In an unprecedented move, the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) approved the North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System's application for a maternal-fetal medicine fellowship program - the first such approval for a health system that does not operate its own medical school. The program, which is the only one on Long Island, was sanctioned on the first attempt.

Collaborating investigators Burton Rochelson, MD, and Christine Metz, PhD, are pictured in the cord blood collection room at North Shore University Hospital, where donated umbilical cords and delivered placentas are collected for their research into maternal-fetal health issues and complications of pregnancy.

Under the direction of Burton Rochelson, MD, chief of maternal-fetal medicine at North Shore University Hospital (NSUH), the fellowship will be a joint program of NSUH and LIJ Medical Center. The three-year curriculum requires 18 months of research, which candidates will carry out under the supervision of a mentor in conjunction with The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, located on the NSUH campus in Manhasset.

Dr. Rochelson attributes the approval of the fellowship in large part to the strength of the translational research programs at The Feinstein. Christine Metz, PhD, director of the institute's Laboratory of Medicinal Biochemistry and research director for clinical obstetrics and gynecology at NSUH, is providing oversight for the research arm of the fellowship.

Drs. Rochelson and Metz already collaborate on pregnancy-related translational research projects and see the new fellowship program as an important step forward in advancing clinicians - understanding of the underlying mechanisms of pregnancy complications and how best to treat patients. "This fellowship program in maternal-fetal medicine is crucial to training obstetricians in cutting-edge clinical care and investigative techniques to improve the healthcare of women and serve as the next generation of leaders in the field. There are so few programs available that - every year - more than a quarter of applicants do not get placed," said Dr. Rochelson.

There are only 64 programs approved by the ABOG, most of which accept only one fellow annually. North Shore-LIJ's maternal-fetal medicine fellowship will begin by July 2007 and admit one fellow per year. Maternal-fetal medicine specialists, also called perinatologists, are doctors who have had extensive training in high-risk pregnancies. They treat pregnant women with conditions that can be adversely affected by the pregnancy or whose conditions can adversely affect the fetus, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, lupus, heart disease and cystic fibrosis. They also treat women carrying multiple babies, babies with a known or suspected anomaly, and babies with or at risk for a chromosomal abnormality such as Down syndrome. There are only about 1,500 certified maternal-fetal medicine specialists in the United States.

Media Contact:
Christina Verni
(516) 562-1232
cverni@nshs.edu