Renal-Electrolyte Fellowship Program

Dr. Zain AlShanableh completed her medical school education in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. She then moved to the States to pursue her dream in medicine and started her internal medicine residency at St Vincent Charity Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio in 2019. Dr. Zain discovered her true passion for nephrology after completing her nephrology rotation during residency. She is delighted to start her Renal-electrolyte fellowship at UPMC with particular interest in academic nephrology and glomerular diseases. Dr. Zain enjoys playing sports during her free time (soccer, volleyball and swimming), as well as hiking and traveling.

Dr. Massiel Cruz Peralta completed her medical school education in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, at the Mother and Teacher Pontifical Catholic University. During medical school, she developed a particular fascination with renal physiology. This interest continued to grow under the influences of her mentors and teachers during her clinical rotations. Determined to become a Kidney Medicine specialist she decided to pursue training in the United States. She completed her internal medicine residency at St Vincent Charity Medical Center, where she was exposed to a variety of renal diseases, and her interest in consolidated nephrology. She also discovered her passion for teaching and clinical education. Dr Cruz Peralta is excited to enter this new chapter in her path by starting her training at UPMC, Renal-Electrolytes fellowship program. She has a particular interest in clinical education, renal physiology, and transplant nephrology. Outside hospital work she loves baseball, backpack traveling, and dancing to Latin music.

Dr. Katie O’Brien completed her medical school training in Blacksburg, VA at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic medicine. During her 4th year of medical school, she was exposed to pediatric nephrology, which first sparked her interest in the field. While completing her Internal Medicine-Pediatrics residency at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA her passion for nephrology solidified, and as a provider for both adults and children, knew that she wanted to pursue a fellowship dedicated to the treatment of both pediatric and adult kidney disease. As a Pennsylvania native, she is very excited to return to Pennsylvania to complete a combined fellowship training program in Nephrology at UPMC and the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, surrounded by extraordinary faculty and mentors. Her interests range from glomerular diseases, critical care, transplant nephrology, and pediatric nephrology. Outside of the hospital she enjoys playing soccer, traveling, and cheering for her favorite Philadelphia sports teams.

IM – Arnot Ogden Medical Center, NY
MS – Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, FL

Nephro-CCM fellow
2008-2012: BS, University of Maryland – College Park, College Park, MD
2015-2019: MD, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
2019-2022: Internal Medicine Residency, George Washington University Hospital, Washington, DC
2022-present: Nephrology and Critical Care Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA

Dr. Anna Woodall completed her undergraduate degree in microbiology at the University of Maryland, College Park. She went on to work at an infectious disease laboratory in Gaithersburg, Maryland where she realized that despite enjoying bench science, her true passion is medicine. She attended Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA where she fell in love with nephrology. She then completed her training in internal medicine at the George Washington University Hospital where she was involved in examining the effects of IL-6 and TMPRSS6 on cardiovascular outcomes in CKD. After completing her training in nephrology, she will continue onto training in critical care at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Outside of medicine Anna enjoys cooking and spending time with her husband.

Originally from Hilliard, Ohio, Dr. Kevin Stephenoff completed his undergraduate education in biomedical engineering at The Ohio State University followed by his medical education at the University of Toledo College of Medicine. He moved to Pittsburgh in 2019 for internal medicine residency training at UPMC during which he quickly developed an expanding interest in nephology. Following completion of residency, Kevin is excited to continue his nephrology training in Pittsburgh. Outside of medicine, Kevin enjoys traveling – especially to national parks, hiking, and basketball.

Dr. Alexandra Bursic completed undergraduate degrees in philosophy and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh in 2014. She then attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where she quickly discovered her enthusiasm for nephrology. She completed residency training in internal medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in 2021. Throughout her medical training, she has engaged in several research projects in the realm of advance care planning and palliative care for patients with chronic kidney disease under the mentorship of Drs. Jane Schell and Amar Bansal. She is delighted to continue her training in nephrology at UPMC. After completing fellowship, she aspires to pursue a career in academic nephrology with an emphasis on geriatric and palliative care, home dialysis, and medical education.

University of Malawi, College of Medicine, Blantyre, Malawi
2013-2015: Clinical Internship, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi
2018-2021: Internal Medicine Residency, UPMC Mercy, Pittsburgh, PA
2021- Present: Nephrology Fellow at Renal and Electrolyte Division, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA

Dr. Kalaria completed his medical school from the Warm Heart of Africa, Malawi. The spark in Nephrology was born during his Transplant Nephrology elective in Birmingham, UK. After completing his medical school and internship, he moved to the US to follow his dream of Nephrology. He completed his internal medicine residency at UPMC Mercy, Pittsburgh PA. During that time, he continued to strive towards his passion in Nephrology by presenting at national conferences and by being selected as a Kidney Star and NephSIM Nephron. In addition, he attended the Nephrology Business Leadership Conference. He is privileged to continue his training at UPMC with elite faculty, with special interest in transplant and glomerular disease.
He enjoys soccer, cricket and traveling outside of work.

2010-2016: MBBS, Sindh Medical College, Dow university of health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan
2017-2018: Clinical Internship, Department of Medicine and Surgery at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Karachi, Pakistan
2018-2021: Internal Medicine Residency, Fairview Hospital, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH
2021-Present: Nephrology Fellow, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA

Dr. Karimi completed his medical school from Sindh Medical College in Karachi where he did his Clinical Internship at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) for a period of 1 year, during this time he worked in the nephrology department as an intern and that’s where his passion for Nephrology was born. He carried forward his interest during his medical residency at the Cleveland Clinic where he engaged in research projects related to barriers of transition of care in chronic kidney disease and Transplant patients and was also able to participate in quality improvement projects with the chance to present in national conferences. He is excited to pursue his Nephrology training in one of the most diversified academic centers in the Midwest with a particular interest in learning more about the field of transplant nephrology. His interest outside academics includes playing soccer and cricket along with cooking Pakistani cuisine.

2010-2014: BS, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH
2014-2018: MD, The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo OH
2018-2021: Internal Medicine Residency, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh PA
2021-present: Renal Electrolyte Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh PA

Dr. Sophia Knoell completed her college education in Columbus, Ohio, at The Ohio State University and her medical education at the University of Toledo College of Medicine. During medical school, she found a passion for nephrology due to her combined interest in physiology and pathology. In 2018, she moved to Pittsburgh to start her internal medicine residency training at UPMC. As a resident, she worked in the Subramanya Lab studying the distal convoluted tubule and potassium regulation. In 2021, Sophia continued her training in Pittsburgh as a Renal Electrolyte fellow at the University of Pittsburgh and is expected to complete her fellowship in 2023.

Dr. Rehman completed his medical school from Dow Medical College in Karachi. He developed interest in nephrology early in medical school which grew further through patient interaction during clerkship rotations. He was fortunate enough to take care of some of the interesting renal patients during residency and presented several of those cases at national conferences. He is currently a second renal fellow at UPMC where his field of interest is CKD population. After fellowship, Dr. Rehman will continue to work as a nephrologist at a private practice in Kentucky. Outside of work, he likes to play soccer, cricket, table tennis and computer games.

2008-2014: Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine (Japan)
2014-2016: Resident, Yokohama City University Medical Center/ Yokosuka Kyosai Hospital
2016-2017: Nephrology Fellow: Hadano Red Cross Hospital
2017-2018: Research Fellow: Yokohama City University
2018-2021: Mount Sinai Beth Israel (NY)

Dr. Yamada’s journey to nephrology started during his residency in Japan, where he was exposed to CKD/ESRD patients. During his clinical and research fellowship, he experienced a variety of kidney diseases and participated in research projects that sought to understand the relationship between angiotensin receptors and CKD. This experience made him pursue his career as a physician educator as well as a clinical researcher. He did a residency at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in NY. Through his journey, he has presented in conferences and published research articles. Dr. Yamada is highly motivated to learn general nephrology as well as critical care nephrology during his fellowship at UPMC.
Outside of his work, he loves running/biking and cooking Asian foods.

Dr. Pittappilly completed his medical degree at the American University of Antigua. He then moved to Harrisburg, PA for his internal medicine residency training. It was during this time that he developed an interest in nephrology and in particular transplant medicine. Dr. Pittappilly accepted a renal fellowship position at the Renal and Electrolyte division at UPMC in 2020 and is hoping to pursue a career in transplant nephrology. Outside of work, he enjoys playing guitar, running, soccer and board games.