This fellowship is available to individuals interested in obtaining dedicated training in clinical research focused on pediatric surgical conditions. Fellows will gain hands-on experience with local, regional and national prospective trials, outcomes research and large database analyses (e.g., NSQIP-Pediatrics, NTDB/TQIP, etc.).
Emphasis will be placed on study design, implementation and manuscript and grants preparation. Fellows will be paired with a primary research mentor from among eight pediatric surgeons involved in research spanning the breadth of pediatric surgical disease. Specific areas of research focus within the division include health disparities in pediatric surgical outcomes, development and use of clinical pathways in trauma and burn care, application of biomedical informatics techniques to quality improvement, management of congenital diaphragmatic hernia and translational projects involving congenital colorectal disease.
Coursework in epidemiology and clinical research can be obtained through the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Pursuit of a master’s degree in epidemiology may be made available to interested candidates.
Fellow Awards
- Laura Veras, MD - Association for Academic Surgery, Fall Courses Travel Grant (2016), University of Tennessee Chancellor’s Pilot Award (2016), Tennessee Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, Best Clinical Science Paper (2017), Tepas Award Finalist, Pediatric Trauma Society (2017), American Pediatric Surgery Association Featured Article of Interest (2020)
- Ruth Lewit, MD - REACH Hirschsprung’s Foundation Research Grant (2020), Le Bonheur Foundation Fellows Grant (2020)
Research Interests
- Congenital diaphragmatic hernia and ECMO
- Health care policy
- Bariatric surgery
- Colorectal surgery
- Chest deformity
- Surgical clinical practice guidelines and QI
- Health disparities in pediatric surgical outcomes
Program Staff: Surgery Clinical Research
Program Director
Tim Jancelewicz, MD, MA, MS, FACS, FAAP, is a pediatric surgeon at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He serves as Director of the Le Bonheur Chest Wall Center and has particular expertise in congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), neonatal surgery, minimally invasive and robotic surgery and chest wall disorders.
Dr. Jancelewicz leads Le Bonheur’s multidisciplinary CDH team and is actively involved in advancing the care of infants and children with complex surgical conditions through clinical research. He is a nationally and internationally recognized CDH researcher and is co-principal investigator of the NIH-funded NoNO Trial, a multicenter study seeking to improve the care of newborns with CDH.
Fellowship Coordinator
Shannae Staten
sstaten@uthsc.edu
901.653.0951
