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Welcome from the Program Director

Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship at AdventHealth Orlando is a three-year ACGME-accredited fellowship program. We are committed to train excellent clinicians and the future leaders in neonatology. Our trainees will be equipped to provide advanced clinical care, lead scientific investigations and train the next generation of neonatologists. Our diverse faculty provide trainees with comprehensive clinical training, education, and mentorship to excel as successful, independent, and respected physician leaders in any practice setting. We are the largest neonatal services provider in central Florida. With 102 individual rooms, our level 4 Neonatal ICU at AdventHealth for Children is the primary training site for fellows. There are 8 level 2 NICUs and two newborn nurseries in our network. We have one of the largest “Neonatal Transport Program” in the state to offer air or ground transportation across the network. Neonatal Care at AdventHealth is supported by all medical and surgical specialists. We provide pre-operative cardiac care for newborns. The Maternal-Fetal Medicine program at AdventHealth provides state of the art care for mothers with high-risk pregnancies. Our multidisciplinary teams specialize in Tiny Baby Care, BPD and Home Ventilation, Surgical NICU, Neonatal ECMO, Neuro-critical care and Short Gut programs. We also offer Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography (TnECHO) and the Point of Care (POC) ultrasound training. We are part of Vermont-Oxford, Children’s Hospitals Association and BPD Collaborative that provides an ample opportunity for clinical research. Additional resources for scholarly projects are available through the AdventHealth Research Institute and AdventHealth Animal Lab services at the Nicholson Center. We are committed to provide an environment where well-being and professional development of our fellows is prioritized.

Hussnain Mirza, MD, MBA

Program Director | Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Loma Linda School of Medicine (Orlando Campus)

Program Leadership

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Hussnain Mirza, MD, MBA

Program Director

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Narendra Dereddy, MD

Associate Program Director

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Anoop Pulickal MD, PhD

Core Faculty

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Rene Ruiz, MD

Core Faculty

Simulation Director

Melissa Tyree, MD

Melissa Tyree, MD

Core Faculty

Neonatal ECMO Director

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Samarth Shukla, MD

Core Faculty

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Rajan Wadhawan, MD

Faculty

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William Oh, MD

Faculty

Research Director

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Leslie Pineda, MD

Faculty

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Sadie Williams, MD

Core Faculty

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Hilton Bernstein, MD

Faculty

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Tanvi Kamdar, MD

Faculty

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Reina Mayor, MD

Faculty

Core Curriculum

Curriculum

Fellowship training at AdventHealth is divided in clinical, elective and academic categories. In three years, core clinical training is only 12 months, fellows can select 3-6 blocks of elective rotation with any pediatric sub-specialty or with Maternal-Fetal Medicine at AdventHealth or any of our sister institutions. We also offer training in point of care ultrasound (POCUS) and targeted Neonatal Echocardiography (TnECHO). Fellows have 18-24 months protected time for scholarly projects. When not on clinical service, our fellows attend NICU follow up clinic for a morning or afternoon session once a week (up to 25 sessions/ year). We offer a “Biostatistics & Grant writing” course to all fellows, facilitate them in networking and career development. Fellows are supported to attend all regional and national conferences to present their research. For additional clinical experience in our level 2 NICUs, fellows are allowed to moonlight after the program director’s approval.

Elective rotation opportunities: NICU follow-up clinic/MFM clinic/Cardiac ICU-ECMO, Neurology & EEG, Peds Surgery, Neonatal Anesthesia & Pain Management, Targeted Echocardiography or Point of Care Ultrasound training.

PGY-4 RotationsBlocks
Orientation1 Block
L&D 1 Block
Transport1 Block
Research5 Blocks
NICU4 Blocks
Elective1 Block
PGY-5 RotationsBlocks
NICU4 Blocks
Research7 Blocks
Elective2 Blocks
PGY-6 RotationsBlocks
NICU4 Blocks
Research6 Blocks
Elective3 Blocks
Conferences

In the beginning of the year, new fellows are offered a short course on ‘Research Methodology, biostatistics & Grant Writing'. A training workshop is also offered annually to teach basics of Point of Care Ultrasound. Other academic and teaching activities are scheduled at regular intervals as given below:

Conferences and MeetingsFrequency
  1. Neonatal Core Curriculum (NCC)
Bi-Weekly
  1. Clinical Radiology Conference
Weekly
  1. Journal Club
Monthly
  1. Neonatal Case Conference/ Morbidity & Mortality
Monthly
  1. Neo-MFM Conference
Monthly
  1. Neonatal & Pediatric Research Conference
Monthly
  1. Pediatric Grand Rounds (Optional)
Monthly
  1. Neonatal Ethics Committee Meeting
As needed
  1. Biostatistics, Research Design & Grant Writing
Annual
  1. Point of Care Ultrasound- Training Workshop
Annual
Research

Academic and Scholarly activities at AdventHealth for Children are guided by Professor Williams Oh, MD, Director of pediatric clinical research and author of more than 500 peer reviewed publications. Our dynamic faculty is actively conducting clinical research in collaboration with Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium (CHNC), BPD Collaborative and other sister institutions. We secured academic research grants and industry funding for clinical trials and other multicenter studies. Transitional Research Institute (TRI) has “state of the art” lab facilities for bench research and an animal facility is available at the Nicholson Center in AdventHealth Celebration. Our fellows can collaborate with mentors in other departments to work on a multidisciplinary research project.

Walt Disney Pavilion at AdventHealth for Children

Training Sites

Primary clinical training occurs mainly at the AdventHealth Orlando campus.

The NICU Follow-Up clinic training takes place at the AdventHealth for Children Specialty Care building.

Program Information

Physicians interviewing

Application Process Join Our Team

We proudly received our ACGME accreditation in April 2025.

Please note we will be participating in the NRMP Match. At that time, all applicants will need to apply through the ERAS website.

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Fellowship Coordinator
Contact Information

Jessica Pena

Email Jessica