Active + productive research opportunities in the MFM fellowship at Tufts Medical Center

Tufts Medical Center MFM fellows dive into high-impact research across basic science, clinical studies and translational projects. Fellows receive hands-on experience, expert mentorship and access to cutting-edge resources, developing the skills to lead in maternal-fetal medicine research locally, nationally​ and globally. The program emphasizes scholarly productivity, innovation​ and opportunities to present findings at regional, national​ and international conferences.

Fellows dedicate at least 12 months to research during their fellowship. They regularly present updates to faculty, addressing challenges, exploring new ideas​ and refining projects under expert guidance. The research period includes training in statistics, clinical study design​ and optional graduate courses at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. The work culminates in a thesis presented to the division faculty.

Mentorship and support

Fellows are guided by dedicated mentors who provide hands-on support and career guidance, including:

• Dr. Sabrina Craigo, Clinical Research mentor
• Dr. Michael House, Basic Research mentor
• Additional resources through the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Tufts Medical Center

Fellows also have access to the Woman, Mother + Baby Research Institute (WOMB), a multidisciplinary research hub uniting investigators from maternal-fetal medicine, newborn medicine, and gynecology. WOMB has secured multiple NIH grants and has a strong track record of mentoring MFM fellows through their thesis projects. Perrie O’Tierney-Ginn, PhD, serves as Executive Director, guiding research initiatives and supporting fellow development.

Fellows gain hands-on experience with the clinical trials research team, which provides practical support for research activities, including:

• Screening and recruiting study participants
• Sample collection and processing
• Workflow design for new trials
• Data collection and abstraction
• Assistance with IRB applications, renewals​ and protocol development
• Preparation for federal and sponsor audits

Areas of clinical and research excellence

Fellows are encouraged to explore diverse topics, including:

• Detection of fetal anomalies by sonography
• Cervical insufficiency
• Diabetes management
• Cost effectiveness and implementation science
• Structural racism and disparities in perinatal outcomes

Collaboration with other departments is welcomed to support unique research interests and interdisciplinary projects.

Conference participation

Fellows are encouraged and supported to present their work at national and international meetings, including:

• Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM)
• Society of Reproductive Investigation (SRI)
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
• International Society of Prenatal Diagnosis (ISPD)
• New England Perinatal Society (NEPS)
• Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP)

Explore the maternal fetal medicine fellowship curriculum at Tufts Medical Center

The Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship at Tufts Medical Center offers a structured, immersive curriculum designed to develop confident, independent perinatologists. Fellows progress through a carefully planned sequence of clinical, research​ and educational experiences over three years, gaining hands-on expertise in high-risk obstetrics, prenatal diagnostics​ and fetal interventions.

First year

• Inpatient MFM service (4 months): Manage antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum patients, including operative obstetrics procedures such as transvaginal and abdominal cerclage, breech extraction and cesarean hysterectomy. Participate in teaching rounds, fetal heart rate reviews and divisional conferences.
• Prenatal Diagnostic Center (3 months): Develop proficiency in ultrasound, including image acquisition, interpretation, patient counseling and amniocentesis.
• Continuity clinic (weekly half-day): Provide autonomous care for a panel of high-risk patients under attending supervision, including multifetal gestations, diabetes, cervical insufficiency and fetal anomalies.
• OB-Cardiology clinic (monthly): Collaborate with cardiologists on complex pregnancies, including cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias and congenital heart disease.
• Surgical ICU (1 month): Manage critically ill pregnant patients with complex medical or surgical complications, gaining experience in intensive care skills, multidisciplinary collaboration and high-acuity decision-making.
• Genetics (1 month): Work with prenatal genetic counselors and clinical geneticists to assess risk, create pedigrees, counsel patients on testing and participate in neonatal genetics evaluations.
• Research (3 months): Identify a mentor, develop projects, review literature and complete a statistics course to prepare for scholarly work.

Second year

• Inpatient MFM service (1 month): Continue hands-on care of high-risk patients, building on first-year experience.
• Prenatal Diagnostic Center (3 months): Refine ultrasound skills, perform complex amniocentesis, optional intracardiac feticidal injections and begin chorionic villus sampling.
• Continuity clinic (weekly half-day): Continue independent patient care under attending guidance.
• OB-Cardiology clinic (monthly): Ongoing collaboration on high-risk pregnancies with cardiac complications.
• Fetal echocardiography (1 month): Develop proficiency in imaging and counseling for congenital heart disease and arrhythmias.
• Genetics (1 month): Advanced exposure to genetic counseling and neonatal evaluation.
• Research (5 months): Conduct independent projects with faculty mentorship and statistical support.

Third year

• Prenatal Diagnostic Center (2 months): Achieve independent interpretation, diagnosis and counseling on fetal anomalies; gain proficiency in CVS and fetal blood sampling.
• Continuity clinic (weekly half-day): Continue longitudinal care of high-risk patients.
• OB-Cardiology clinic (monthly): Ongoing collaboration on complex maternal-cardiac cases.
• Research (4 months): Focused scholarly work under faculty mentorship.
• Electives (6 months): Customize rotations based on career goals, including family planning, fetal intervention/surgery, community MFM, fetal echocardiography, critical care, substance use, infectious disease, genetics, additional ultrasound or research.

Wellness + work-life balance in our nephrology fellowship

Our division is a warm, caring and supportive environment that values personal time and self-care. We believe work-life balance is essential for success and happiness.

Throughout the year, we host multiple events for fellows, staff and their families to connect and relax together. In the summer, we welcome new fellows with a fun ice cream social and a division-wide outing at a faculty member’s home, complete with a feast and activities like a bouncy house. We also organize trips to local amusement parks such as Canobie Lake.

In the fall, fellows and their families enjoy apple picking, a sunset cruise and other local events. We invite them to fall and spring retreats at the program director’s cabin in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. At the end of the year, we celebrate with a graduation party for the entire division.

Throughout the year, we have potlucks, paint nights, dinners and many other social gatherings. Fellows also get to choose four additional wellness events funded by the division, with protected time to participate.

We offer a generous parental leave policy to support fellows with expanding families.

Feel free to ask our fellows and staff about these wonderful experiences — they truly make a difference.

Inpatient and outpatient nephrology fellowship experience at Tufts Medical Center

The Nephrology Fellowship at Tufts Medical Center offers a comprehensive mix of inpatient and outpatient clinical training. Fellows gain hands-on experience managing complex kidney conditions in both hospital and ambulatory settings, preparing them for a wide range of careers in nephrology.

Fellows rotate through two core inpatient services:

• Kidney consult service: Two fellows manage a broad range of inpatient consults across Tufts Medical Center, including acute kidney injury, fluid and electrolyte disorders and complex multi-specialty cases.
• Transplant service: One fellow focuses on inpatient care for kidney transplant recipients, including donor and recipient evaluation, perioperative management and post-transplant care.

Outpatient training is equally robust:

• Fellows participate in continuity clinics that span all stages of chronic kidney disease.
• They care for patients receiving outpatient hemodialysis, home hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.
• Additional exposure includes subspecialty clinics in glomerular diseases, hypertension, kidney stones and rare kidney disorders.

Second-year clinical track fellows also complete several focused study blocks, tailoring their training toward a specific area of interest. These experiences include mentorship, research or quality improvement projects, and rotations developed around topics such as:

• Cardio-renal syndrome
• Glomerular diseases
• Hypertension
• Kidney imaging and procedural nephrology
• Kidney replacement therapy
• Medical education
• Onco-nephrology

This balanced, hands-on experience prepares our fellows to excel in all aspects of nephrology practice.

The 2-year Clinical Track is designed to orient fellows towards careers in clinical nephrology. Drawing on the strengths of Tufts Medical Center as both a quaternary-care referral center and a community resource, fellows are exposed to the spectrum of nephrology consultations, including acute kidney injury, electrolyte and acid/base disorders, chronic kidney disease and dialysis.