Newborn Medicine
Current Fellows
First Year Fellows
Adam DeTora:
Dr. DeTora received his Bachelors of Science degree summa cum laude in Life Science from Cornell University and his MD from the University of Massachusetts, where he also completed his Pediatrics Residency. Adam has laboratory and quality improvement experience, and is interested in pursuing research in the clinical spectrum during fellowship.
Danielle Ehret:
Dr. Ehret graduated with honors from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Biology, Health and Society. She received her MD from the State University of New York Upstate Medical University, during which she was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Following her medical training, she was recruited to the pediatric residency program at Yale New Haven Children's Hospital. While at Yale, she became a Master Trainer in the Helping Babies Breath program and helped to educate local birth attendants in Rwanda. Danielle will be working with Dr. Jonathan Spector at Massachusetts General Hospital on a project to rigorously test an environmentally and socially responsible perinatal intervention in under-resourced international settings.
Hanine Hajj:
Dr. Hanine Hajj graduated form the Université Saint-Joseph in Lebanon, where she received Firsts in both biochemistry and genetics, and was a recipient of the Best Honor Student Award for consistently superior ranking in each of her seven years of medical school. She undertook an internship in pediatrics at Hotel-Dieu de France University Hospital in Beirut, then completed her pediatrics residency at the University of Iowa, during which she worked in the laboratory of Dr. Jeffery Murray, investigating genetic contributions to PDA treatment responsiveness. Hanine plans to continue her basic science research work at Harvard.
Timmy Ho:
Dr. Timmy Ho received his Bachelor of Science Degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a Haskell and Ina Gordon Scholar and Crew Chief and Personnel Officer of the MIT Emergency Medical System Transport Service. He attended Harvard Medical School in the Harvard-MIT Health Science and Technology Program before entering the Boston Combined Residency Program. During undergraduate and medical school, he worked on basic science projects in several prominent laboratories. He is now interested in exploring mechanisms to improve the efficiency, workflow and patient experience of health care delivery in the inpatient setting.
Sarah Morton:
Dr. Morton received her Bachelor's of Science degree from the University of Michigan, where she was a Barry Goldwater Scholar and her combined MD/PhD in Biochemistry from the University of California, San Francisco, where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. She entered the Boston Combined Residency Program in 2010 and completed the Accelerated pathway over the next two years. Sarah has had a strong commitment to community involvement, including, among other roles, a tenure as co-external Vice President of the UCSF Graduate Students' Association and as a Trustee of the non-profit Telluride Association, which had provided educational opportunities to high school and college students for over 100 years. Dr. Morton's doctoral work focused on the role of microRNA in cardiac development in various animal models. She plans to continue her basic science focus in fellowship and beyond.
Amit Mukhia:
Dr. Amit Mukhia graduated from St. John's Medical College in Bangalore, India, during which he won distinction as Best Pediatric Graduate Dissertation at the State level. He completed further training in the United Kingdom, culminating in membership in the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health. He completed his US Pediatrics residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. Dr. Mukhia has experience in both clinical and laboratory-based research, and is interested in pursuing a basic science agenda during fellowship.
Second Year Fellows
Eileen Cowan:
Dr. Eileen Cowan obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering at University of Illinois, where she was inducted into the Phi Eta Sigma and Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Societies. She received her MD from Loyola University of Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, and was awarded the Father John Fahey Outstanding Service Scholarship for her many outreach activities in both domestic and international settings. Eileen completed her residency at the University of Michigan Mott Children's Hospital. As a resident, she performed research into the disease-specific effectiveness of ECMO. She is now working with Dr. Mark Puder in the Boston Children's Hospital Department of Surgery on a translational research agenda focused on the mechanisms of novel nutritional interventions.
Emöke Deschmann:
Dr. Emöke Deschmann received her MD from Semmelweiss University in Hungary, where she also started a pediatrics residency. She was awarded a European Union scholarship to undertake a clinical rotation at Karolinska University and Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital in Stockholm, and remained to complete her pediatrics and initial neonatology training. She also completed her PhD at Karolinska with a focus on noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring of early enteral feeding. Dr. Deschmann is a recipient of the 2008 Young Investigator's Award from the European Society for Pediatric Research. She is currently working with Harvard neonatologist and scientist Dr. Martha Sola-Visner on translational aspects of platelet function. Concurrent with her fellowship, Dr. Deschmann won admission to the highly competitive Harvard Scholars in Clinical Science Program, a two-year program in translational and clinical research methodology, which will culminate in a Master of Science degree in 2014.
Mayya Geha:
Dr. Mayya Geha received her Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry and biology from Oberlin College, then worked as a research technician in Boston and New Orleans before graduating with her MD from Tulane University School of Medicine. She completed her pediatrics residency at Children's National Medical Center prior to joining the Harvard Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program. Dr. Geha is working in the laboratory of Harvard scientist Dr. Geroge Tsokos at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Sailaja Ghanta:
Dr. Sailaja Ghanta graduated summa cum laude from the accelerated Physician Scientist Program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Albany Medical College, in which students undertake a Bachelor of Science from RPI and MD from Albany Medical College in seven years. Dr. Ghanta then completed her pediatrics residency at Brown University, where she worked with Dr. Jim Padbury to examine engraftment, early differentiation and mRNA expression patterns of umbilical cord hematopoietic stem cells. She is continuing her work with Harvard faculty member Dr. Mark Perella on the modulation of inflammation and oxidative stress in systemic disease processes.
Kyoung Joung:
Dr. Kyoung Joung received her MD summa cum laude, as well as her Master's degree, from Seoul National University. She completed a pediatrics residency at the same institution, then completed her US pediatrics residency at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Joung is an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant and was a member of the Seoul National University Medical and Nursing Chorus. She is currently undertaking translational research in the laboratory of Harvard endocrinologist Dr. Christos Mantzoros. Concurrent with her fellowship, Dr. Joung won admission to the highly competitive Harvard Scholars in Clinical Science Program, a two-year program in translational and clinical research methodology, and will complete a Master of Science degree from Harvard Medical School in 2014.
Eniko Sajti:
Dr. Eniko Sajti completed pre-medical training in Romania and Hungary, then received her MD and PhD degrees from the University of Utrecht. She started a pediatrics residency at University Medical Center in Utrecht, then received a grant from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences to train as a post-doctoral research fellow at the UCSF Cardiovascular Research Institute, where she worked on basic mechanisms of pulmonary lymphatic sequelae of congenital heart disease. She completed her pediatrics residency in the Boston Combined Residency Program. Dr. Sajti is working in the laboratory of Harvard Neonatology Chair Dr. Stella Kourembanas on the mechanisms of interaction of mesenchymal stem cells with bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
Third Year Fellows
Natalie Davis:
Dr. Davis is a third year fellow in the Harvard Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program. She received her medical degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and completed her pediatrics residency at University of California San Francisco (UCSF), following which she served as chief resident. Dr. Davis is working with Boston Children's Hospital neonatologist and pulmonologist Dr. Lawrence Rhein on clinical research projects examining the oximetry phenotypes of preterm neonates, as well as a clinical trial of home oxygen weaning strategies in former preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia. During her second year of fellowship, she was admitted to the Harvard Catalyst Scholars in Clinical Science Program and is working concurrently towards a Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Davis was recently the recipient of an American Academy of Pediatrics Travel Award as one of the top ten perinatlal abstract submissions to the National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.
Liza Konnikova:
Dr. Konnikova is in her third year of training in the Harvard Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program. She received her MD/PhD degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and completed her pediatric residency in the Boston Combined Residency Program at Boston Children's Hospital. Dr. Konnikova is currently pursuing translational research under the mentorship of Harvard neonatologist Dr. Camilia Martin and gastroenterologist Dr. Steve Freedman at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Her work focuses on understanding the connection between intestinal microbiome and onset of neonatal disease, including necrotizing enterocolitis and chronic lung disease.
Sagori Mukhopadhyay:
Dr. Mukhopadhyay is in her senior year of training in the Harvard Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program and is one of the Chief Fellows. She received her medical degree from Burdwan University, India and completed her pediatric residency from SMS medical college, India as well as Boston Combined Residency Program, Boston. Sagori is currently pursuing neonatal sepsis related clinical research under the mentorship of Dr Karen M Puopolo, PhD, MD. Her work focuses on assessment of early onset sepsis screening guidelines, with a view to improving screening protocols and decreasing futile evaluations. She was recently awarded the Von. L. Meyer Award to further support this work. Dr. Mukhopadhyay successfully defended her thesis in the Harvard Catalyst Scholars in Clinical Science Program and will complete her Master of Science in Clinical Investigation degree from Harvard Medical School in 2013.
Ruggero Spadafora:
Senior fellow Dr. Spadafora completed his medical school and pediatric residency at the University of Pavia, Italy. He worked for three years as a post-doctoral fellows in the laboratory of Dr. Donna Ferriero at the University of California San Francisco, where he investigated the effects of hypoxia-ischemia on endogenous neural stem cells in a rat model of neonatal stroke. Currently, he is undertaking basic research in epigenetics under the mentorship of Harvard scientist Dr. Yang Shi, with whom he is studying a potential pathway of demethylation in a primary culture of neurons and the epigenetic marks of inheritance in C. elegans.
Kate Sparger:
Co-Chief Fellow Dr. Kate Sparger received her medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. She completed a pediatric residency and chief residency in the Boston Combined Residency Program at Boston Children's Hospital and Boston Medical Center. Dr. Sparger is currently pursuing clinical research under the mentorship of Harvard neonatologist and scientist Dr. Martha Sola-Visner, with whom she is investigating platelet transfusion practices in the neonatal intensive care unit. Kate's long term goal is to continue clinical research in an academic setting in the field of neonatal hematology, specifically focusing on neonatal thrombocytopenia.
