Fellows
Andrew Benvenuto
- First Year Fellow
Hometown: Morristown, NJ
Medical School: University of Michigan Medical School
Residency: New York Presbyterian - Columbia
Jane Dobkin
- First Year Fellow
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Medical School: Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Residency: New York Presbyterian - Columbia
Joanna Eichler
- First Year Fellow
Hometown: Roslyn, NY
Medical School: SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine
Residency: New York Presbyterian - Columbia
Dorian Kaminski
- First Year Fellow
Hometown: New York, NY
Medical School: Northwestern University The Feinberg School of Medicine
Residency: Yale New Haven Hospital
Jonathan Rizner
- First Year Fellow
Hometown: Nyack, NY
Medical School: Tulane University School of Medicine
Residency: UCLA Internal Medicine Residency Program
Alexandra Wehbe
- First Year Fellow
Hometown: Detroit, MI
Medical School: Wayne State University School of Medicine
Residency: New York Presbyterian - Columbia
Tracy Dinh
- Second Year Fellow
Hometown: St. Paul, MN
Medical School: The Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago
Residency: University of Chicago
What are your favorite things about the fellowship? "Working alongside my amazing co-fellows!"
What do you love about New York City? "I love the abundance of things to do around the city and how easily accessible they are."
What do you like to do outside of work? "I enjoy running along the West Side Highway, seeing new musicals, trying restaurants around the city, and cheering on Minnesota sports teams."
Ethan Fieger
- Second Year Fellow
Hometown: Vienna, VA
Medical School: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Residency: Duke University
What are your favorite things about the fellowship? “My favorite thing about the fellowship program (other than my amazing co-fellows!) is the exposure to incredibly complex patients. We have the privilege of treating those requiring lung transplant, ECMO support, and advanced bronchoscopy procedures. We get hands on experience in almost every domain of the specialty to become uniquely well-rounded and adaptable pulmonary critical care physicians when finishing fellowship.”
What do you love about New York City? “There is just nowhere else like it! New York is the cultural center of the universe and has endless access to different experiences.”
What do you like to do outside of work? “I enjoy spending afternoons in central park with friends, exploring restaurants in other boroughs, and escaping the city to hike and flyfish upstate.”
Peter Kentros
- Second Year Fellow
Hometown: Scarsdale, NY
Medical School: Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Residency: University of Texas Southwestern
What are your favorite things about the fellowship? “My co-fellows! I've found an incredible community within the fellowship. At work, people are always available to help with anything, whether it is a second set of eyes on a CT or a second set of hands for an emergent chest tube. Beyond work, I've made stellar friends, and we hang out outside of work often. I also appreciate how accessible the faculty are and open they are to meeting and discussing cases. There is a subject matter expert on faculty for every pulmonary and critical illness imaginable. Whenever I reach out to ask questions about a patient I'm caring for or for my general learning, attendings really take the time to teach me and share their expertise. It is an invaluable resource having people at the top of their fields be so available and engaged in my experience as a fellow.”
What do you love about New York City? “The food, the public transportation, the parks, the Knicks (in five)!”
What do you like to do outside of work? “Hang with my dog Lugnut, try new foods, spend time with my partner and family/friends, watch and play soccer. I also love to tinker, for instance restoring old lever espresso machines (which funnily enough can teach you much about pulmonary physiology).”
Haven Nisly
- Second Year Fellow
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Medical School: University of California, San Diego School of Medicine
Residency: Duke University
Rose Puthumana
- Second Year Fellow
Hometown: Kansas City, MO
Medical School: University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine
Residency: University of Miami and Jackson Health System
Rissa Zudekoff
- Second Year Fellow
Hometown: Scottsdale, AZ
Medical School: University of Arizona College of Medicine at Tucson
Residency: University of Colorado School of Medicine
What are your favorite things about the fellowship? “Definitely my co-fellows! They are incredibly supportive, fun to work with, and always make me laugh. Having our own office space on campus has also been a huge plus—we can easily bounce ideas off each other and talk through challenging cases.”
What do you love about New York City? “I really enjoy living in NYC! There's always something new to explore, and you can't beat the incredible food scene.”
What do you like to do outside of work? “When I'm not at the hospital, you'll usually find me trying new restaurants, exploring different neighborhoods, taking walks through Central Park, or spending time with friends and family.”
Kenneth Brill
- Third Year Fellow
Hometown: Syracuse, NY
Medical School: NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Residency: NYU Grossman School of Medicine
What are your favorite things about the fellowship? "I love the focus on strong clinical training combined with academic inquiry and scholarly research work. I feel I will leave this program with all the skills to be a strong clinician and scientist. I also love how supportive my co-fellows are; I know if I need anything or have any question I’ll have everyone jumping to help. The faculty are all incredible teachers and treat us all as colleagues and equals."
What do you love about New York City? "I love how I can walk a few blocks in any direction and have a very different experience in each neighborhood. It’s also incredible to have access to so many museums, parks, theaters, and restaurants in one place while easily being able to get out of the city to travel both near and far. There’s always something new to do!"
What do you like to do outside of work? "Outside of work I like to read in the parks when the weather is nice or visit The Met for the thousandth time with my wife (we still haven't seen it all!). Also we love to spend time in nature, especially national parks. Most recently we visited Vatnajökull in Iceland!"
Rebecca Krakora
- Third Year Fellow
Hometown: Scotch Plains, NJ
Medical School: Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Residency: Weill Cornell Medical Center
What are your favorite things about the fellowship? "My favorite things about the fellowship program are the people and the incredible training experience. My co-fellows are all extremely smart, hard working and clearly dedicated to their patients. As a new fellow, both the faculty and fellows have been unbelievably supportive and welcoming. And I know I am getting exceptional training here! The program offers broad clinical exposure in a high-volume center, taking care of the some of the sickest and most complicated patients in this part of the country. Our faculty are world experts in their field yet completely approachable and committed to fellow training and development. It's truly a privilege to train here."
What do you love about New York City? "New York City is an amazing place to live and work! The city has infinite things to do, things to eat and places to see! I love trying new restaurants, exploring different neighborhoods and meeting new people through sports and activities."
What do you like to do outside of work? "Outside of work you can find me on a run in Central Park, playing in my weeknight soccer league or hanging out a brewery in Brooklyn with friends."
Alexander Smith
- Third Year Fellow
Hometown: Great Neck, NY
Medical School: Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Residency: Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
What are your favorite things about the fellowship? "Our fellowship has the perfect combination of incredible clinical training and abundant opportunities to pursue any academic interest. There really is not a single disease entity, or treatment paradigm, in pulmonary and critical care medicine to which we are not exposed as fellows. We manage patients on ECMO, prior to and following lung transplantation, and while receiving the most cutting-edge therapies for interstitial lung disease, asthma, bronchiectasis, cystic lung disease, or pulmonary infections. In addition to treating patients who come from all parts of the world, we are lucky to treat a great community of patients that live in Washington Heights. I am particularly passionate about caring for the Hispanic and Latino communities who live near our hospital. Our division has leaders conducting research in every field imaginable, so the opportunities for scholarly work are endless. In particular, I hope to pursue a career in medical education, and we have several incredible educators in our division. Additionally, every faculty member and co-fellow that I have met is genuinely interested in my individual success."
What do you love about New York City? "I grew up in the New York City suburbs and have lived in the area for most of my life. I feel a very strong sense of community in New York, and it is a privilege to get to live so close to family and friends. I also feel that I could spend a lifetime exploring the city and still never run out of new restaurants, shows, parks, or museums to try."
What do you like to do outside of work? "When the weather is warm, my wife and I like to go to any beach or body of water that we can find. I love to see Broadway shows or sporting events in the area and to try new restaurants. I am also a big Star Wars fan."
Amy Zheng
- Third Year Fellow
Hometown: Queens, NY
Medical School: Harvard Medical School
Residency: Massachusetts General Hospital
What are your favorite things about the fellowship? "The breadth and depth of pulmonary medicine and critical care that we see in the hospital - from transplant to interventional pulmonology to ECMO - has been so fascinating to observe and participate in and has been a great learning experience. My co-fellows are also one of my favorite aspects of fellowship so far - everyone has been so kind and willing to help."
What do you love about New York City? "The diversity of people, culture, and food!"
What do you like to do outside of work? "Trying out new restaurants, taking long walks around the city with a coffee in hand, getting dim sum with my family in Queens."
Daniel Yee
- Fourth Year Research Fellow
Hometown: Davis, California
Medical School: New York Medical College
Residency: Brown University
What are your favorite things about the fellowship? "The people and opportunities here are incredible! I love hanging out with my co-fellows, and everyone is so supportive. There are innumerable research opportunities, and our clinical and procedural training is top notch - it's the best of both worlds."
What do you love about New York City? "There is always something to do here, and the diversity and pathology of patients is amazing. It's a great place to live and train!"
What do you like to do outside of work? "My wife and I enjoy taking our Chihuahua-German shepherd mix on long walks and are trying new restaurants all the time. And when we feel like getting away, there's a lot of nearby hikes and beaches in Long Island and New Jersey to venture out to."
