rounds, and Renal Case Conference).
Supervision
Fellows will receive supervision from nephrology faculty members, who have extensive experience in onconephrology. During the first months of the fellowship, fellows will be directly supervised by one of the attendings fromthe Renal Service. As the training progresses, fellows will be given more autonomy and responsibility.
Evaluation
The Program Director for the Onco-Nephrology Fellowship Program has an open-door policy for real-time feedback from fellows regarding any aspect of their subspecialty training experience. In addition, there are quarterly face to face meetings between individual fellows and the Program Director to support more formal evaluations of the fellow and of the training program.