Overview

Overview

The mission of our program is to provide an outstanding educational experience in an environment that promotes a balance between academics, clinical activities, and clinical research. The program is fully ACGME accredited. The graduating fellow will possess the academic knowledge, clinical acumen, and procedural expertise required to become a successful pulmonologist/intensivist.

During the three-year training period, the fellows have exposure to the various disciplines of pulmonary and critical care medicine. There is strong subspecialty experience in pulmonary hypertension, interventional pulmonology, thoracic oncology, interstitial lung disease, bronchiectasis, and sleep medicine. The diversity of clinical material is further enriched through the collaboration with other departments at Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital, such as Anesthesiology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Radiology, ENT, Allergy & Immunology, and Pathology.

The program has access to state-of-the-art technology including a SIM Lab.

The hospital is a tertiary care referral center both for the state of Florida but also for a substantial number of international patients for a variety of countries.

Program Director

Anas Hadeh, MD
Anas Hadeh, MD
Goals & Objectives

Goals & Objectives

By the completion of your fellowship, you are expected to learn and develop expertise in the following areas of Pulmonary Medicine:

  1. Obstructive lung diseases, including asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, bronchiectasis, and cystic fibrosis
  2. Pulmonary malignancy--primary and metastatic
  3. Pulmonary infections, including tuberculosis, fungal, and those in the immunocompromised host
  4. Diffuse interstitial lung disease
  5. Pulmonary vascular disease, including primary and secondary pulmonary hypertension and the vasculitis and pulmonary hemorrhage syndromes
  6. Occupational and environmental lung diseases
  7. Iatrogenic respiratory diseases, including drug-induced disease
  8. Acute lung injury, including radiation, inhalation, and trauma
  9. Pulmonary manifestations of systemic diseases, including collagen vascular diseases that are primary in other organs
  10. Respiratory failure, including the adult respiratory distress syndrome, acute and chronic respiratory failure in obstructive lung diseases, and neuromuscular respiratory drive disorders
  11. Disorders of the pleura and the mediastinum
  12. Genetic and developmental disorders of the respiratory system
  13. Sleep disorders

By the completion of your fellowship, you are expected to learn and develop expertise in the following areas of Critical Care Medicine:

  1. Establishment of airway
  2. Maintenance of open airway in non-intubated, unconscious, paralyzed patients
  3. Oral and nasotracheal intubation
  4. Breathing, ventilation
    1. Ventilation by bag or mask
    2. Mechanical ventilation using pressure-cycled, volume-cycled ventilators
    3. Use of reservoir masks and continuous positive airway pressure masks for delivery of supplemental oxygen, humidifiers, nebulizers, and incentive spirometry
    4. Weaning and respiratory care techniques
    5. Management of pneumothorax (needle insertion, tube thoracostomy, and drainage systems)
  5. Maintenance of circulation
    1. Arterial puncture and blood sampling
    2. Insertion of central venous, arterial, and pulmonary artery balloon flotation catheters
    3. Basic and advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation
    4. Cardioversion
  6. Pulmonary function tests to assess respiratory mechanics, gas exchange, and respiratory drive, including spirometry, flow volume studies, lung volumes, diffusing capacity, arterial blood gas analysis, and exercise studies
  7. Diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, including thoracentesis, pleural biopsy, flexible fiber-optic bronchoscopy, and related procedures
  8. Calibration and operation of hemodynamic recording systems
  9. Ventilatory support, weaning, and respiratory care techniques
  10. Examination and interpretation of sputum, bronchopulmonary secretions, pleural fluid/tissue, and lung tissue for infectious agents; cytology; and histopathology
  11. Basic interpretation of imaging procedures including:
    1. Chest roentgenograms
    2. Computed axial tomograms
    3. Radionuclide scans
    4. Pulmonary angiograms
    5. Other radiologic procedures
  12. Sleep studies
  13. Inhalation challenge studies
  14. Thoracostomy tube insertion and drainage

Board Accreditation:

All fellows will be board-eligible upon completion of the fellowship. The program continues to boast a very high passing rate for both pulmonary disease and critical care medicine board exams.

Evaluations

Evaluation of fellow with feedback to fellow at least twice per year.

Evaluation of staff and program at least twice per year.

Education & Conferences

Education & Conferences

Ultrasonography Training

All fellows are invited to attend this one-day training during orientation . Topics covered include thoracic ultrasound, cardiovascular ultrasound, FAST examination, vascular, and more. Point of care ultrasound training is provided by Ivan Romero-Legro, MD and Roger Alvarez, DO who are board certified in Critical Care Ultrasound and Echocardiography.

Simulation Center

Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital boasts a multispecialty simulation center. Fellows have access to a bronchoscopy simulator, allowing fellows to master basic bronchoscopy skills and airway anatomy. Fellows can also hone their technique in more advanced procedures, such as EBUS.

Educational Conferences

In addition to patient-centered education, the program provides a comprehensive didactic schedule. The fellows are required to attend two weekly core curriculum conferences. Additional conferences include Pulmonary Medicine Grand Rounds, hemodynamic rounds, a multi-institute journal club, an interdisciplinary ILD conference, Morbidity & Mortality Conference, research conference, weekly board review, and an interdisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Conference. The Fellow Lecture Series takes place during the second half of the year and allows fellows to lecture on topics of their choosing. In doing so, fellows not only gain mastery of content but also refine lecturing skills to promote future success in academic environments.

Rotations

Rotations

Pulmonary Consults

Fellows will gain expertise in primary pulmonary pathology during this inpatient rotation. In addition to being exposed to a diverse spectrum of disease, fellows will also become adept in thoracentesis, needle aspiration, and inpatient bronchoscopy during this rotation.

Procedures

The purpose of this rotation is to gain expertise in advanced bronchoscopy techniques under the mentorship of our program’s two interventional pulmonologists during a busy outpatient bronchoscopy schedule. Not only will fellows quickly gain mastery in basic bronchoscopy techniques, but they will also become comfortable with advanced diagnostic techniques such as endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) and navigational bronchoscopy robotic-assisted bronchoscopy. There will also be exposure to advanced interventional bronchoscopy skills such as rigid bronchoscopy, bronchial thermoplasty, and other advanced techniques. A plethora of advanced interventional pulmonary procedures as well including rigid bronchoscopy, tracheobronchial stent placement, tumor resection/debulking, thermal airway therapies, delayed and rapid ablative cryotherapies, transbronchial lung cryobiopsy, percutaneous tracheostomy, bronchoscopic lung volume reduction and endobronchial valves for persistent air-leak. During this rotation, fellows will also become competent in bronchoscopic intubations.

MICU

The purpose of these rotations is to gain expertise in the management of the critically ill patient. Our MICU encompasses standard medical, cardiac, and neurologically critically ill patients. Fellows will become comfortable with patients on advanced mechanical support (balloon pumps, Impella, ECMO).

Fellows will also gain vast procedural experience in endotracheal intubation (employing advanced techniques utilizing fiberoptic bronchoscopy and video laryngoscope), thoracentesis, chest tubes, central venous lines, arterial lines, and other procedures. Fellows can also be supervised in bedside tracheostomy by our interventional pulmonologists.

Night Float

The program boasts a night float system that eliminates the fatigue of a 24-hour call. Fellows have the opportunity to supervise the MICU team and respond to urgent pulmonary consults overnight.

Ambulatory

As a tertiary care center, Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital has unparalleled outpatient exposure from both a domestic and international patient population. There is subspecialty expertise in almost every discipline of pulmonary medicine.

Surgical and Trauma ICU

The purpose of these rotations is to gain expertise in the differential diagnosis and management of critically ill surgical trauma patients. Fellows rotate in the surgical ICU here at Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital and the Surgical Trauma ICU at Kendall Regional Medical Center, which is a Level 1 Trauma Center.

Electives

  • Anesthesiology
  • Cardiothoracic surgery
  • Radiology
  • ENT
  • Allergy& Immunology
  • Sleep
  • Pulmonary Hypertension
  • Research
  • Other: fellows are encouraged to be creative in finding an elective that they would find useful in their career as a pulmonologist/intensivist. Away electives are also possible.
Benefits

Benefits

Benefits information including salaries, insurance information and more, can be found by visiting the Graduate Medical Education Benefits page.

Our Team

Our Team

Program Director

Anas Hadeh, MD
Research Interests: Airway disease, Asthma, COPD, Bronchiectasis and Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM)

Associate Program Director

John Woytanowski, MD
Interventional Pulmonology
Research Interests: Bronchoscopic Lung Volume Reduction Outcomes, Pleural Fluid Biomarkers, and ICU Outcomes

Teaching Faculty

Dr. Andres Borja Alvarez
Research Interests: Chronic/Refractory Cough, COPD, Mobility in the ICU

Justin Dolan, MD
Research Interests: NTM, Bronchiectasis, and ILD

Sam Faradyan, MD
Research Interests: Molecular Biology, Pulmonary, Critical Care

Samantha Gillenwater, MD
Research Interests: PAH

Samuel Gurevich, MD
Medical Director of Respiratory Therapy
Research Interests: Sleep Medicine, Pulmonary, Critical Care

Christopher Lau, MD
Research Interests: ILD and COPD, COVID-19 and IP Trials

Nydia Martinez, MD
Research Interests: ILD, IPF, Sarcoidosis, Palliative Care

Ivan Romero, MD
Interventional Pulmonology
Research Interests: Lung Cancer, COVID-19 and IP Trials

David Zisman, MD
Research Interests: ILD and PAH

Program Coordinator

Janine Rodrigues, MS, CNS, LDN, CDN, MLIS, Notary
Senior Program Coordinator
2950 Cleveland Clinic Boulevard
Weston, Florida 33331
Email: rodrigj17@ccf.org

Current Fellows

Current Fellows

Class of 2025

Ali Al-Tarbsheh, MD 

Ali Al-Tarbsheh, MD
Medical School: The University of Jordan
Residency: Albany Medical Center

Ramez Halaseh, MD 

Ramez Halaseh, MD
Medical School: Jordan University of Science and Technology
Residency: Medstar Washington Hospital Center

Daniela Trelles-Garcia MD 

Daniela Trelles-Garcia MD
Medical School: University of Cuenca
Residency: AMITA Health Saint Francis Hospital

Class of 2026

Brian Foster, MD

Brian Foster, MD
Medical School: Ross University
Residency: Southeast Health

Ana Suarez Gonzalez, MD

Ana Suarez Gonzalez, MD
Medical School: Universidad Iberoamericana UNIBE
Residency: HCA Kendall Regional

Sikandar Khan, MD

Sikandar Khan, MD
Medical School: American University of the Caribbean
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital

Class of 2027

Kirandeep Kaur, MD

Kirandeep Kaur, MD
Medical School: Baba Farid University of Health Sciences
Residency: East Tennessee State University/Quillen College of Medicine Program

Ana Martinez-Nunez, MD

Ana Martinez-Nunez, MD
Medical School: Saint George’s University School of Medicine
Residency: HCA Florida, Aventura Hospital

Meagan Mayo, DO

Meagan Mayo, DO
Medical School: Nova Southeastern University
Residency: Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University

Lewjain Sakr, MD

Lewjain Sakr, MD
Medical School: Ross University School of Medicine
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital

Alumni Fellows

Alumni Fellows

Class of 2018

Felix Hernandez, MD
Medical School: Ross University, Dominica
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital

Krunal Patel, MD
Medical School: Ross University, Dominica
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital

Class of 2019

Justin Dolan, MD
Medical School: Ross University, Dominica
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital

Saketh P. Shekar, MD
Medical School: Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, India
Residency: Morristown Medical Center, NJ

Class of 2020

Apurva Gandhi, MD
Medical School: B.J. Medical College, India
Residency: Abington Jefferson Health, PA
Fellowship: Sleep Medicine, Temple University Hospital, PA

Mustafa Akbiek, MD
Medical School: Jordan University of Science & Technology
Residency: St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, OH

Emad Alkhankan, MD
Medical School: Albaath University, Syria
Residency: Marshall University
Fellowship: Pulmonary Diseases, Marshall University

Phalgoon Shah, MD
Medical School: SMT NHL Municipal Medical College
Residency: Tripler Army Medical Center
Fellowship: Pulmonary Critical Care Medicine, Case Western University MetroHealth Medical Center

Class of 2021

Andrew Daya, MD
Medical School: St. George’s University, Grenada
Residency: Drexel University College of Medicine
Fellowship: Sleep Medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine

Christopher D’Angelo, MD
Medical School: St. George’s University, Grenada
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital

Raiko Diaz, DO
Medical School: Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital
Fellowship: Pulmonary Disease, Aventura Hospital and Medical Center 

Class of 2022

Samantha Gillenwater, MD
Medical School: Ross University, Dominica
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital

Melaine Lanza, MD
Medical School: Ross University, Dominica
Residency: Florida Atlantic University

John Woytanowski, MD
Medical School: St. George's University, Grenada
Residency: Drexel University College of Medicine
Fellowship: Interventional Pulmonology, Duke University School of Medicine

Class of 2023

Daniel Kotok, MD
Medical School: Volgrad State Medical University
Residency: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Tristan Pasek, MD
Medical School: Saint James School of Medicine
Residency: Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Center

Andrew Kim, MD
Medical School: Saint George’s University School of Medicine
Residency: Hahnemann University Hospital, Drexel University College of Medicine

Class of 2024

Alibel Bello, MD
Medical School: Northeast Ohio Medical University
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Akron General

Miquel Gonzalez, MD
Medical School: Florida International University
Residency: Cleveland Clinic in Florida

Christopher Railwah, MD
Medical School: University of West Indies
Residency: Sunny Downstate Medical Center

Veronica Williams, DO
Medical School: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine