General Nephrology Fellows
First-Year Clinical Fellows
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Vinodh Mechery
Hometown: Warwick, RI
Medical School: Hofstra-Northwell SOM
Residency: North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center (NS/LIJ)
Nephrology: Any disease process only gets interesting once the kidneys are involved, it's an organ with tremendous reserve, if you understand it you actually don't need to know that much.
Hobbies/Interests: Soccer (watching Arsenal play), tennis, running, reading
Plans After Fellowship: Academic/community nephrology -
Rachel Filgueras
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Brazil
Medical School: Universidade Federal Fluminense - UFF
Residency:
IM/Nephrology - Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro - UERJ (2002 - 2005)
Internal Medicine - University of Arizona (2019-2022)
Why Nephrology: I have been a Nephrologist for 15 years before coming to the USA. The smartest doctors that I knew during Medical School were Nephrologists. I wanted to learn from them. I had my nephrology training in Brazil and fell in love with the specialty. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else once I decided to move to the USA with my family. I have many passions in life, and Nephrology is my passion in Medicine.
Hobbies/Interests: I am an amateur singer/songwriter. I like to compose and I wrote a few nice pieces after moving to the US. Also, love to travel and cook.
Plans After Fellowship: I am open to opportunities. Still undecided about whether to pursue a transplant fellowship or start to look for a job. I would prefer to stay in academic practice, if possible. -
Mario Bernaba
Hometown: Bakersfield, CA
Medical School: University of California - Irvine School of Medicine
Residency: University of Arizona College of Medicine, AZ
Why Nephrology: Nephrology cases always fascinated in me Medical School because of their complexity. I enjoy Math, and Nephrology was able to combine doing calculations and taking care of patients. There is also considerable longevity of care with patients.
Hobbies/Interests: Marathon Running, International Travel, Hiking, Cycling, Cinema and Photography.
Plans After Fellowship: Undecided but considering Private Practice. -
Leo Yamaguchi
Hometown: Portland, OR
Medical School: Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE
Residency: Sunrise Health GME Consortium, Las Vegas, NV
Why Nephrology: Pathophysiology, wide diversity of practice, excitement for the future of nephrology
Hobbies/Interests: Cooking, travel, eating, being active outside
Plans After Fellowship: Get involved in medical teaching, entrepreneurship
Second-Year Clinical Fellows
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Andrew Liu
Hometown: San Gabriel, CA
Medical School: Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Residency: UC Irvine
Why Nephrology: It demands the mastery of physiology to tackle academically challenging and high acuity cases. At the same time, it offers rewarding holistic, long-term patient care.
Hobbies/Interests: Badminton, landscape and street photography, board games and video games.
Plans After Fellowship: General nephrology in the community
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Jeffrey Chow
Hometown: San Marino, CA
Medical School: Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Cape Fear Valley Health
Why Nephrology: In medical school, nephrology physiology felt complicated but it motivated me to spend extra time to understand it. I enjoy taking care of patients in the hospital, ICU and clinic, all in one day. Providing hemodialysis for ESRD patients so they can live longer and enjoy their precious time with family and friends.
Hobbies/Interests: basketball, tennis, eating at new restaurants
Plans After Fellowship: general nephrology
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Jennifer Pham
Hometown: Walnut, CA
Medical School: The University of Queensland, Ochsner Clinical School
Residency: Ochsner Clinic Foundation
Why Nephrology: I've always been very math-y, I enjoy working with numbers (I took a calc course in college FOR FUN), so the methodical thinking and calculations pulled me towards nephrology. It also helps that my dad had an amazing nephrologist when I was still trying to make major career choices.
Hobbies/Interests: reading, cooking, Nintendo Switch, swimming, traveling, and eating very fancy food
Plans After Fellowship: General nephrology, hopefully academics!
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Luke Webster
Hometown: La Crescenta, CA
Medical School: Creighton University, School of Medicine
Residency: University of California, San Diego
Why Nephrology: I was drawn to longitudinal patient care opportunities, the varied practice environment, and the diverse pathology that nephrology provides.
Hobbies/Interests: running, baking, hiking, traveling
Plans After Fellowship: Academic medicine with a focus on medical education
Adult-Peds Fellow
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Clarkson Crane
Hometown: Lancaster, CA
Medical School: Loma Linda University
Residency: University of Utah and Primary Children's Hospital
Why Nephrology: I enjoy the interesting physiology of the kidney and the mix of inpatient acuity while maintaining longitudinal continuity on the outpatient side.
Hobbies/Interests: Running, hiking, travel, cooking, and enjoying good music.
Plans After Fellowship: Bridging the transition from pediatric to adult care for general nephrology and transplant patients.
Research Fellow
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Jonathan Cheng
Hometown: Diamond Bar, CA
Medical School: Keck School of Medicine of USC
Residency: LAC+USC Medical Center
Why Nephrology: I chose to go into nephrology because I enjoy the challenge of mastering the breadth of knowledge about the kidneys while staying up to date with general internal medicine, the flexibility of treating patients in both acute and non-acute settings, and the endless research opportunities.
Hobbies/Interests: Working out, practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, spending time with my wife, and training my dog.
Plans After Fellowship: To be determined.