Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Training Program Director: Jeanette Taveras, DO

Associate Director/Co-Director: Rachel Martin-Blais, MD, DTM&H

Coordinator:  Gina Pacheco

Chief, Infectious Diseases:  Jason Newland, MD

Major Features of Training Program: The Pediatric Infectious Diseases (ID) Fellowship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH) is a 3-year ACGME-accredited program preparing fellows for academic careers through comprehensive clinical, research, and teaching experiences. Clinical training emphasizes progressive responsibility, culminating in attending-level care on our 26-bed inpatient ID unit and consult services across NCH’s 527-bed hospital, including PICU, NICU, CTICU, BMT/SOT, burn, and subspecialty care. Outpatient training includes General ID, HIV/HCV, Transplant ID, Immunodeficiency, Neonatal ID, TB, and Travel clinics. Fellows also gain hands-on experience in microbiology, virology, molecular diagnostics, antimicrobial stewardship, epidemiology/infection prevention, and global health.

During years two and three, fellows may pursue specialized tracks—Global Health/Travel Medicine, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Epidemiology/Infection Prevention, or Transplant ID—with tailored curricula, certificate/degree options, and focused research or QI projects. An optional fourth year in Host Defense (Transplant ID), the first pediatric fellowship of its kind in the U.S., offers advanced training in infections in immunocompromised hosts with pediatric and adult transplant rotations at NCH and The Ohio State University.

Research opportunities span clinical, bench, and translational studies through the division and NCH Research Institute’s Centers for Microbial Pathogenesis and Vaccines and Immunity. Fellows engage in a robust ID curriculum including journal clubs, case conferences, Host Defense didactics, board review, and research consortia. Teaching medical students and residents is integral. Additional options include master’s programs, dual fellowships (Neonatology/ID, Hospitalist/ID), and QI or Informatics fellowships, supporting diverse academic and leadership career paths.

Title(s) of Recent Fellows’ Published Research Papers:

1. Broussard KA, Chaparro JD, Erdem G, Abdel-Rasoul M, Stevens J, Watson JR. Default Antibiotic Order Durations for Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in Outpatient Pediatrics: A Cluster Randomized Trial. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2025 Jan 20;14(1):piae127. doi: 10.1093/jpids/piae127. PMID: 39665614.
2. Hofmann J, Coe K, Young JD. Speed, Spectrum, and Satisfaction: Assessment of an Infectious Diseases eConsult Program. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2024 May 22;11(5):ofae281. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofae281. PMID: 38813258; PMCID: PMC11134458.
3. Medoro AK, Dhital R, Sánchez PJ, Flint K, Graber B, Pifer T, Crisan R, Ray WC, Phelps CC, Honegger JR, Peng J, Findlen U, Malhotra P, Adunka O, Shimamura M. T cell responses and clinical symptoms among infants with congenital cytomegalovirus infection. JCI Insight. 2024 Sep 24;9(18):e171029. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.171029. PMID: 39315550; PMCID: PMC11457853.
4. Cao RG, Mejias A, Leber AL, Wang H. Clinical and molecular characteristics of the 2022 Enterovirus-D68 outbreak among hospitalized children, Ohio, USA. J Clin Virol. 2023 Dec;169:105618. doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2023.105618. Epub 2023 Nov 4. PMID: 37977074.
5. Quintero AM, Cruz Vidal DA, Klamer BG, Ardura MI, Oyeniran SJ. Emerging Resistance Trends in Viridans Group Streptococci Bloodstream Infections Among Immunocompromised Children Receiving Levofloxacin Prophylaxis. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2023 Jul 31;12(7):381-391. doi: 10.1093/jpids/piad041. Erratum in: J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2023 Oct 28;12(10):557. doi: 10.1093/jpids/piad069. PMID: 37490409.

Affiliated Hospitals: The Ohio State University College of Medicine

Number of Inpatient/Outpatient Consults Per Year:  4,023

Fellows Accepted Each Year:  2

Visas Accepted: J1

Funding Ensured for all 3 Year:  2

Is Completion of Pediatric Residency Training in the U.S. or Canada a Requirement?  No

Program provides training (didactic lectures, hands on experience, or antimicrobial stewardship meetings/membership in:

1. Microbiology lab on site
2. Infection control and hospital epidemiology
3. Antimicrobial stewardship
4. Immunocompromised hosts

Opportunities to fulfill the ABP requirements for scholarly activity is available in the following general areas:

1. Antimicrobial agents
2. Antimicrobial stewardship
3. Bacteriology/bacterial infections
4. Bioethics
5. Clinical trials
6. Epidemiology and statistics
7. Global health
8. HIV
9. Immunizations
10. Infection control/hospital epidemiology
11. Medical education
12. Mycology/fungal infections
13. Parasitology/parasitic diseases
14. Public health
15. Quality improvement
16. Transplant medicine
17. Virology/viral diseases

Opportunities exist for research outside of the ID Division.  Yes

Program offers the opportunity to obtain a Master’s degree in a field such as Public Health, Education, Clinical Sciences or Epidemiology (assuming appropriate arrangements are made).  Yes