About the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program

Welcome to the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) Fellowship program website.  The fellowship is accredited by ACGME as a three-year combined program that provides state-of-the-art training in both pulmonary disease and critical care medicine.  We are incredibly proud of our fellows and our program, and are fortunate to be part of an amazing Department of Internal Medicine and outstanding medical campus at VCU.  Our fellows rotate through both the VCU Medical Campus, a quaternary academic medical center serving Virginia and the surrounding mid-Atlantic region, as well as the Richmond VAMC, a tertiary care VA hospital with a new state of the art ICU.  Both campuses have advanced simulation facilities that supplement bedside training in bronchoscopy, airway management, bedside ultrasound, and critical care procedures.   

Our fellows receive outstanding clinical and scholarly training in both pulmonary and critical care medicine, benefiting from direct experience, training, and mentorship in our comprehensive and advanced subspecialty programs including the Interventional Pulmonary Program, Pulmonary Hypertension Center of Excellence, Adult Cystic Fibrosis Program, Interstitial Lung Disease Program, Multisystem Sarcoid Clinic, and our Severe Asthma Clinic.  Finally, our new Lung Transplantation Program is rapidly moving forward.

Our division has expanded the last few years, adding new faculty in advanced ILD, interventional pulmonary, critical care medicine, ethics, pulmonary hypertension, lung cancer, advanced asthma, and lung transplantation.  Similarly, our fellowship program has expanded from a total of 12 fellows (4 per year) to 15 fellows (5 per year).  While that growth is exciting and has truly expanded the opportunities for our fellows, we have not lost what made us so special in the first place:  a truly rich and diverse clinical experience with opportunities from research and mentorship all set in a rich, supportive, and diverse learning climate.  Our fellows are indeed part of our division, and that collegiality remains a large part of who we are.  It might also all add up to why both our fellows and our division consistently wins the department teaching awards year after year.  We’re also extremely fortunate to have Dr. Patricia Sime, an internationally known and respected researcher in ILD, as our DOIM Chair and member of our division.  Her leadership and strong support in innovation, service, education and research is inspiring.  

Finally, all of this happens in the setting of a city increasingly recognized by Forbes, Lonely Planet, NY Times, US News and others as one of the top best places to live and visit.  Marked by an affordable cost of living, diverse neighborhoods, a vibrant food and beverage scene, good weather and outstanding parks, Richmond is also a short-day trip to the beach, the mountains and DC.  It’s not hard to see why so many people fall in love with the city and never leave.  We hope you’ll take a look and come join us.

All fellows are expected to actively engage in scholarly activities. These activities can be in basic research, translational research, clinical research, health outcomes research, and/or educational research. Essential to success is providing the tools necessary to foster the fellows’ intellectual development as investigators.  As a sign of our commitment to the scholarly efforts of the fellows, the Department of Internal Medicine has designated funding which is set aside specifically to offset the travel cost for fellows who are presenting their work at regional, national, and international scientific and academic meetings. 

It goes without saying that a Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship is a demanding three years. But it also goes without saying that we are committed to your well-being, resilience and all aspects of a healthy lifestyle. Without a visit, it’s difficult to really grasp the fun and the camaraderie that our division is known for and compliments our dedication to education, patient care and scholarship. I’m convinced it is part of the reason we have been recognized as the best teaching division for too many years to count. We’ve worked hard to create a schedule that balances work and life, maximizing weekends off to enjoy all that Richmond and the region have to offer. As is typical, we offer 3 weeks paid vacation plus 5 days over the winter holidays and time off for conference attendance.

GME Resident & Fellow Well-Being
Graduate Medical Education training is not easy. With the GME Physician Well-being program, we first and foremost assert our commitment to your well-being, resilience and all aspects of a healthy lifestyle. VCU and VCUHealth are dedicated to ensuring that you have the tools you need to be your best. (Learn more)

All About VCU, VCU Health, and RVA
First things first. We fondly refer to Richmond as RVA.  People love this city because it’s awesome. And Virginia Commonwealth University is in the middle of it all.  Learn more about VCU, VCU Health, and RVA!

VCU Faculty

• Farrukh Abbas, MD
• Lisa K. Brath, MD -  Fellowship Associate Program Director
• Casey Cable, MD
• Nauman A. Chaudary, MD, FACP, FCCP
• Marjolein de Wit, MD
• Jared Dyer, DO - Fellowship Associate Program Director
• Alpha A. Fowler, MD
• Daniel C. Grinnan, MD - Interim-Division Chief
• Catherine E. Grossman, MD
• Thomas Iden, MD
• Peter Jackson, MD
• Danai Khemasuwan, MD
• Michael L’Heureux, MD - Fellowship Program Director
• Jessica McLaughlin, DO
• Kristin B. Miller, MD
• Patrick Nana-Sinkam, MD
• James O'Connor, MD
• Vipul Patel, MD
• Sammy Pedram, MD
• Apostolos Perelas, MD
• R. Wesley Shepherd, MD
• Patricia Sime, MD, FRCP - Department Chair
• Liz Sonntag, MD
• Aamer Syed, MD
• Toribiong, Uchel, MD
• Robert Winn, MD - Director, Massey Cancer Center

VAMC Faculty

• Seth E. Brant, MD - Section Chief
• Masoud Faridnia, MD
• Timothy Fusiak, DO
• Adam Kaiser, MD
• Benjamin Morang, DO
• Rebecca Potfay, MD

Class of 2029

Joshua Boron, DO  
Medical School:  Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Virginia Campus, Blacksburg, VA
Residency:  Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

Julia Graff, MD 
Medical School:  West Virginia University School of Medicine, Charleston, WV
Residency:  University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

Hope Kramer, MD 
Medical School:  University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, Des Moines, Iowa
Residency:  Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

Buckley McCall, MD 
Medical School:  University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC
Residency:  Prisma Health – University of South Carolina, Greenville, SC

Mohibur Rahman, DO 
Medical School:  Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
Residency:  Jefferson Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA

Class of 2028

Kate Boylan, DO
Medical School:  Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, OH 
Residency:  Summa Health System, Akron, OH 

Ali Khreisat, MD 
Medical School:  University of Jordan Faculty of Medicine, Amman, Jordan 
Residency:  Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital, Royal Oak, MI 

Hiral Patel, DO 
Medical School:  Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 
Residency:  Prisma Health/University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville, SC 

Juhie Patel, DO 
Medical School:  Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lynchburg, VA
Residency:  Christiana Core Health Systems, Newark, DE 

Jonathan Stewart, DO 
Medical School:  Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 
Residency:  Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 

Class of 2027

Alicia Brunelle, MD
Medical School:  University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
Residency:  University of Massachusetts Internal Medicine, Worcester, MA

Maged Elhaddah, MBBCh
Medical School:  Ain Shams University Faculty of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt
Residency:  MedStar Health, Columbia, MD

Jason Pecorella, MD
Medical School:  University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC
Residency:  Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

Shruthi Sreekumar, MD
Medical School:  West Virginia University School of Medicine. Morgantown, WV
Residency:  University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH

Abdul Wahab, MBBS
Medical School:  King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan
Residency:  Rochester Regional Health/Unity Hospital, Rochester, NY

Eligibility Requirements

The applicant should be an MD, DO, or MBBS with three or more years of Internal Medicine residency training in an ACGME-accredited training program. A pass on USMLE Step 3 is a mandatory prerequisite for acceptance as a fellow.

How to Apply

The Pulmonary Critical Care Medicine fellowship training program at VCU is a participant in the NRMP match. All applications will be accepted through ERAS and follow ERAS deadlines.

Required Documentation

• Application
• Curriculum Vitae
• USMLE score reports
• Medical school transcripts
• MPSE
• A personal statement
• 4 letters of recommendation, including one from your program director
• A photograph

If applicable, please provide the following:

• ECFMG certificate
• Medical School Diploma (with translation if necessary)

Application Timeline

We will review applications from July 15 through August 31. Invitations to interview will likely be issued during this time frame.

Interview Information

We typically interview in September and early October, Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Our day typically runs from 7:30-1pm with the following activities:

• Attend one of our weekly educational conferences
• Program overview with fellowship PD
• Interview with several faculty members
• Informal meet and greet with the fellows

Attention:  In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and changes that followed, we like other programs shifted to a virtual interview format. This also had clear benefits for applicants with respect to time and cost. At this point, we plan to follow our national program directors association’s recommendation to continue this practice.

Program Director

Michael L’Heureux, MD 
Box 980050
Richmond, Virginia 23298-0050
Phone: (804) 828-9071
Email: michael.lheureux@vcuhealth.org

Associate Program Director

Lisa K. Brath, M.D. 
Box 980050
Richmond, Virginia 23298-0050
Phone: (804) 828-9071
Email: lisa.brath@vcuhealth.org

Jared Dyer, MD 
Phone: (804) 828-9071 
Email: jared.dyer@vcuhealth.org

Fellowship Coordinator

Abigail Sandhovel, MA
VCU School of Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
Box 980509
Richmond, VA 23298-0509 
Phone: (804) 828-9726
Email:  imfellowships@vcuhealth.org

For training verification requests, please visit us at https://intmed.vcu.edu/education/verification/