Harvard Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Training Program | Alumni

2024 Fellowship Graduates

Alissa D’Gama

Dr. D’Gama completed an Accelerated Research Pathway Pediatric Residency in the Boston Combined Residency Program. She received her undergraduate, medical, and doctorate degrees from Harvard University. She conducted her PhD research in the Christopher Walsh Lab investigating the genetic etiology of autism spectrum disorders, and the intractable epilepsy syndromes hemimegalencephaly and focal cortical dysplasia using next-generation sequencing and single cell technology. Dr. D’Gama is interested in pursuing research in developmental neuroscience and translational genomics during fellowship. She served as chief fellow during her third year of fellowship. During fellowship she investigated genetic mechanisms of disease and advancing equitable precision medicine for infants with genetic disorders, especially infants with epilepsy and neurogenetic conditions. Dr. D’Gama is currently working as an attending neonatologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and Instructor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Nikita Kalluri

Dr. Kalluri completed her pediatric residency in the Boston Combined Residency Program, Urban Health & Advocacy Track. She received her undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering from Tufts University, and her medical degree from Boston University. During residency, she examined the role of maternal primary language on preterm infant outcomes and found that non-English language status is associated with increased infant morbidities; this work was accepted to Pediatric Academic Societies in 2020. She was awarded an American Academy of Pediatrics research grant to examine the relationship between language status and parental participation in NICU care. During fellowship she conducted clinical research to understand and create interventions to reduce disparities, address social determinants of health, and empower underserved families. She was also a fellow in the Harvard-wide Pediatric Health Services Research Fellowship and received her master’s degree in public health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She served as chief fellow during her last year of fellowship. Dr. Kalluri is an attending neonatologist at UMass Memorial Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at UMass Chan Medical School.

Samuel Loren

Dr. Loren completed his pediatric residency at University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Hospital. He received his undergraduate degree in organismic and evolutionary biology from Harvard University, and his medical degree from the University of Chicago. During residency, he participated in research on post-partum depression in the era of COVID-19, collecting data regarding rates of depression and social outcomes after NICU stays during the COVID-19 epidemic. He is interested in optimizing lung function and identifying the best nutritional strategies for growth, as well as advocating for appropriate dissemination of evidence-based strategies. Dr. Loren is an attending neonatologist at the University of Vermont Health Network Medical Group and University of Vermont Children’s Hospital. He also holds an appointment as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine.

Dare Odumade

Dr. Odumade completed her pediatric residency at the University of California, San Diego. She received her bachelor’s degree at Hamlin University in biology and psychology, her medical degree and PhD at the University of Minnesota Medical School, and completed the Global Health Pediatric Research Fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. She most recently worked as faculty in the Precision Vaccines Program (PVP) under the division of Infectious Diseases at Boston Children’s Hospital and directed by Dr. Ofer Levy. She worked on several projects including a National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases (NIAID) U19-funded human immunology project consortium (HIPC) study on human in vitro modeling of vaccine responses. She is interested in pursuing translational research focusing on neonatal sepsis. Dr. Odumade is an attending neonatologist at the University of Minnesota Medical Center and M Health Fairview, and holds an appointment as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota.

Puneet Sharma

Dr. Sharma completed his pediatric residency at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Northwestern University and his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati. During his residency, his primary research focus was the identification of potential antecedent perinatal and neonatal clinical factors associated with the presence of diffuse white matter abnormality in term-adjusted MRI. He was involved in a National Institutes of Health-funded study to identify biomarkers on MR imaging that may better predict neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm infants. He is interested in the identification and utilization of biomarkers to predict long-term outcomes. He served as chief fellow during her last year of fellowship. Dr. Sharma is an attending neonatologist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine.

Rachel Hu

Dr. Hu completed her pediatric residency in the Boston Combined Residency Program. She received her undergraduate degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Michigan, and her medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. During residency, she worked on a project that involved analyzing a large cohort of infants for whom genetic testing was sent to identify patterns in testing strategy and diagnostic yield. She received a Fred Lovejoy House Officer Research Award from Boston Children’s Hospital in support of this project, and her abstract describing the preliminary results was accepted at the 2020 PAS meeting and the 2020 NEPS meeting. During fellowship, she researched inequalities in genetic testing and diagnosis. Dr. Hu is an attending neonatologist at Bronson Methodist Hospital.

Alyssa Thomas

Dr. Thomas completed her pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She received her undergraduate degree in comparative literature (English and Spanish) from Brown University, and her medical degree from Yale University. Her research during residency looked at the first minutes after birth for newborns with cyanotic congenital heart disease. By characterizing the transitional physiology of these newborns and the resuscitative measures they required, she aimed to deepen understanding of how to manage these challenging deliveries. The abstract for this work was accepted to both the PAS and ESPR conferences. She was a co-leader of Project SPHERE, a resident-led QI project aimed at streamlining and improving family and physician satisfaction with the rounding model by increasing resident teaching at the bedside. During fellowship, she pursued clinical research on infants with congenital anomalies to improve outcomes. Dr. Thomas is an attending neonatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and an Instructor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Amanda Winkler

Dr. Winkler completed her pediatric residency at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children. She received her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and her medical degree from the University of Massachusetts. During her residency, she generated the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the construction, maintenance, and trouble shooting of a low-cost, sustainable bubble CPAP built from local materials for use in low-resource settings in Uganda. She also participated in a research project with a multidisciplinary team extrapolating the effect of proning in adults to determine efficacy in improving bronchiolitis outcomes in pediatric patients. She would like to continue to work on the development and distribution of affordable medical technologies to resource-limited areas of the world, as well as evaluating the safety and utility of new devices in the care of neonates. Dr. Winkler is an attending neonatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Instructor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

2023 Fellowship Graduates

Alejandro Frade Garcia, MD

Dr. Frade Garcia was chief resident in the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital pediatric residency program. He received his medical degree from Anahuac University in Mexico. As a resident, he was awarded the intern of the year, NICU resident of the year, an education award, and resident of the year award. He conducted clinical research as a retrospective review of EEG monitoring, seizure management, and outcomes in the NICU. Additionally, he conducted research on rapid whole genome sequencing, which he presented at PAS in 2019. As a fellow he conducted clinical research on a non-electric infant warmer designed by Dr. Anne Hansen to prevent and treat neonatal hypothermia in low-resource settings. Dr. Frade Garcia is currently working at Miami Children’s Hospital and ABC Medical Center in Mexico City as an attending neonatologist.

Genevieve Guyol, MD

Dr. Guyol completed her pediatric resident in the Boston Combined Residency Program. She received her undergraduate degree in history and Spanish from Middlebury College, and her medical degree from Boston University. During residency, she completed a project with Dr. Meg Parker using survey data to examine the extent to which maternal worries about unmet material needs (housing, job, and income) are associated with rates of breastfeeding and adherence to safe sleep guidelines. Her research during fellowship focused on family-centered intervention aimed at reducing socioeconomic disparities in kindergarten readiness among preterm children. She was concurrently a fellow in the Harvard-wide Pediatric Health Services Research Fellowship. Dr. Guyol is currently working as an attending neonatologist at Boston Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine.

Jenna Katz, MD

Dr. Katz completed her pediatric residency in the Boston Combined Residency Program. She received her bachelor’s degree in biological basis of behavior from the University of Pennsylvania and her medical degree from Stanford University. During medical school and residency, she conducted research with the Fetal Center at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Specifically, she conducted a retrospective chart review to determine the added value of fetal MRI for identifying additional central nervous system (CNS) and non-CNS findings, and for informing prenatal and postnatal clinical decisions in pregnancies complicated by prenatally diagnosed ventriculomegaly. During fellowship, she researched the relationship between prematurity and neurodevelopmental outcomes among children with congenital heart diseases who underwent cardiac surgery in infancy. She served as chief fellow during her last year of fellowship. Dr. Katz is currently working as an attending neonatologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and Instructor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Stephanie Tung

Dr. Tung completed her pediatric residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. She received her bachelor’s degree in immunology and master’s degree in medical biophysics from the University of Toronto. She obtained her medical degree from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. During residency, she assisted on a project to develop a new standardized definition of apnea and bradycardia events, and monitoring guidelines for the NICU unit. She was also involved in a study investigating the impact of the care pacing model on overall patient outcomes with hopes of implementing standardized care plans. For fellowship, she researched the long-term immunologic effects of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), its role in mediating long-term pulmonary complications, and the therapeutic effects of mesenchymal stromal cell-derived extracellular vesicles. Dr. Tung is currently working as an attending neonatologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and Instructor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Erika Yazawa, MD

Dr. Yazawa completed her pediatric residency at Columbia University. She received her undergraduate degree in biology and Hispanic studies from Boston College, and her medical degree from Boston University. Her residency research examined outcomes (safety and efficacy) in neonatal patients who received inhaled iloprost for the acute management of severe pulmonary hypertension. She previously worked on a quality-improvement project aimed at standardizing gastric residual volume assessments in early enteral feeds of ELBW and VLBW infants. She was a research assistant with Dr. Charles Dimitroff at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, studying melanoma glycobiology, focusing on the identification and role of glycan ligands of galectin-1 on melanoma cells, their binding partners, and their function in melanoma progression and metastasis. During fellowship, she researched the uses of Cas9-mediated homology directed repair via an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector as a fetal gene therapy in mice with Barth syndrome. Dr. Yazawa is currently working as an attending neonatologist and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina.

2022 Fellowship Graduates

Madeline Keyes

Dr. Keyes completed her pediatric residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital where she also served as chief resident. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Biology from Wheaton College and completed one year as a research assistant in Denmark prior to obtaining her MD from Dartmouth University. She is interested in clinical research and quality improvement. She is currently an attending neonatologist at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Brooke Krbec

Dr. Krbec completed her residency training at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from Tulane University and a Master’s in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of North Carolina. She obtained her medical degree from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is interested in clinical and translational research. She is currently an attending neonatologist at Tufts Medical Center.

Matthew Lin

Dr. Lin completed his undergraduate studies at Brown University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology. He obtained his MD from the University of Vermont and completed his pediatric residency training at New York University. He is concurrently completing a fellowship in bioethics through the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics and is a trainee member of the Boston Children’s Ethics Advisory Committee. He has a clinical and scholarly interest in questions at the intersection of bioethics and palliative care. He is currently a Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellow at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC.

Tierney Morrison

Dr. Morrison completed her pediatric residency training at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where she also served as chief resident. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Public Health and her medical degree from George Washington University. She has a clinical and scholarly interest in addiction medicine as it pertains to maternal fetal medicine and neonatology, and is currently working on a project that explores chronic stress as a mechanism by which neurobehavioral dysregulation may occur in infants with prenatal opioid exposure. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and 2-year-old daughter and trying new restaurants! She is currently an attending neonatologist at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Margaret Ong

Dr. Ong completed her pediatric residency training at University of California Los Angeles. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Physiological Science and her medical degree from University of California Los Angeles. She is interested in clinical research with a focus on nutrition and neurodevelopment. She is currently an attending neonatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Kristin Santoro

Dr. Santoro graduated with a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Neuroscience from Tulane University and obtained her MD from Louisiana State University, New Orleans. She completed her pediatric residency training at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University, in New York. In regards to her research, she is a member of the Martin-Freedman lab working under the mentorship of Dr. Camilia Martin. She is currently working on a project to better understand fatty acid metabolism in the neonate and its role in inflammation. In her free time, she enjoys running along the Charles River Esplanade and making homemade pasta. She is currently an attending neonatologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

2021 Fellowship Graduates

Laura Bernardini

Dr. Bernardini obtained her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Boston University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. She then completed a post baccalaureate pre-medical program at the University of Virginia. She obtained her medical degree with Highest Distinction from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, followed by pediatric residency training at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Her research interests include the impact of assisted reproductive technologies on neonatal outcomes, specifically complications of prematurity, as well as quality improvement related to duration of antibiotic therapy in necrotizing enterocolitis. She is currently an attending neonatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Anna Duncan

Dr. Duncan completed her residency training at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Architectural Studies from Brown University and completed a pre-medical post-baccalaureate program at Bryn Mawr College. She then completed her MD/ MHS studies at Yale School of Medicine. She worked in the laboratory of Dr. Pankaj Agrawal, and is interested in the genetic and epigenetic causes of global developmental delay. She is currently an attending neonatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Yarden Fraiman

Dr. Fraiman received his undergraduate degree in Religion from Princeton University. He obtained his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed his pediatrics residency in the Boston Combined Residency Program at Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center, where he was responsible for a national randomized-controlled trial of a mindfulness education program to reduce burnout among pediatric interns. In addition to his neonatology training, Dr. Fraiman was also a fellow in the Harvard-wide Pediatric Health Services Research Fellowship and received his Master’s in Public Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His research focuses on racial and ethnic disparities and inequities in neonatal care and outcomes, specifically with a focus on identifying modifiable targets for intervention that can help close the equity gap. He is currently an attending neonatologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Lauren Frazer

Dr. Frazer completed her undergraduate studies at Georgetown University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biology. She then obtained her MD and PhD in Immunology from the University of Pittsburgh and completed her pediatric residency training at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. In regards to her research, she is interested in lung development and resolution of inflammation in the lung. She is the president-elect of the junior section of the Society for Pediatric Research. She is currently an attending neonatologist at UNC Chapel Hill Medical Center.

Helen Healy

Dr. Healy completed her pediatric residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital. She obtained her undergraduate degree in child and family studies from the University of Syracuse and worked as a preschool teacher prior to her graduate studies. She completed her MD/MPH at the University of Iowa. She is interested in epidemiology and quality improvement in neonatology. She served as Chief Fellow, and is currently an attending neonatologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Ravi Raju

Ravi received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry and Anthropology from Harvard University. He obtained his MD from Baylor College of Medicine and a PhD in Biological Sciences in Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Raju completed his pediatric residency training at the Boston Combined Residency Program in Pediatrics. He is interested in building a mechanistic framework to better understand how social determinants of health modulate disease risk. He works in the laboratory of Professor Li-Huei Tsai in the Picower Institute of Learning and Memory at MIT where he uses mouse models and epigenetic tools to study how exposure to toxic stress and early life adversity affect brain development. He is currently an attending neonatologist at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Anne Sullivan

Dr. Sullivan obtained her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from Middlebury College and pursued a clinical research training opportunity at the National Institutes of Health prior to obtaining her medical degree from the University of Connecticut. She completed her pediatric residency training at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with advanced skill program in medical education. Her research and scholarly activities focus on medical ethics, professionalism. and communication in neonatology, particularly as it relates to perinatal counseling. She was a trainee member of the Boston Children’s Ethics and GME committees and completed the HMS bioethics fellowship. Outside of the hospital, she enjoys running with her golden retriever Tiger, (urban) gardening, and cooking. She served as Chief Fellow, and is currently an attending neonatologist at Boston Children’s Hospital.

2020 Fellowship Graduates


Alejandra Barrero-Castillero

Dr. Barrero-Castillero completed her pediatric residency training at Stanford University with a clinical research scholarly concentration. A native of Mexico City, she obtained her medical degree from the Universidad Anahuac school of medicine and a Master’s in Public Health from Boston University, with a concentration in Biostatistics and International Health. Ale worked on characterizing and assessing psychosocial stressors of infants and families in the NICU with a particular interest in immigrant families. She is currently an attending neonatologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Kristyn Beam

Dr. Beam completed her undergraduate studies in Biology and her medical education at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed her pediatric residency training at The Floating Hospital for Children (now Tufts Children’s Hospital) at Tufts Medical Center. During fellowship, she was accepted into the Harvard-wide Pediatric Health Services Fellowship, through which she is obtaining her Masters of Public Health in Quantitative Methods at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her research interests include using machine learning to improve neonatal outcomes, specifically focused on bronchopulmonary dysplasia, with hopes to expand this technique to other neonatal morbidities throughout her career. She is currently an attending neonatologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Gaby Cordova Ramos

Dr. Cordova Ramos completed her residency training at the Boston Combined Residency Program in Pediatrics. A native of Peru, she obtained her medical degree from the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima. Her fellowship scholarship work focused on the performance of preterm growth references to predict outcomes. She will join the faculty at Boston Medical Center and pursue health services research with a focus on health literacy as it pertains to outcomes of NICU graduates. She is currently an attending neonatologist at Boston Medical Center.

Patricia Davenport

Dr. Davenport completed her undergraduate studies in Biology and her medical education at the University of Cincinnati. She completed her pediatric residency training at New York University. She currently researches the effects of neonatal thrombocytopenia and platelet transfusion under the mentorship of Dr. Martha Sola-Visner. Dr. Davenport served as Chief Fellow. She is currently an attending neonatologist at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Samantha Enstad

Dr. Enstad obtained her undergraduate degree in Microbiology and Cell Science from the University of Florida and her medical degree from the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. She completed a pediatric residency at Northwestern University’s Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. She is interested in clinical research focusing on the impact of maternal obesity on lactational programming. She is currently an attending neonatologist at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies.

Emily Herzberg

Dr. Herzberg graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Human Science and Spanish from Georgetown University. She obtained her MD from Georgetown University and completed her pediatric residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she also served as chief resident. Her research focuses on the diagnosis of neonatal encephalopathy and the best early predictors of short- and long-term outcome, and she has a particular interest in EEG. She served as Chief Fellow. When she isn’t at the hospital you can likely find her at her local Pure Barre studio! She is currently an attending neonatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Jonathan Levin

Dr. Levin completed his undergraduate studies at Brown University where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Computational Biology. He obtained his MD from Yale University and completed his residency training at the Boston Combined Residency Program in Pediatrics. He pursued a combined fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine and Pediatric Pulmonology. He performed research with the Computational Health Informatics Program and is interested in medical innovation and long-term pulmonary outcomes of premature infants. He is currently an attending neonatologist at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Omri David Soffer

Dr. Omri David Soffer, a native of Israel, graduated summa cum laude from Semmelweis University of Hungary, receiving his medical degree. He completed his pediatric residency training at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Staten Island University Hospital. He was a clinical fellow at the Harvard Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Program and a Bioethics fellow at the Center for Bioethics in Harvard Medical School. His clinical research focused on evaluating the utility of quantitative measurements in infants exposed to neuromuscular blockade. His research and scholarly interests in ethics focus broadly on instilling ethical principles and interpersonal competence and knowledge in medical trainees during counseling to caretakers of critically ill patients. He is currently an attending neonatologist at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center, Omaha.

Julie Thai

Dr. Thai received her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and her medical degree from the University of Nevada. She completed her pediatric residency training at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, California. She is interested in basic and translational research in nutrition and the microbiome as they pertain to neonatal morbidities. She is currently an attending neonatologist at UCLA Medical Center.