Columbia University Abdominal Wall Surgery Fellowship Program
About the Abdominal Wall Fellowship
This fully funded training opportunity will encompass exposure to a wide range of Abdominal Wall surgery, including extensive experience with both routine and complex inguinal and ventral repairs, abdominal wall reconstructions, management of mesh complications and groin pain. The applicant will also have significant exposure to all aspects of modern robotic hernia and abdominal wall surgery. There will also be significant exposure to soft tissue reconstruction as well.
As of 2024 there are 2 fellowship positions available with a mix of mostly clinical but also research exposure with a full-time research assistant who works solely for our Division.
How to Apply
We are looking for driven individuals with track records of clinical excellence who are interested in a career in Hernia and Abdominal Wall Surgery.
Interested applicants should submit their CV, 2-3 letters of recommendation and a brief personal statement detailing their interest in the Fellowship and the Hernia field overall to: columbiahernia@gmail.com
The application process opens January 10th, 2025. Deadline for applications is March 1st, 2025 and we hope to complete our selection process by April 15th, 2024 (prior to the MIS match)
Unfortunately, we will not be able to consider H-1 or J-1 visa holders/applicants.
Current Clinical Fellows
2025
Sarah Mohamedaly, MD
Katherine Hopkins, MD
Current Academic Fellow
2025
Viemma Nwigwe, MD
Fellowship Graduates
Below is a list of past fellows and their current clinical roles:
2024
Michael Turturro, MD
Abdominal Wall Surgeon at Overlook Medical Center, Summit, NJ
David Morrell, MD
Abdominal Wall Surgeon at Intermountain Health, Salt Lake City, UT
2023
Artem Shmelev
Assistant Professor of Surgery at Stony Brook University Hospital, Stony Brook, NY
2022
Kimberly Coughlin
Abdominal Wall Surgeon at Ascension St. John Hospital, Detroit, MI
2021
Kelly Tunder
Abdominal Wall Surgeon at Advocate Aurora Health, Milwaukee, WI
2020
Vagahn Nikolian
Assistant Professor of Surgery at Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, OR
2019
Dina Podolsky
Assistant Professor of Surgery at Columbia University, New York, NY