Internal Medicine Residency Program

The MetroWest Medical Center Internal Medicine Residency strives to recruit, train, mentor and nurture a diverse group of residents who will thrive and serve our hospital and community. Our primary goal is to educate residents. Our Faculty is committed to fostering a learning environment that emphasizes:

• Patients first
• Safety and quality of care
• Physician well being
• Curiosity
• Commitment to teaching each other and our students
• Lifelong learning
• Role modeling and curricula that support future careers in Primary Care, Hospital Medicine, subspecialty medicine, and research

MetroWest Medical Center has had a community-teaching program for six decades, one of the smallest programs in New England. Our program is based in Framingham, Massachusetts, home of the world-renowned Framingham Heart Study Referral center for 25 neighboring MetroWest communities. On an annual basis, MetroWest Medical Center has:

• More than 70,000 emergency department visits
• Over 15,000 surgical procedures
• Over 15,000 ambulatory care visits
• Over 2,500 deliveries
• MetroWest Medical Center has a comprehensive cardiac service, one of the only community hospitals that does angioplasty.

Thank you for your interest in the Internal Medicine Residency Program at the MetroWest Medical Center (Framingham, Massachusetts). For five decades, we have had a small categorical residency program that has trained many talented physicians who have gone on to successful clinical careers in primary care, subspecialty fellowships, and hospital medicine. We also have several former residents who have gone on to successful academic careers at major teaching hospitals. Many of our talented faculty began their careers at MWMC and chose to stay to contribute to the thriving educational environment. The city of Framingham has a storied history in landmark medical studies, including the Framingham heart study that just completed its 70th year. Framingham is a wonderful place to live and learn, a town that President Bill Clinton said “looks like America”, rich in both tradition and incredible diversity. We are proud that the diversity of our training program matches the diversity of our wonderful town. We are surrounded by some of the finest medical schools and teaching hospitals in the world, providing many learning and teaching opportunities for our residents.

If you are accepted into our program, you will have 36 months of solid training, wonderful experiences in both inpatient and outpatient settings, didactics and conferences 5 days a week, thoughtful evaluations and feedback, careful mentorship, and opportunities for scholarship and research. You will pass the ABIM Certifying exam, and you will get strong support for your next position, whether that is a fellowship in cardiology, a job in primary care or hospital medicine, or a J-1 waiver position.

You will develop both the skills and attitudes for lifelong learning and make lifelong friends. You will always remember “patients first” and that medicine is a serious business, but you will feel like a member of a small family and experience both joy and laughter throughout your 3 years in Framingham. I look forward to meeting you during the interview process.

We accept applications only through ERAS. I apologize, but we get many email inquiries about our program, and we cannot answer these individually. Due to severe restrictions placed upon training programs in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, we cannot offer observerships at this time.

Sincerely,

George Dickstein, MD, FASGE, AGAF Chair of the Department of Medicine at MWMC Director of Academic Affairs at MWMC Academic Dean and Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine

Thomas L Treadwell, MD, FACP, FIDSA Program Director at the MWMC Internal Medicine Program Director of the Infectious Disease Clinic at MWMC Assistant Dean Academic Affairs and Clinical Professor of Medicine at Boston University of School of Medicine

At MetroWest Medical Center, we are committed to providing high quality, comprehensive care, at a location close to home and keep our mission and values at the forefront of our work every single day.

Program Accreditations and Affiliations

• Categorical program (8) 1812140C0
• Full accreditation by ACGME
• Affiliation with Tufts University Medical Center and Boston Medical Center
• 100% pass rate on ABIM certifying examination

Program Details

• This is a three-year ACGME certified internal medicine residency with standardized inpatient time, ICU exposure and ample ambulatory clinic experience
• Our program is structured as 3+1 blocks [3 weeks of inpatient service either Wards /ICU/Elective/Night Float followed by 1 week of Ambulatory]
• ICU rotation with variable call days
• Medical wards rotation with call days every fourth day
• Night float system
• Emergency room rotation
• Research and elective opportunities at MetroWest Medical Center
• Away elective opportunities
• Support for local and national meeting attendance
• Didactics
  • Weekly Morning Report on Tuesdays or Wednesdays
  • Cardiology Morning Report on Fridays
  • Daily Noon Conferences
  • Grand Rounds on Tuesdays
  • Ambulatory block didactics with Oyster Rounds and Johns Hopkins Ambulatory teaching curriculum
  • Journal Club sessions
  • Board Review sessions

The 269-bed regional health care system includes:

• Framingham Union Hospital, Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick and the MetroWest Wellness Center, an outpatient diagnostic imaging and rehabilitation center
• A busy Emergency Department with 70,000 visits a year
• Ambulatory clinics: Medicine, Infectious disease, Endocrinology, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Pediatrics, Podiatry, Vascular Surgery, Women’s health clinic
• Excellent facility includes state of the art cardiac catheterization laboratory, radiation oncology center.
• Outstanding location 30 minutes by car or train from Boston with numerous opportunities for recreation and culture
• Outstanding Intensive Care Unit with a 12-bed availability. Our hospital was one of six hospitals in Massachusetts to receive the Beacon Award for Excellence in the ICU.

Faculty members of the Department of Medicine have achieved a strong reputation throughout New England for their clinical skills, with a commitment to graduate medical education, and for clinical research. Nearly all of the full time faculty members have academic teaching appointments at medical schools in Boston or Worcester.

Clinical Specialties

The teaching faculty includes both community-based positions and hospital-based clinicians, including specialists in cardiology, gastroenterology, pulmonary medicine, hematology, oncology, endocrinology, infectious diseases, nephrology and hepatology. We also have board certified physicians in psychiatry, geriatric medicine, critical care medicine, and neurology. Faculty members serve as important mentors not only in the clinical arena, but also in sponsoring clinical research activities, a requirement for all categorical residents at MetroWest Medical Center.

George Dickstein, MD, FASGE, AGAF
Chair of the Department of Medicine at MWMC
Director of Academic Affairs at MWMC
Academic Dean and Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine
Medical School: Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Residency: Internal Medicine - Tufts Medical Center
Fellowship: Gastroenterology - Tufts Medical Center
Clinical Interests: Interventional Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal Bleeding of Obscure Origin, Ablation of Barrett's Esophagus, and Care of Viral and Cholestatic Liver Disease

Thomas L. Treadwell MD, FACP,FIDSA
Program Director of the MWMC Internal Medicine Program
Director of the Infectious Disease Clinic at MWMC
Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs and Clinical Professor of Medicine at Boston University of School of Medicine
Medical School: Dartmouth School of Medicine
Residency: Internal Medicine - University of California
Chief residency: Internal Medicine - University of California
Fellowship: Infectious disease - Boston City Hospital
Clinical Interests: HIV medicine, Tick-borne disease, Addiction medicine, Opioid use disorder

David Rishikof, MD
Program Director of the MWMC Transitional Year Residency Program
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine
Medical School: University of Toronto
Residency: University of Toronto
Fellowship: Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine - Boston University
Clinical Interests: Pulmonary Hypertension, Venous thromboembolism

Eric Hyolim Chun MD, FACP
Associate Program Director of MWMC Internal Medicine Residency Program
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine and Associate Clerkship Director at Boston University School of Medicine
Medical School: Seoul National University College of Medicine
Residency: Internal Medicine - MetroWest Medical Center
Clinical Interests: Hospitalist Medicine, Academic medicine

Jason Konter MD
Chair of Graduate Medical Education and Designated Institution Official of MWMC Residency Program
Assistance Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine
Medical School: Medical College of Georgia
Residency: Internal Medicine - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Fellowship: Pulmonary and Critical Care - Boston University
Clinical Interests: Diagnosis and management of dyspnea, Interstitial Lung disease, COPD and pulmonary vascular disease

Chief Residents

Chihheng Hsieh, MD
Medical School: University of Massachusetts Medical School, USA
Residency:Internal Medicine – MetroWest Medical Center
Career Interests: Pulmonology and Critical Care

Lucas Chen, MD
Clinical Associate of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine
Medical School: Universidade de Sao Paulo
Residency: Internal Medicine – Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo and MetroWest Medical Center
Fellowship: T32 Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Fellowship BU School of Medicine Clinical Interests: Pulmonary and Critical Care, environmental health and lung health

Core Faculty

Cardiology

George Philip Kinzfogl III, MD
Chief of Cardiology of the Heart Center of MetroWest
Assistant Clinical Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine
Medical School: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Residency: Internal Medicine - Massachusetts General Hospital
Fellowship: Cardiology - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Clinical Interests: Clinical Cardiology, Multimodal Cardiac Imaging, Valvular Heart Disease

Donald G. Love, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine
Medical School: University of Massachusetts Medical School
Residency: Internal Medicine - Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Fellowship: Cardiology – University of Massachusetts Medical School
Clinical Interests: Non-invasive cardiology: Transesophageal echocardiography, non-invasive coronary angiography, pacemakers and intracardiac devices, arrhythmia and syncope diagnosis and management

Eric S. Davidson, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine
Medical School: Boston University School of Medicine
Residency: Internal Medicine - Boston University
Chief Residency: Boston University
Fellowship: Cardiology - Boston University
Clinical Interests: Invasive Non-interventional Cardiology, Echocardiography, Nuclear Cardiology

David Z. Young, MD, MPH
Assistant Clinical Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine
Medical School: Harvard Medical School
Master's Degree: Masters of Public Health- Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health
Residency: Internal Medicine- Weill Cornell University
Fellowship: Cardiology - Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Cardiovascular Imaging - Massachusetts General Hospital, Interventional Cardiology - Tufts Medical Center
Clinical Interests: General Cardiology, Echocardiography, Nuclear Cardiology, Cardiac CT for Calcium Scoring

Hospital Medicine

Basava R. Vallabhaneni, MD, MBA
Chief division of Hospital Medicine at MWMC
Assistant Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine
Medical School: Gandhi Medical College
Residency: North Shore Medical Center, Salem Hospital
Chief Residency: North Shore Medical Center, Salem Hospital
MBA: University of Massachusetts Isenberg School of Management
Clinical Interests: Quality, Performance metrics, Patient Safety, Patient Experience, Utilization, Informatics, Physician Wellness

Endocrinology

John Paul Lock, MD, FACP, FACE
Emeritus Professor of Medicine at University of Massachusetts Medical
Medical School: St. Louis University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri
Residency: Internal Medicine - St. Vincent’s Hospital
Fellowship: Endocrinology – University of Colorado
Clinical Interests: Diabetes Care, Emerging Technology for Diabetes Care, and Clinical Research

Infectious Diseases

Felipe Barbosa, MD, MHSC
Chief of the Infectious Diseases Department at MWMC
Medical School: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Master's Degree: Master of Health Science in Infectious diseases and Tropical Medicine - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Residency: Internal Medicine - MetroWest Medical Center
Fellowship: Infectious diseases - Boston University
Clinical Interests: Antibiotic stewardship, General Infectious Diseases

Pulmonology

Aba Somers, MD
Instructor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine
Medical School: University of the Witwatersrand
Residency: Albert Einstein Healthcare Network
Fellowship: Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine - Boston University
Clinical Interests: Interstitial lung disease, Sarcoidosis and Lung Cancer

Primary Care Medicine

Tammy C. Harris, MD, MPH
Medical School: Yale University
Master's Degree: Master of Public Health - Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health
Internhip: Obstetrics and Gynecology - Beth Israel Medical Center
Residency: Family Medicine - University of Massachusetts
Clinical Interests: Women’s health, Obesity Medicine, Dermatology, Gender Medicine

Vinay Kumar, MD
Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor Boston University
Medical School: King George Medical College
Residency: MetroWest Medical Center
Clinical Interests: Mental Illness, Neuropsychiatric Disease Diagnosis and Management, Substance Use Disorders and Geriatrics

Eduardo Henrique Ribeiro, MD
Medical School: Severino Sombra University
Residency: MetroWest Medical Center
Clinical Interests: Primary care, Physician Career Development, Medical Education

Lawrence Epstein, MD
Medical School: Stanford University School of Medicine
Residency: Internal Medicine - Bronx Municipal Hospital Center
Clinical Interests: Nephrology - Massachusetts General Hospital Clinical interests: Electrolyte imbalances, Point of Care testing, Academic Medicine

• Salaries:
  • PGY1- $63,677.00
  • PGY2- $66,116.00
  • PGY3- $68.149.00
    *adjusted annually
• Health care
  • Residents are given medical, dental and eye insurance options. Each medical resident will be responsible for a portion of the cost of these insurance plans.
• 2 White coats per year
• Meals when on-call
• Free on-campus parking
• Vacation: 3 weeks or 15 working days

• We accept all applications through ERAS only. You application should include:
  • Application Form [generated on ERAS]
  • Curriculum Vitae [CV] [generated on ERAS]
  • Three letters of recommendation, including Medical School Dean’s Letter
  • Medical School Performance Evaluation [MSPE]
  • USMLE Transcript
  • Personal Statement
  • Photograph
• We prefer scores >220 and above on first attempt for both Step 1 and Step 2
• We prefer Graduation from Medical School within 5 years
• We offer J1 Visas only
• We prefer US clinical experience for international medical graduates

Contact Us

Program Coordinators:

Rhonda Carlson
[email protected]
508-383-1572

Anne Hill
[email protected]
508-383-1555

PGY-3

SooJin Moon, MD
Medical School: Catholic University of Korea, College of Medicine in Seoul, Korea
Career Interests: Infectious Disease

Kamelah Abushalha, MD
Medical School: Hashemite University Faculty of Medicine, Jordan
Career Interests: Hematology/Oncology

Antonio Diaz, MD
Medical School: University of Carabobo Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Venezuela
Career Interests: Rheumatology

Suchanan Kanjanapong, MD
Medical School: Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
Career Interests: Geriatrics 

Alexandra Abelina Lema Morocho, MD
Medical School: Universidad de Cuenca Facultad de Ciencias Medicas, Ecuador
Career Interests: Endocrinology

Liliana Tavares, MD
Medical School: Faculty of Medicine University of Porto, Portugal
Career Interests: Cardiology

Palapun Waitayangkoon, MD
Medical School: Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
Career Interests: Rheumatology

Tae Kyung Yoo, MD
Medical School: Catholic Kwandong University College of Medicine in Gangneung, Korea
Career Interests: Cardiology

PGY-2

Marjorie Azevedo Jales Brandao, MD
Medical School: Universidade Federal de Ceara, Brazil
Career Interests: Endocrinology

Veronica Harely, MD
Medical School: Medical University of Warsaw, Poland
Career Interests: Endocrinology

Valeria Mata, MD
Medical School: Universidad Particular de Especialidades Espiritu Santo, Ecuador
Career Interests: Primary Care Medicine

Moon Soo Kim, MD
Medical School: Universidad Nacional de Asuncion, Paraguay
Career Interests: Nephrology

Sully Mariel Marquez Flores, MD
Medical School: National Autonomous University of Honduras, Honduras
Career Interests: Endocrinology

Victor Ivan Moncada Castro, MD
Medical School: National Autonomous University of Honduras, Honduras
Career Interests: Nephrology/Infectious Diseases

Jai Juganya Tirpur Ponnusamy, MD
Medical School: Stanley Medical College, India
Career Interests: Rheumatology

Yung- Chen (Marie) Wu, MD
Medical School: National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taiwan
Career Interests: Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

PGY-1

Sokratis Nikolaos Zisis, MD
Medical School: University of Athens
Career Interests: Infectious Diseases

Thomas Claudio Guillermo Tsai, MD
Medical School: National Taiwan University College of Medicine
Career Interests: Primary Care and Medical Education

Donghoon Shin, MD
Medical School: Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine
Career Interests: Hematology and Oncology

Santiago Rodriguez Vega, MD
Medical School: Universidad Marista de Merida
Career Interests: Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine or Hospitalist

Seung Wook Lee, MD
Medical School: Kyungpook National University School of Medicine
Career Interests: Clinical Informatics

Jeffrey Ha, MD
Medical School: Kyung Hee University College of Medicine
Career Interests: Hospitalist or Geriatrics

Pedro Arthur Macedo de Freitas, MD
Medical School: Universidade Federal de Uberlandia (UFU)
Career Interests: Infectious Disease/ Critical Care Medicine

Aditya Bharara, MD
Medical School: Kasturba Medical College Manipal
Career Interests: Primary Care or Endocrinology

2022-2023:

• Geriatric Medicine - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
• Infectious diseases – Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
• Endocrinology - National Institutes of Health. Bethesda, Maryland
• Endocrinology – Boston University Medical Center, Boston Massachusetts
• Advanced Heart Failure fellowship - University of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama
• Cardiology - Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, Burlington, Massachusetts
• Endocrinology – Boston University Medical Center, Boston Massachusetts
• Primary care – Signature Healthcare Easton, Easton, Massachusetts
• Primary care – East Boston Neighborhood Health Center, Boston Massachusetts

2021-2022:

• Hematology and Oncology - National Institutes of Health. Bethesda, Maryland
• Hematology and Oncology - Motiff Cancer Center, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida
• Rheumatology - University of Massachusetts , Worcester, Massachusetts
• Endocrinology - University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
• Nephrology - Massachusetts General Brigham, Boston, Massachusetts
• Primary care - UMass Primary Care, Worcester, Massachusetts
• Primary care - Cape Cod Hospital. Hyannis, MA
• T32 Post-doctoral Research Fellowship - Framingham Heart Study, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts

2020-2021:

• Hematology and Oncology - Dartmouth University, Hanover, New Hampshire
• Pulmonology - Roger Williams Medical Center, Providence, Rhode Island; Critical Care Medicine- Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts 
• Endocrinology - University of Massachusetts, Worcester, Massachusetts
• Pulmonary and critical care - University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
• Hospitalist Medicine - St Luke’s Hospital. New Bedford, Massachusetts
• Cardiology - Advanced Heart Failure Program, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama. Cardiology fellowship - Advent Health, Orlando, Florida
• Nephrology - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
• Primary care - Golden Valley Health Center, Modesto, California

2019-2020:

• Infectious diseases - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
• Infectious diseases - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Primary care - East Boston Neighborhood Care Center, Boston, Massachusetts
• Primary care - East Boston Neighborhood Care Center, Boston, Massachusetts
• Primary care - The Everett Clinic, Seattle, Washington
• Hospitalist Medicine - Missouri Delta Medical Center: Sikeston, MO
• Hospitalist Medicine - Sturdy Memorial Hospital, Attleboro, Massachusetts
• Hematology and Oncology - Brookdale University Hospital, New York City, New York

2018-2019:

• Gastroenterology - Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
• Hospitalist Medicine - St Luke’s Hospital. New Bedford, Massachusetts; Critical Care Medicine- Advent Health, Orlando, Florida 
• Critical Care Medicine - Advent Health, Orlando, Florida 
• Genetics - University of California, San Francisco, California
• Pulmonary and Critical Care medicine - Bridgeport Hospital, Yale University, Bridgeport, Connecticut
• Rheumatology - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
• Cardiology - St. Vincent’s Hospital, Worcester, Massachusetts
• Infectious disease - University of Colorado Denver, Colorado
• Hematology and Oncology - Jacobi Medical Center, Bronx, New York
• Primary care - The Everett Clinic, Seattle, Washington
• Primary care - UMass Memorial Primary care, Fitchburg, Massachusetts