Message from Program Director
Welcome to the Westchester Medical Center Pathology Residency Program
Westchester Medical Center is a 652-bed academic hospital in Valhalla, NY. It serves as a regional hub of tertiary and quaternary care for a distinct and diverse community of more than 2.4 million people in the Hudson Valley. Our residency is one of the long-standing training programs for Pathology in the United States. I am the new program director, having assumed my responsibilities this academic year in July 2023.
Our Pathology Residency Program provides a unique educational experience and affords training that prepares our residents for either an academic- or a community-based career pathway. We are affiliated with New York Medical College. NYMC offers a variety of medical, dental and graduate degree programs in Life and Laboratory sciences. This affiliation affords access to robust opportunities for teaching, mentorship and professional development.
What is new? In order to appeal to a newer generation of learners, our program has invested in significant program improvements, including the acquisition of current electronic educational resources, and whole slide images obtained from scanning our slides utilized in our routine conferences and curriculum.
My own background is in hematopathology, laboratory medicine, data science and molecular genetics. We are expanding our curriculum in molecular pathology and validating a number of new assays in molecular genetic pathology. Residents have the opportunity to participate in these validations, and incorporate molecular genetics in their day to day learning.
Motivated by our junior residents, we are in the process of starting a data and AI Laboratory, aligning this initiative with changing workflow in many areas. Residents have the opportunity to utilize the new tools available, experiment with these newer technologies and expand their learning horizons. Our residents participate in research projects, quality improvement and patient safety projects and journal clubs.
There is a lot of excitement with change. Our field of pathology is undergoing rapid changes, including ways to train the future pathologist. We embrace change and make available all resources including faculty’s expertise to make every single trainee be a successful pathologist of the future.
We thank you for your interest in Westchester Medical Center.
Sincerely,
Rajan Dewar, MD
Program Director, Westchester Medical Center Pathology Residency
Associate Director, Department of Pathology, Westchester Medical Center
Residency in Pathology - Anatomic & Clinical Pathology
Programs Offered
The Pathology Residency at WMC was accredited in 1951 by the ACGME. Our program is accredited for 12 training positions in the combined Anatomic and Clinical Pathology (4 year AP/CP Track), Anatomic Pathology (3 year AP Only Track) or Clinical Pathology (3 year CP Only Track). The combined training track integrates both anatomical and clinical pathologic training throughout all four years. Anatomic pathology training includes surgical pathology, autopsy pathology, hematopathology, renal pathology, neuropathology, cytopathology, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, and forensic pathology. Clinical pathology encompasses clinical chemistry, hematology, transfusion medicine, transplant immunology, flow cytometry, medical microbiology, immunology, serology, laboratory management and informatics.
All pathology residents participate in yearly research projects. The projects often lead to poster and platform presentations at national conferences, which residents are encouraged to attend. Expenses related to such conferences are reimbursed. For residents who wish to gain additional experience in pathology research, the Valhalla campus and the Cancer Research Institute offer the opportunity to participate in a number of ongoing projects under the direction of a departmental faculty member. The residents have full access to the library facilities of New York Medical College and its online subscriptions. They attend monthly meetings of New York Pathological Society and Westchester Pathology Society in addition to daily departmental conferences and certain clinical conferences. The chief residents and qualified senior residents may receive appointments as Instructors in the Medical College and participate in the education of sophomore medical students.
Types and Numbers of Appointments
Twelve positions are available at the Valhalla Campus: generally three PGY-1 openings are offered each July. Residents are assigned full time to Westchester Medical Center Hospital (WMC) of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network. All elective and required rotations including forensic pathology and cytogenetics are offered within the campus. One month is allocated for an outside rotation of the resident’s choosing in the third year of training.
Research
The opportunities for research at both WMC and NYMC are vast. We currently have projects focused on multiple different areas including; conventional histology, immunohistochemistry, cancer genomics, microbiology and informatics. Residents are able to access a wide array of resources to allow for participation in clinical studies as well as bench work.
Of note are the two Illumina MiSeq next generation sequencers, one at the college and the other at the medical center, and our Phillips whole slide scanner that are available for resident projects. Currently multiple studies engaging these are allowing us to access the forefront of medicine. Regardless of your interest, multiple projects can be undertaken and are encouraged.
Current and Past Residents
Class of 2027
Haiyan Qiu, MD, PhD
Medical School: Qingdao University College of Medical Science
Tasleem Banu, MD
Medical School: Kamineni Institute of Medical Sciences
Manel Bouchama, MD
Medical School: University of Algiers Faculty of Medical Science- Algiers-Algeria
Manisha Regmi, MD
Medical School: California University of Science and Medicine School of Medicine
Class of 2026
Sayed Shahabuddin Hoseini, MD, PhD
Medical School: Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran
Shahab graduated from Tehran University of Medical Sciences with an MD, and received his PhD in Molecular medicine from the Hannover Medical School in Germany. He has published in the areas of immunology and immunotherapy.
Kuaybe Karakus Gulen, MD
Medical School: Uludag Universitesi Tip Fakultesi, Turkey
Garrett Smith, MD, PhD
Medical School: University of Florida College of Medicine, USA
Garrett graduated from Davidson College with a BS in neuroscience, and received his MD and a PHD in neuroscience from the University of Florida. He has published in fields of neuroplasticity, nerve agent countermeasures, neuroscience of aging, and neuroradiology.
Class of 2025
Priti Chamdal, MD
Medical School: Medical University of Lublin, Poland
Priti received her medical degree from Medical University of Lublin in Poland. In her free time, she enjoys reading, and painting, and traveling the world.
Mohamed Elnagdy, MBBCh
Medical School: University of Cairo, Faculty of Medicine, Egypt
Mohamed graduated from University of Cairo in Egypt. After medical school, He joined Pharmacology and Toxicology department at University of Louisville, Kentucky as a graduate teaching assistant and MS/PhD student where he studied PDE4 inhibitors in prevention/treatment of liver fibrosis. He enjoys medical education. He took courses for certificate of Health Professional Education at University of Louisville. Away from medicine, he enjoys family time, tennis, Arabic music and movies.
Nao Odajima Hara, MD, PhD
Medical School: Asahikawa Medical University
Nao graduated from Asahikawa Medical University and obtained PhD degree from Hokkaido University School of Medicine in Japan. She worked as pulmonologist at Hokkaido University and then as postdoctoral research fellow at University of North Carolina. She enjoys skiing, watching movies, and spending time with family.
Class of 2024
Sravanthi Lavu, MBBS
Medical School: Andhra Medical College, India
Sravanthi graduated from Andhra Medical College, India. After medical school, she went to Mayo Clinic as a research trainee in Hepatobiliary Cancer Laboratory working on multicenter clinical trials. She continued there as a postdoctoral research fellow conducting clinical research on myeloproliferative diseases and genotype-phenotype correlation studies in polycystic kidney diseases. Dr. Lavu’s interests include Molecular Pathology. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading books and calligraphy.
Lakshmisree Akhila Vemulakonda, MBBS
Medical School: Katuri Medical College, Guntur, India
Akhila graduated medical school from NTR University of Health Sciences in India. After graduate school, she spent time working as a medical officer in India for three years. Later she spent time conducting clinical research on NASH pathogenesis and new HCV treatment regimens. She started her pathology residency at Westchester Medical Center in 2020. She can converse fluently in English, Telugu and Hindi. She enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Alumni
Class of 2023
Soumya Mikkilineni, MD
Medical School:Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences, India
Mozibur Rahman, MD, MPH, PhD
Medical School: Dhaka Medical College
Helena Tomac Pavosevic, MD
Medical School: University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Croatia
Sidra Zaheer, MD
Medical School: Dow Medical College, Pakistan
Class of 2022
Haiyan Li, MD
Medical School: Peking University Health Science Center, China
Fellowship: Oncologic Surgical Pathology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY
Marcelo Cassini, MD, PhD
Chief Resident 2020-2021
Medical School: Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Fellowship: Cardio-Pulmonary Pathology at NYU (New York University)
Class of 2021
Kemin Xu, MD, PhD
Medical School: Jiangxi Medical College JiangXi, China
Fellowship: Hematopathology, New York University (NYU)
Fellowship: Molecular Genetics, Cornell University
Qiqi Ye, MD, PhD
Chief Resident 2020-2021
Medical School: Fudan University, China
Fellowship: Breast Pathology, MD Anderson, Houston, TX
Rugved Pattarkine, MD
Chief Resident 2019-2020
Medical School: Smolensk state medical academy, Smolensk, Russia
Fellowship: Transfusion Medicine, David Geffen School of medicine at UCLA (University of California Los Angeles)
Class of 2020
Sarwat Gilani, MD
Chief Resident 2019-2020
Foundation University Medical College (FUMC)
Dana Marie Razzano, MD
St. George's University School of Medicine
Shamima Sultana, MD, PhD
Dhaka National Medical College & Hospital
Class of 2019
Alexandra Budhai, MD
Medical School: Ross University School of Medicine
Christian Salib, MD
Medical School: St. George's University School of Medicine
Sina Zomorrodian, DO
Medical School: Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
Class of 2018
Taliya Farooq, MBBS
Medical School: Allama Iqbal Medical College
Faisal Saeed, MBBS
Medical School: King Edward Medical University
Class of 2017
Galam Khan, MD
Medical School: Sher-E-Bangla Medical College
Eric Vail, MD
Medical School: St. George's University School of Medicine
Esther Yoon, MD
Medical School: St. George's University School of Medicine
Fellowship: Women’s Pathology, NYU Langone Health
Class of 2016
Sabina Hajiyeva
Medical School: Azerbaijan State Medical University
Faisal Huq Ronny, MD
Medical School: Dhaka Medical College
Fellowship: Hematopathology, NYU Langone Health
Pallavi Khattar, MD
Medical School: Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical College, Pune
Fellowship: Hematopathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Surgical Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Class of 2015
Maheen Hossain, MD
Medical School: University of Dhaka
Fellowship: Surgical Pathology - Long Island Jewish Medical Center (2015)
Boaz Kurtis, MD
Medical School: Sackler School of Medicine
Fellowship: Molecular Genetic Pathology - Columbia University (2015)
Dermatopathology - Cockerell University (2016)
Kashan Khalid, MD
Medical School: Khyber Medical College
Fellowship: Surgical Pathology - Staten Island University (2015)
Xiaoyong Zheng, MD
Medical School: Third Military Medical University
Faculty
Rajan Dewar, MD
Program Director, Westchester Medical Center Pathology Residency
Associate Director, Department of Pathology, Westchester Medical Center
Medical School: Madras Medical College, Chennai, TamilNadu India
Residency: Yale University School of Medicine
Fellowship: Molecular Genetic Pathology, Stanford University Medical Center
Hematopathology- Stanford University Medical Center
Humayun Kamal Islam, MD, PhD
Chairman, Clinical Professor, Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College
Director, Department of Pathology & Lab Medicine, Westchester Medical Center
Medical School: Dhaka Medical School
Residency: New York Medical College
Fellowship: Hematopathology - New York University Medical Center
Chitra Kumar, BSc, BEd, MSc, PhD
Director, Cytogenetics Laboratory
Assistant Professor of Pathology
Graduate School: Patna University, India
Fellowships: Patna University, India
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NY
Vishnu Chaturvedi, PhD
Chief, Microbiology, Virology and Molecular Biology
Graduate School: Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
Post-doctoral Training: University of Cincinnati School of Medicine,
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Medicine
Aaron Yancoskie, DDS
Attending Pathologist
Dental School: New York University
Residency: North Shore University Hospital at Long Island Jewish Medical Center
Sadiqa Karim, MD
Chief of Transfusion Medicine
Medical School: Sindh Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan
Residency: Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA
Fellowship: Blood Banking / Transfusion Medicine – Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA
Fouzia A. Shakil, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Pathology
Attending Pathologist (Surgical Pathology and Hematopathology)
Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
Medical School: Sir Salimullah Medical College, Bangladesh
Residency: Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon
Fellowship: Surgical Pathology – Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon;
Hematopathology – Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
Liying Han, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
Cytopathology and Gynecological Pathology
Medical School: Fourth Military Medical University
Residency: North Shore University Hospital
Fellowship: Cytopathology – Wayne State University
George M. Kleinman, MD
Associate Professor of Pathology and Medicine
Neuropathology
Director of Autopsy
Medical School: State University of New York at Buffalo
Residency: Massachusetts General Hospital
Fellowship: New England Medical Center
Patrick A. Lento, MD
Professor of Pathology and Medicine
Vice Chair for Education (Dept. of Pathology)
Director, Pathology-Pathophysiology Courses (NYMC)
Medical School: Georgetown University School of Medicine
Residency and Fellowship: Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York
Xiaoyu Tang, MD, PhD
Attending Pathologist
Medical School: China Medical University
Residency: Penn State Health Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA
Fellowship: Breast Pathology- Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY,
Cytopathology - Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA
Ljiljana V. Vasovic MD
Chief of Clinical Pathology
Medical School: School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia
Residency: Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York University, NY
Fellowship: Hematopathology Fellowship; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY
Transfusion Medicine; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Yijun Zhu, MD
Medical school: Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science & Technology
Residence: Clinical pathology at Feinberg Scholl of Medicine, Northwestern University
Fellowship: Transfusion Medicine at University of Chicago
Hematopathology at University of Illinois at Chicago
Applications
We will accept four residents for the 2023-2024 academic year. Please submit applications through ERAS (Electronic Residency Application System) – click here.
We review all applications from a holistic point of view taking into account scores, experiences, personal interests, skills, number of publications, research, etc. Qualified applicants will be identified to be interviewed. We will be conducting virtual interviews via Zoom for 2022-2023 recruitment season.
Application Requirements
- Personal statements
- Curriculum Vitae
- Three Letter of Recommendations (LOR)
- Medical School Transcript
- MSPE (Medical School Performance Evaluation) or Dean’s letter
- USMLE 1, USMLE 2 Scores, USMLE 3 (preferable)
- ECFMG (Electronic Certificate for Foreign Medical Graduates), if applicable
Important Timelines
ERAS opens: September 15, 2022
Candidate Interviews: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. (ET) or 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. (ET) October 2022 through January 2023
The program participates in NRMP (National Residency Match Program). Please use either of these codes accordingly.
NRMP Codes: 2157300C0_Pathology (Categorical) or 2157300C1_Shabbos (Categorical)
Match Day: March 17, 2023
Residency start date: July 1, 2023 (orientation might be scheduled end of June 2023)
Visa sponsorship: Westchester Medical center will sponsor J-1 visa.
Nebat Suker
Residency Coordinator │Pathology Department
Westchester Medical Center
Member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network
Macy Pavilion, 1416│100 Woods Road Valhalla, NY 10595
(O) 914.493.5289 │(F) 914.493.574
path.residency@wmchealth.org