Overview
Cleveland Clinic's Gastrointestinal, Hepatic and Pancreatobiliary Pathology (GI/HPB) Fellowship is an intensive one-year program that provides thorough exposure to diagnostic surgical pathology and current molecular techniques used in the management of gastrointestinal, hepatic and pancreatobiliary diseases. The program provides insight into the multidisciplinary management of both neoplastic and non-neoplastic inflammatory conditions, including both intestinal and liver transplantation pathology. Our GI and HPB Pathology Services see over 70,000 in-house and over 4,500 external consult cases per year. Fellows are an integral part of the GI and HPB Pathology services and interact with our team of subspecialized faculty. Fellows matriculating through our program develop proficient diagnostic skills, an in-depth understanding of the implications of pathologic diagnoses in the management of patients and are involved in clinical or translational research projects.
You will find more details about our program through this website. We invite you to explore more about Cleveland Clinic, our fellowship program, and living in Cleveland. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us.
Erica Savage, MD
Director, Gastrointestinal, Hepatic and Pancreatobiliary Pathology Fellowship
Phone: 216.445.7016
Email: savagee2@ccf.org
Clifton Fulmer, MD, PhD
Associate Director, Gastrointestinal, Hepatic and Pancreatobiliary Pathology Fellowship
Phone: 216.445.3707
Email: fulmerc@ccf.org
Program Details
We offer 3 fellowship positions per academic year, beginning July 1 and extending through June 30. Pre-requisites for the fellowship include 3 years of Anatomic Pathology or 4 years of combined Anatomic and Clinical Pathology residency training.
Throughout the year, fellows rotate through four key services:
- Gastrointestinal Consultation Service (17-18 weeks).
- Hepatic and Pancreatobiliary Consultation Service (17-18 weeks).
- In-House Gastrointestinal, Hepatic, and Pancreatobiliary Services (9 weeks).
- Research/Elective (approximately 5 weeks after accounting for GME allotted time away).
Responsibilities during the fellowship primarily consist of previewing and generating surgical pathology reports for consultation and in-house material. The consultation service includes review of cases with physical slides as well as review of national and international consultation cases using whole slide digital imaging technology. On the in-house services, the fellows independently work up cases and are involved with resident sign-outs, gross room supervision, and GI/HPB frozen sections. In addition to these service responsibilities, the fellows are responsible for preparing case presentations and discussing cases at the Multidisciplinary Colorectal Cancer Conference, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Conference, Liver Transplant Conference, and Pediatric GI Conference, all of which provide unique learning experiences and allow fellows to engage and interact with other members of the clinical team. The Cleveland Clinic has an active hereditary colorectal cancer program, and our fellows are involved in universal screening for Lynch syndrome using mismatch repair protein immunohistochemistry and BRAF/RAS mutational analysis. Other molecular exposure includes interpretation of HER2 and PD-L1 immunohistochemistry studies. Additionally, our fellows are involved in the education of our clinical gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary fellows in the Digestive Disease Institute and present at our monthly journal club.
Program Benefits
Fellow benefits
For an up-to-date overview of fellow salaries and benefits, please see the Graduate Medical Education webpage. Please see below for more detailed information about our department.
Learning resources
The Cleveland Clinic Alumni Library is located at Main Campus and has more than 9,000 hard-copy textbooks and electronic access to more than 1,000 journals. There is also an extensive collection of e-books (through ClinicalKey and more) and other clinical tools (such as UpToDate and Scopus). Study rooms and a computer lab are also available.
National meetings
Fellows receive a meeting fund to present accepted abstracts at national meetings.
Spaces and places
Our recently renovated educational space has multiple conference rooms, huddle rooms, and multiheaded microscopes, as well as a resident and fellow room. Each fellow is provided a permanent cubicle with a microscope, computer, and storage space.
Wellness
Fellows receive free access to Cleveland Clinic fitness facilities on Main Campus under the Cleveland Clinic Housestaff Health Care Plan. The fitness center is open seven days a week and includes cardio and weight machines, a 20-meter heated swimming pool, basketball courts, and exercise classes.
Faculty Highlights
Editorial Boards with CCF GI/HPB Staff
- Advances in Anatomic Pathology.
- American Journal of Clinical Pathology.
- American Journal of Surgical Pathology.
- Annals of Diagnostic Pathology.
- CAP Today.
- Human Pathology.
- Journal of Climate Change and Health.
- Modern Pathology.
- Pathology Case Reviews.
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine International.
- World Health Organization.
Societies that CCF GI/HPB Staff Hold Committee or Leadership Positions
- American Society of Clinical Pathology.
- Association of Directors of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology.
- College of American Pathologists.
- Hans Popper Hepatopathology Society.
- Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network (NASH-CRN).
- Pancreaticobiliary Pathology Society.
- Rodger C. Haggitt Gastrointestinal Pathology Society.
- Stenosis Therapy and Anti-Fibrotic Research (STAR) Consortium.
2023 Publications by CCF GI/HPB Staff
- Original Gastrointestinal Pathology Articles: 12
- Original HPB Pathology Articles: 13
- Original Articles – Non GI/HPB Pathology: 11
- Case Reports – GI/HPB Pathology: 4
- Review Articles - Gastrointestinal Pathology: 2
- Review Articles – HPB Pathology: 1
- Society Educational Cases:
Roger C. Haggitt Gastrointestinal Pathology Society Case of the Month: 3
Hans Popper Hepatopathology Society Case of the Quarter: 1
Recent Graduates
2023 Graduates
|
Graduates |
Residency Program |
Current Position |
|
Ksenia Chezar, MD |
University of Calgary |
University Hospitals and Clinics, Cleveland, OH |
|
Lanisha Fuller, MD |
Cleveland Clinic |
Pathology Consultants of South Broward, Miramar, FL |
|
Maria Mostyka, DO |
New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center |
Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA |
2022 Graduates
|
Graduates |
Residency Program |
Current Position |
|
Ahmed Bakhshwin, MD |
Cleveland Clinic |
King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
|
Sarah Elsoukkary, MD |
New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center |
Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH |
|
Vishakha Pardeshi, MD |
Wayne State University |
Pathology Group of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, LA |
2021 Graduates
|
Graduates |
Residency Program |
Current Position |
|
Haiyan Lu, MD, PhD |
Cleveland Clinic |
Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC |
|
Steven Mann, MD |
Indiana University |
Alabama Pathology Associates PC, Montgomery, AL |
2020 Graduates
|
Graduates |
Residency Program |
Current Position |
|
Kelsey McHugh, MD |
Cleveland Clinic |
Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ |
|
Daniel Owen, MD |
University of British Columbia |
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada |
2019 Graduates
|
Graduates |
Residency Program |
Current Position |
|
Catherine Forse, MD |
University of Toronto |
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada |
|
Rebecca Waters, DO |
University of Texas – Galveston |
MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX |
2018 Graduates
|
Graduates |
Residency Program |
Current Position |
|
Taisia Vitkovski, DO |
Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine |
Northwell Health, New Hyde Park, NY |
|
Eric Willis, MD |
Cleveland Clinic |
OhioHealth – Riverside Methodist Hospital, Columbus, OH |
2017 Graduates
|
Graduates |
Residency Program |
Current Position |
|
Lani Clinton, MD, PhD |
University of Hawai’i |
PathAI Diagnostics |
|
Rahul Jawale, MBBS, MD |
Baystate Medical Center/Tufts University |
UMass Chan Medical School- Baystate Pathology, Springfield, MA |
2016 Graduates
|
Graduates |
Residency Program |
Current Position |
|
Erica Savage, MD |
University of Iowa |
Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH |
|
Seema Sethi, MBBS |
Wayne State University |
Veterans Affairs Medical Center-University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI |
2015 Graduates
|
Graduates |
Residency Program |
Current Position |
|
Ashwini Esnakula, MD |
Howard University Hospital |
The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH |
|
Homer Wiland, MD |
Cleveland Clinic |
OhioHealth-Mansfield, Mansfield, OH |
2014 Graduates
|
Graduates |
Residency Program |
Current Position |
|
Kathryn Brown, MD |
University of Mississippi |
Baptist Memorial Hospital-Mississippi Baptist Medical Center, Jackson, MS |
|
Lili Lee, MD |
NYU Langone Medical Center |
NYU Langone Health, New York, NY |
2013 Graduates
|
Graduates |
Residency Program |
Current Position |
|
David Hernandez Gonzalo, MD |
Cleveland Clinic |
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL |
|
Keith Lai, MD |
Cleveland Clinic |
Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA |
Alumni Testimonials
“I highly recommend the Cleveland Clinic GI Pathology Fellowship. The teaching faculty are exceptional, and the wide spectrum of cases is unparalleled. The instruction I received in my fellowship was invaluable and continues to assist me to this day in my current role as an Attending Pathologist.”
– Rebecca Waters, DO (2018-2019), Assistant Professor at MD Anderson Cancer Center
"The GI/HPB fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic is an amazing opportunity to see a variety of complex cases and to learn the nuances of pathology from outstanding faculty. The fellowship structure allows for rigorous learning from consults and in-house cases. There are also numerous opportunities to interact with residents. Most importantly, I enjoyed working with and learning from my co-fellows who are superstars and who made the final year of my training truly special."
– Maria Mostyka, DO (2022-2023), Assistant Professor at Thomas Jefferson University
“I had a great experience at Cleveland Clinic. I felt welcome, and a part of the Cleveland Clinic family instantaneously. I was truly taken by the amazing mentorship, the volume and diversity of cases in GI/HPB. A variety of complex cases to learn from both from consult and in-house service. I would be amiss to mention my amazing co-fellows who made my journey more beautiful, and dare I say we’ve become good friends along the path.”
– Vishakha Killari, MD (2022), Pathologist at the Pathology Group of Louisiana
“Of the many strengths of the GI/HPB pathology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic, the exposure to exceptionally diverse and complex consultation material, strong faculty group, and energizing environment stand out to me. As a fellow, I had the opportunity to work closely with faculty members and learn from challenging cases from around the country (and internationally) on a daily basis. The caliber of training and knowledge gained from this program have been invaluable to me when confronted with similar challenges as an attending. Lastly, the program is exceptionally well-organized, supportive, and offers ample opportunities for additional involvement in didactic initiatives.”
– Ksenia Chezar, MD (2022-2023), Assistant Professor at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
About Cleveland
Cleveland, an ethnically diverse, mid-sized city located on Lake Erie, features a host of cultural attractions, recreational activities, major sporting events and an exploding culinary scene. Cleveland is home to the second largest theater district in the U.S., a park system featuring 23,700 acres in 18 reservations, and is the birthplace of rock ’n’ roll, home to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Cleveland Clinic is located near the University Circle area, which is the cultural epicenter of Cleveland. This area features Severance Hall and the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Museum of Art, several other museums, and Case Western Reserve University. Downtown Cleveland, home to all major sports venues and an exploding culinary scene, is approximately two miles from Cleveland Clinic’s main campus.
Application Information
Download the Application for Fellowship
Early application is encouraged, and electronic copies of documentation are preferred. Applications and letters of recommendation must be received by July 1 of the current academic year for appointments beginning two years later on July 1 (i.e., July 1, 2024 for programs beginning July 1, 2026).
Contacts
Erica Savage, MD
Fellowship Program Director
Phone: 216.445.7016
Email: savagee2@ccf.org
Clifton Fulmer, MD
Fellowship Program Associate Director
Phone: 216.445.3707
Email: fulmerc@ccf.org
Darlene Straub
Program Manager, Center for Pathology Education
Phone: 216.217.0596
Fax: 216.444.6715
Email: straubd@ccf.org
