Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) Fellowship

Intro

Why UIC?

Choosing the University of Illinois Chicago for your Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship means training at the intersection of complex clinical pathology, cutting-edge basic and translational research, and dedicated health equity. Located in the heart of a vibrant, diverse global city, our program provides unmatched exposure to a broad patient population. We combine rigorous academic instruction with a deeply supportive community, preparing the next generation of MFM specialists to become leaders in clinical excellence, scientific discovery, and health policy advocacy.

Training & Curriculum

Our fully accredited three-year fellowship program is meticulously structured to balance clinical mastery, foundational research, and progressive autonomy.

The MFM Block Schedule at a Glance

Fellows rotate primarily at Site 1: The University of Illinois, with specialized external rotations to maximize clinical breadth.

Year 1: Clinical Foundations & Core Modalities

o Focuses heavily on establishing ultrasound proficiency, foundational genetics, and essential inpatient/outpatient management.

o Key Rotations: Orientation, Outpatient Clinic, Ultrasound, Genetics, Inpatient Labor & Delivery (L&D), and a dedicated Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) block.

Year 2: Research Intensification & Advanced Rotations

o Prioritizes extensive, uninterrupted investigative time (9 blocks dedicated to research) alongside advanced clinical exposure.

o Key Rotations: Targeted Research blocks, Ultrasound, and a clinic.

o Fetal Therapy Elective: Through our strong institutional relationship with Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (Site 2), second- and third-year fellows have the unique opportunity to complete a dedicated Fetal Therapy rotation, experiencing world-class fetal interventions firsthand.

Year 3: Advanced Leadership & Clinical Refinement

o Synthesizes senior clinical leadership in assessment and antepartum management.

o Key Rotations: Advanced Ultrasound, Fetal Therapy, and Research blocks.

Weekly Didactics

· Faculty Lecture Series: Specialty targeted MFM sessions and additional guest lectures covering Genetics, Obstetric Anesthesia, Neonatology, Infectious Diseases, Critical Care, and Pediatric Surgery.

· Monthly Journal Club: Collaborative peer-reviewed literature appraisal and research design analysis.

· Monthly Cardio-OB Conference: Multidisciplinary case reviews with adult cardiology to manage severe maternal heart disease.

· Monthly International Fetal Anatomy Conference: Cross-cultural pathology and imaging reviews via virtual sessions with clinical partners in Ghana.

Clinical Instructor Appointments & Call Duties

To foster professional transition and academic autonomy, each fellow is offered an optional position as a Clinical Instructor within the department. Fellows are compensated for moonlighting.

· First-Year Fellows: Complete three 12-hour shifts per month (structured either as three separate 12-hour shifts or combined into one 24-hour shift plus one 12-hour shift).

· Second- and Third-Year Fellows: Complete two 12-hour shifts per month, maximizing dedicated research and specialized rotation focus.

Research & Innovation

UIC is a powerhouse for maternal-fetal investigative medicine, offering fellows an expansive ecosystem spanning basic science, bioinformatics, and population health.

The Buhimschi Lab

Led by Dr. Irina Buhimschi, a nationally recognized pioneer in placental proteomics and perinatal biology, our central department research lab boasts grant funding, extensive peer-reviewed publications, and a culture of collaborative discovery. The lab features an elite multidisciplinary support team dedicated to guiding fellow projects:

· Guomao Zhou: Directs the technical and mechanical aspects of basic science experimentation, guiding fellows through laboratory benchwork techniques.

· Hongwu Jing: Manages our state-of-the-art Mass Spectrometer, facilitating deep-dive proteomic and metabolic profiling.

· Julie Hartwig: Serves as the full-time Perinatal Research Coordinator, providing invaluable, dedicated assistance in patient recruitment and clinical trial enrollment for fellow projects.

Bioinformatics Lab

Dr. William Ackerman provides dedicated statistical and bioinformatic support, helping fellows navigate complex sequencing, big data sets, and robust computational biostatistics. For the past 20 years, Dr. Ackerman’s research interests have broadly focused on perinatal biology, including mechanisms of human parturition, syndromic pregnancy complications, and uteroplacental function. Special emphasis has been given to the utilization of cutting-edge computational methods to parse high-dimensional data derived from human tissues and in vitro experimental systems. Examples of recent and ongoing work include gene regulatory network modeling, correlative miRNA-mRNA interaction analysis, and the application of multi-omic data integration to delineate the contributions of somatic gene and transcriptional variations to divergences in canonical peptide sequences within clinical samples. Current research efforts are directed at bridging clinical phenotypes with molecular signatures in an effort to resolve potential disease subphenotypes in a data-directed manner.

Bio-Repository

Fellows have direct access to our premier institutional Perinatal Bio-Repository, a meticulously cataloged bank spanning 20 years of longitudinal biological samples. In addition, fellows also have direct access to the Ultrasound Repository with 20 years of Ultrasound images. These massive archive offers an unparalleled resource for retrospective studies, biomarker discovery, and translational theses.

Health Policy & Faculty Research Interests

Our faculty lead active investigations that shape national clinical guidelines and equity initiatives. Fellows are highly encouraged to collaborate on existing projects:

· Dr. Sarah Boudova: Investigates global health initiatives, infectious disease complications in pregnancy, and specialized protocols for managing sickle cell disease in maternal populations.

· Dr. Vatsla Dadwhal (Director of Ultrasound): Focuses on innovative fetal imaging modalities, prenatal diagnostic optimization, and advancing ultrasound training curricula for fellowships.

Advanced Education Opportunities

Recognizing that the leaders of tomorrow require diverse skill sets, UIC MFM fellows have the formal opportunity to pursue fully integrated advanced degrees during their training, including a Master of Public Health (MPH) or a Master of Science (MS) in Clinical and Translational Research. Coursework is strategically aligned with the second-year research blocks to ensure seamless completion without compromising clinical milestones.

Patient Care

Our fellows provide compassionate, high-acuity, evidence-based care across the full spectrum of maternal and fetal complications. Operating out of advanced outpatient clinics, a state-of-the-art labor and delivery unit, and in tandem with world-renowned pediatric subspecialists, the clinical team manages complex maternal medical conditions (e.g., severe cardiovascular disease, advanced diabetes, autoimmune disorders) alongside complex fetal anomalies, twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, and extreme prematurity risks.

Admissions & Important Dates

We participate in the NRMP match and accept applications via ERAS.

2026 Virtual Interview Dates

All interviews for the upcoming application cycle will be held virtually on the following dates:

· Tuesday, July 22, 2026

· Tuesday, August 19, 2026

· Tuesday, August 26, 2026

Academic Calendar & Key Annual Events

Fellows are sponsored to attend prominent regional and national conferences annually. In the past fellows have presented at conferences including: the Perinatal Research Society (PRS) Annual Meeting, the American Gynecological & Obstetrical Society (AGOS) Meeting, the Society

for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) Annual Pregnancy Meeting, the CREOG/APGO Annual Meeting and the Society for Reproductive Investigation (SRI) Meeting.