Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship

Children’s Hospital of Michigan

University Pediatrician Gastroenterology Fellowship

Message from the Program Director

Welcome to our Gastroenterology Fellowship Program. Thank you for your interest in our division and for considering us as part of your training journey. We are incredibly proud of the collaborative, supportive, and energetic environment we have built, and we are excited to share what makes our program so special.

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As a consistently nationally ranked program, we are committed to providing fellows with exceptional clinical training while fostering personal and professional growth. Our fellows train in a busy and diverse clinical environment that offers exposure to a wide range of pathology, allowing them to develop strong clinical judgment, confidence, and procedural expertise. At the same time, we strive to create a culture where fellows feel supported, valued, and genuinely part of our team.

Our mission is to train future leaders in pediatric gastroenterology through a strong educational foundation focused on outstanding clinical care, mentorship, scholarship, and endoscopy skills. Fellows work closely with dedicated faculty who are passionate about teaching and invested in each trainee’s success both inside and outside of medicine.

Our program offers unique opportunities through several nationally recognized areas of excellence, including our liver transplant program, comprehensive inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) center, and intestinal rehabilitation clinic. Fellows also have the opportunity to expand their training beyond traditional clinical experiences through pursuit of a Global Health Certificate and meaningful global health engagement.

What truly makes our program special, however, is our people. We value teamwork, curiosity, compassion, and camaraderie, and we are intentional about creating an environment where fellows can thrive as physicians and as individuals. Watching our fellows grow into confident clinicians, educators, advocates, and future leaders is one of the most rewarding parts of what we do.

We are excited about the future of our field and would be honored to be part of your journey in pediatric gastroenterology.

Our Fellowship Program

The Children’s Hospital of Michigan Graduate Medical Education offers a three-year fellowship-training program in the field of Pediatric Gastroenterologyopens in a new tab, Hepatology and Nutrition. Children’s Hospital of Michigan is a 228-bed tertiary care center located in the Midtown area of Detroit and is the only free-standing children’s hospital in the Metro Detroit region. Children’s Hospital of Michigan is consistently ranked among the nation’s top pediatric hospitals. It is the pediatric facility within the Detroit Medical Centeropens in a new tab complex and serves as the center for pediatric training for Central Michigan University School of Medicine and Wayne State University School of Medicine. The Children’s Hospital of Michigan serves a large and diverse urban and suburban population with a vast array of pathology.

The Program has been fully accredited in Pediatric Gastroenterology by the Residency Review Committee of ACGME since our specialty was first recognized by ACGME in 1994. The goals of this program are to prepare the Fellow for a career in academic medicine, with strong emphasis on excellence in clinical care, teaching and productive and independent research. The first year of the Fellowship is devoted primarily to clinical training, education and endoscopic experience. The second and third years, in addition to clinical care, are focused towards research that the fellow became interested in during the first year.
Three fellows are accepted into the Program every three years. Fellows have ample opportunity to see a wide variety of gastrointestinal, liver, and nutritional disorders and to finesse skills in all the usual procedures necessary for the Pediatric Gastroenterologist. In addition, experience in the care of liver transplant patients is provided.

First Year Fellowship Training

The first year of fellowship is dedicated to learning the basics of evaluating, managing children presenting with a variety of gastrointestinal, and related symptoms for consultation to the division of Pediatric Gastroenterology (GI), Hepatology and Nutrition in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. The fellows will be introduced to the basics of the procedural part of the subspecialty. This will include understanding about the technologic part of the instruments, learning eligibility criteria for a given procedure, choosing the correct procedure for a given case, obtaining informed consent, technique of performing the procedures, post procedure management, and follow-up plans. Fellows rapidly acquire skills in endoscopic procedures beginning in their first year of the program through hands-on procedures. First-year fellow participates in the inpatient care experience for a total of 12 months spread over 3 years of training. During the course of the first year, the trainee will be introduced to research ideas so that by the end of the year, the GI fellow will be able to select a research area to pursue and a faculty mentorship.

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Education

Our educational curriculum is organized into 13 four-week blocks each year and is thoughtfully aligned with the American Board of Pediatrics content specifications for the Pediatric Emergency Medicine certifying examination. The full 19-block curriculum is completed twice during fellowship, giving fellows the opportunity to revisit key topics with growing clinical confidence and deeper understanding.

Each block is built around a focused theme and delivered in a variety of engaging formats. Fellows learn through core topic lectures, board review, case-based discussions, simulation, and hands-on procedural workshops. Dedicated self-study time, supported by a provided question bank, allows fellows to reinforce learning at their own pace.

We prioritize protected educational time, active faculty involvement, and a supportive learning environment where questions are encouraged and growth is expected. The conferences are each Wednesday from 7 AM to 10:00 AM and cover a wide range of medical and surgical topics. We host additional sessions from 10:00 – 12:00 for workshops, resuscitation training as well as the discussion of other professional topics. Over the past 2 years, we have incorporated more flipped-classroom sessions as well.

In addition to core lectures each month, we also incorporate faculty-driven board review, journal club, a literature review and a mock code. We also include procedure-based videos that supplement the content from the related block, in addition to educational support from our academic faculty. Recently, we have introduced longitudinal curricula in administration, disaster management, global health and research design, and quality improvement.

Some conferences fellows participate in that are external to our curriculum include:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine Quality Assurance Committee
  • Pediatric Grand Rounds
  • Emergency Medicine Grand Rounds
  • Toxicology Grand Rounds
  • Trauma Conference
  • Radiology Conference
  • Division Business Meeting

Teaching Opportunities

Pediatric emergency medicine fellows at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan have vast opportunities to teach. Teaching is part of the Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellowship and the performance of each fellow is critiqued and feedback is given. Fellows regularly teach at:

  • Wednesday Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellows Conference
  • Noon Fellows Conference
  • Regional presentations at various emergency medicine residency programs
  • Grand Rounds at other programs (Dental, Emergency Medicine)

National Conferences

Pediatric emergency medicine fellows attend and participate in national conferences such as:

  • The Annual National Pediatric Emergency Fellows Conference
  • AAP Annual Meeting
  • ACEP Annual Meeting
  • PAS Annual Meeting
  • SAEM Annual Meeting
  • Advanced pediatric emergency medicine Assembly

Second and Third Year Training

During the second and third year of training, the fellow will take an active part in educating the families/patients, medical students, residents, and allied healthcare professionals while participating in the teaching conferences of the division. The fellow will be able to continue to improve clinical skills in patient care, increase knowledge base, improve endoscopic skills, develop consultative role, work effectively as a member or leader of a health care team, demonstrate sensitivity to diversity, become better at using methods to control health care costs while assuring quality, advocate for promotion of health, and prevention of disease through ongoing self assessment of practice experience, with input from patients/parents, peers, and supervising faculty. During the three years of fellowship, the fellow will have protected time for full pursuance of research with the fellow having research months built into the year schedule. Research opportunities are numerous under the mentorship of one of the pediatric gastroenterologists. In addition, the Children’s Research Center of Michigan at The Children’s Hospital provides study design, bio-statistical, bioinformatics, and scientific support for clinical investigation.

Research

Research and scholarly activity are an integral part of fellowship training within our division. Fellows are encouraged to explore areas of personal interest and work closely with faculty mentors to develop meaningful academic projects throughout their training. Each fellow completes both a primary research project and a quality improvement initiative, allowing them to gain experience in study design, data analysis, scientific writing, and presentation skills.
Our fellows have successfully presented their work at conferences ranging from local and regional meetings to national scientific conferences. Many trainees also contribute to peer-reviewed publications, including original research manuscripts, case reports, review articles, and book chapters. We are proud to foster an academic environment that supports curiosity, innovation, collaboration, and the development of future physician-scholars.

Education

Education is a cornerstone of our fellowship program, and we are committed to providing a comprehensive, engaging, and fellow-centered learning experience. Dedicated educational sessions occur three times each week and include a diverse mix of fellow-led lectures, faculty teaching sessions, multidisciplinary conferences, board review, journal discussions, and interactive case-based learning.

Fellows participate in collaborative conferences with colleagues from pathology, radiology, and surgery, allowing for multidisciplinary discussion and deeper understanding of complex patient care. Our curriculum is intentionally flexible, enabling fellows to tailor their educational experiences to their individual learning goals and clinical interests while building a strong foundation across all areas of pediatric gastroenterology.

The educational curriculum is designed in alignment with the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) content specifications to ensure fellows are well prepared for board certification and future clinical practice. Above all, we strive to create a supportive learning environment that encourages curiosity, critical thinking, and lifelong learning.

Where our fellows have gone or Are practicing

Dr. Renee Dhar Dass

Nutrition Specialist and Fellowship Program Director at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, MI

Dr. Batoul Baidoun

Assistant Professor at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, MI

Dr. Aimee Hinshaw

Gastroenterologist at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, Grand Rapids, MI

Dr. Jaime Lee

Gastroenterologist at Pelandale Specialty Care Center, Modesto, CA

Dr. Kristen Cares

Medical Director of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, MI

Dr. Dhiren Patel

Associate prof of Pediatrics, Medical Director, GI motility program Saint Louis University (SLU), St. Louis, MO

About Detroit & Things to Do in Detroit:

About Detroit

Here are some fast facts about Detroit:
Largest city in Michigan with ~ 600,000 people with metro Detroit housing over 4 million people! 
Eclectic population with over 100 languages spoken! 
There’s something here for everyone! 

Arts & Museums: Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Film Theatre, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Opera House, Museum of Contemporary Art

Music/Concerts: Little Caesar’s Arena, Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, FIllmore Theatre, Fischer Theatre, MOPOP.

Sports: Tigers, Lions, Pistons, Red Wings, & Detroit City Football Club! 

Nature & Parks: Detroit Riverwalk, Belle Isle State Park & Aquarium, Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, Detroit Zoo, Campus Martius Park, Dequindre Cut , Various Metroparks.

Diverse food options: American, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Indian, Latin, etc.

Where to Go, What to See

Renaissance Center

A group of seven interconnected skyscrapers in Downtown Detroit, the Renaissance Center serves as the global headquarters for GM. Free one-hour tours are offered on a daily basis Mon-Fri at 12:00 noon and 2:00 pm. The Renaissance Center also features several restaurants, shops, numerous health, fitness and spa facilities and a movie theater.

http://www.gmrencen.com

Fisher Building

A landmark skyscraper in the United States, located in the heart of the New Center area of Detroit. The building contains the elaborate Fisher Theatre and was designated a National Historic Landmark. It is also the location of the headquarters for the Detroit Public Schools. Pure Detroit offers guided tours. 

Guardian Building

A landmark skyscraper in the United States, located in the Financial District of Downtown Detroit. The Guardian is owned by Wayne County and serves as its headquarters. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989. Pure Detroit offers guided tours!

http://www.guardianbuilding.com/

Detroit Institute of Arts Museum

Considered to house one of the best art collections in the United States, the Institute showcases everything from mummies to modern art and African masks to Monets in its outstanding collection of over 65,000 works. In 2003, the DIA ranked the second largest municipally owned museum in the United States, with an art collection valued at more than one billion dollars. The Detroit Institute of Arts hosts major art exhibitions and also contains the 1,150-seat Detroit Film Theatre.

http://www.dia.org

The Henry Ford

he Henry Ford is  a  large indoor and outdoor history museum complex and a National Historic Landmark in the Metro Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, USA. The museum contains many rare exhibits including John F. Kennedy’s presidential limousine, Abraham Lincoln’s chair from Ford’s Theatre, Thomas Edison’s laboratory, the Wright Brothers’ bicycle shop, and the Rosa Parks bus. You can also take the Ford Rouge Factory Tour, a first-hand journey behind the scenes of a modern, working automobile factory

http://www.thehenryford.org

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

Founded in 1965 by Detroit obstetrician Dr. Charles Wright, this museum is located in the heart of Midtown Detroit’s Cultural Center. it holds the world’s largest permanent exhibit on African American culture and moved to a new facility on Warren Ave in 1997.

http://thewright.org/

Motown Historical Museum

Once the headquarters of Motown Records and Tamla Records, the Motown Museum tells the story of the classic era of these records from 1959 to 1971, where Hitsville USA had an astounding 110 top 10 hits! The museum houses Motown memorabilia such as album covers, gold records, costumes and photos related to the rich history of Motown and its founder, Berry Gordy.

http://www.motownmuseum.org

Fox Theater

The Fox Theatre is a movie palace and performing arts center built in 1928. Located within the Detroit Theater District, the Fox has become one of the most successful theaters in the country combining Broadway shows, concerts, special events and the special classic film screenings. The Fox has 5,048 seats. It is the largest surviving movie palace of the 1920s and the largest of the original Fox Theatres. The Fox was fully restored in 1988.

http://fox.theatredetroit.net

Detroit Opera House

The Detroit Opera House is an ornate opera house in the United States, located in Grand Circus Park Historic District. It is the home of the Michigan Opera Theatre and its productions. The 2,700 seat venue also hosts a variety of other events. The historic theatre opened January 22, 1922.

http://www.michiganopera.org/

Masonic Temple

The largest Masonic Temple in the world, this ornate 14-story building opened in 1926. For decades its 5,000-seat, acoustically rich and intimate auditorium has served as Detroit’s choicest venue for concerts, opera and plays.

http://www.detroitmasonic.com/index.htm

Orchestra Hall

Orchestra Hall is an elaborate concert hall in Midtown. The hall is renowned for its superior acoustic properties and serves as the home of the internationally known Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO), the fourth oldest orchestra in the United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971

http://www.dso.org

Detroit RiverWalk

RiverWalk stretches along the water for 2.5 miles of fountains, walkways, and green space starting at the Cobo Hall convention center.

http://www.detroitriverfront.org/

Belle Isle

Belle Isle is an island park in the Detroit River, between the United States mainland and Canada. It is connected to the rest of Detroit  by the MacArthur Bridge. It is the largest island city park in the United States and the third largest island in the Detroit River after Grosse Ile and Fighting Island.

http://www.belleisleconservancy.org

TCF Center

Previously known as the Cobo Center, the TCF Center is a major convention center in downtown Detroit. The Detroit Basketball Championships are held here and so are some of the greatest rock and roll concerts in the world. The center is also home to the annual North American Auto, which was recently moved from a winter event to a summer one as well as Autorama, which it hosts each March.

Places Around Town

Eastern Market

A six-block public market, first opened in 1804, and moved to it’s current location in 1891. Specialty food stores, farm fresh vegetable and fruit vendors, and many restaurants line Russell Street from Mack to Gratiot. Eastern Market farmer’s distribution center is the largest open-air flowerbed market in the United States and has more than 150 foods and specialty businesses. On Saturdays, more than 40,000 people shop the city’s historic Eastern Market. http://www.detroiteasternmarket.com/

Sports

Home to four professional American sports teams, Detroit is an important sports center. It is one of twelve cities in the United States to have teams from the four major North American sports.
All but one of the area’s teams compete within the city of Detroit. There are three active major sports venues within the city of Detroit: Comerica Park (home of the baseball team Detroit Tigers), Ford Field (home of the football team Detroit Lions), Little Caesar’s Arena (home of the ice hockey team Detroit Red Wings and NBA team Detroit Pistons). 

Getting Out of Town

fellowship program Contacts

Renee Dhar Dass, MD

Fellowship Program Director

Children’s Hospital of Michigan
Division of Emergency Medicine
3901 Beaubien
Detroit, MI 48201

(313) 745-5260

May Xiong

Fellowship Coordinator

Children’s Hospital of Michigan
Pediatric Education
3901 Beaubien Blvd.
Detroit, MI 48201

mxiong@dmc.org

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