The Division of Gastroenterology offers a comprehensive three-year fellowship program. In addition to the key clinical faculty above, there are 50 other attending gastroenterologists, some of whom serve as part-time faculty, who make a major contribution to the teaching program and support the educational environment.

The purpose of the program is to provide outstanding education in all areas of gastroenterology so that upon completion, the graduate may fulfill all aspects of the title “Consultant in Gastroenterology.” Training will include a concentrated physiological and practical approach to clinical problems, progressive teaching and development of expertise in advanced diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy and endosonography (EUS); interdisciplinary rounds and teaching with the departments of Pathology, Radiology, and Surgery, and active participation in clinical research projects.

Teaching in GI endoscopy is ongoing throughout the three-year period of education. The first-year fellow will focus on basic endoscopic skills, gastroscopy and colonoscopy. Second-year fellows refine their techniques and basic endoscopy and begin to explore more advanced procedures and develop clinical research projects. ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatography) and EUS are undertaken by the third year fellows. Other procedures for which there is ample learning opportunity include liver biopsy, percutaneous gastroscopy, placement of esophageal, duodenal, and colonic stents, dilation of strictures, enteroscopy and capsule endoscopy, esophageal manometry, reflux procedures and ambulatory pH studies.

The Gastroenterology Division works closely with pancreatico-biliary and colorectal surgeons, exposing the fellows to experience in the most effective management of complex problems. Attendance at outside lectures, courses and national meetings is encouraged and supported. Clinical research is an essential part of the program and is conducted with ongoing supervision and the support of a full-time biostatistician.

The curriculum in Gastroenterology is considered one of the strongest clinical fellowship programs in the country, with emphasis on comprehensive training in diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy, IBD, IBS and liver diseases. Lenox Hill Hospital maintains affiliations with New York University School of Medicine, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (transplant hepatology) and the newly formed medical school at Hofstra, part of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Hospital system (NS-LIJ). The outpatient experience has also been completely revamped to include diverse and well supervised training at the Metropolitan Hospital.

Year 1

1. Rounds with key clinical faculty
2. Daily ‘work’ rounds with the attending of the month
3. Participation in the weekly continuity clinic (Metropolitan Hospital)
4. Inpatient consultations
5. Teaching of medical students and rotating medical residents
6. Attendance at conferences, including:
   • weekly GI grand rounds including outside speakers
   • monthly motility conference - GI journal club - morbidity and mortality rounds
   • bi-monthly multidisciplinary GI tumor board
   • GI Research conferences
   • weekly Board review
   • weekly liver conference

Year 2

1. Gradual performance of advanced endoscopy
2. Rotation to Mount Sinai (total of 3 months) to gain an in-depth understanding of all aspects of pre and post-liver transplant evaluation and management
3. Attendance at all conferences

Year 3

1. Completion of clinical research project
2. Further pursuit of specific clinical interests (nutrition, IBD, motility, etc)
3. Advanced endoscopy including ERCP and EUS
4. Attendance at all conferences

GI Fellowship Key Clinical Faculty 2012

Shawn Khodadadian, MD graduated summa cum laude from the accelerated seven-year B.S./M.D. program at the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education/City University of New York Medical School with a bachelor's degree in biomedicine. He then received his medical degree from the State University of New York's Stony Brook School of Medicine. Dr. Khodadadian received the prestigious Merck Award and was inducted to Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society for all U.S. Medical Schools. Dr. Khodadadian went on to complete his internship and residency in Internal Medicine followed by fellowship in Gastroenterology at Lenox Hill Hospital. Dr. Khodadadian receiving specialized training at Memorial Sloan Kettering in clinical nutrition and is board certified as a physician nutrition specialist by the American Board of Physician Nutritionists. Dr. Khodadadian received grants to pursue specialized training in Inflammatory Bowel disease at the University of Chicago and gastrointestinal motility at CedarsSinai Medical Center in Los Angeles as well as training in liver disease at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He is currently board certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. His clinical interests include general gastroenterology and endoscopy, inflammatory bowel disease with a special interest in clinical nutrition. Dr. Khodadadian is currently an attending physician at Lenox Hill Hospital where he serves as the Director of Clinical Nutrition. He is integrally involved in the gastroenterology teaching program at Lenox hill hospital and is involved in the teaching of fellows and resident. Dr. Khodadadian also serves as clinical assistant professor at NYU Langone Medical Center. He is a member of American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, American Board of Physician Nutritionists, American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, American Gastroenterologic Society, and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.

Gregory Haber, MD is board certified in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine. He received his medical degree from the University of Toronto, where he also completed his residency in Internal Medicine and his fellowship in Gastroenterology. Currently, Dr. Haber serves as both the Director for the Division of Gastroenterology and the Director of the Center for Advanced Therapeutic Endoscopy at Lenox Hill Hospital. Dr. Haber is considered a leader in advanced endoscopy and one of the world’s foremost experts on the treatment of digestive diseases. He has been invited to speak nationally and internationally, has published extensively, and is a member of numerous medical societies including the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the American Gastroenterological Association, the Society of Gastrointestinal Intervention and the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology. In 2008, Dr. Haber was given the Master Endoscopist Award by the ASGE.

David Robbins, MD is board certified in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine. He received his B.A. in History from Columbia University and earned his medical degree with distinction research and honors (AOA) from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Dr. Robbins completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and his fellowship in Gastroenterology at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. He also completed an advanced fellowship in Endoscopic Ultrasound at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Dr. Robbins is an Attending Physician at Lenox Hill Hospital, where he also serves as the Associate Chief of Endoscopy and Program Director for the GI fellowship. He is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at New York University and a faculty of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (FASGE). He has been invited to speak internationally and has published and lectured widely. In 2010 he was honored for distinguished service as the ASGE Ambassador to Cairo, Egypt. In his free time David enjoys biking, tennis and is an unabashed foodie.

Ilan S. Weisberg, MD is board certified in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine. He received his BS from Cornell University, a Masters of Science from McGill University, and his medical degree from the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. Dr. Weisberg completed his medical training at New York Presbyterian Hospital with a residency in Internal Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center and a fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Weill Cornell Medical Center. In addition, he received advanced training in liver disease and transplant hepatology. His clinical interests span the entire breadth of gastroenterology and endoscopy, with a particular emphasis on the treatment of hepatitis and other disorders of the liver. He has published original research articles and authored numerous publications on the care of patients with liver disease. Dr. Weisberg is currently an Attending Physician at Lenox Hill Hospital, where he serves as the director of hepatology. Dr. Weisberg is a member of the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease, the New York Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society.

Burton I. Korelitz, MD is a specialist in inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease). He is a senior member of the international organization of inflammatory bowel disease, past president of the American College of Gastroenterology and past chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. Dr. Korelitz is the author of more than 250 scientific papers and book chapters on Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. He is a clinical professor of medicine at NYU School of Medicine.