COMACC CERTIFICATE NO. 140 (ISSUED 12/31/2022)
Description
Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s two-year Clinical Chemistry fellowship provides comprehensive training and experience in analytical, clinical and managerial aspects of the clinical laboratory in a large academic medical center setting. Our fellows receive the unique experience of training in a large academic medical center laboratory with affiliated satellite laboratories across Nashville, and exposure to our reference laboratory service. During the fellowship, the trainee learns principles of chemical pathology, both basic and applied. With Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s mission in mind, our program combines a strong emphasis on patient care with innovative practices in personalized medicine. Our fellows join a diverse diagnostic management team of physicians and scientists to provide state of the art interpretive reports for select chemistry, endocrine, and toxicology tests. Participation in clinical/translational research projects introduces fellows to recent developments in diagnostic sciences. Successful completion of the program prepares highly qualified physicians/scientists for ABCC board certification and a career as a practicing clinical chemist in academia, community hospital, or industry. Our program received ComACC certification in 2002 and currently has 1 two year fellowship position at a time.
Goals and Objectives of the Program
Faculty and Research Interests:
Affiliated Institutions:
Nashville Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Vanderbilt Children's Hospital
Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital
Vanderbilt Health 100 Oaks
Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center
Program Listing:
| Level(s) of training: | Postdoctoral |
| Duration of program: | 2 years |
| Current trainees: | 1 |
Application Procedure:
| Prerequisites: | PhD or MD |
| Procedures: | Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, application*, CV, personal statement, official transcripts (undergraduate and graduate) and three letters of recommendation to: t.devany@vumc.org |
| *Application and pertinent information can be found under Graduate Medical Education | |
| Deadline: | September 1, 2025 for a July 1, 2026 fellowship position. |
Director:
James Nichols, Ph.D., DABCC
Telephone: (615) 343-5708
Fax: (615) 343-9563
E-mail: james.h.nichols@vumc.org
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Department of Pathology
The Vanderbilt Clinic, TVC 4918
Nashville, TN 37232
Co-Director:
Joe R. Wiencek, Ph.D., DABCC
Telephone: (615) 322-3532
Fax: (615) 343-9563
E-mail: joe.wiencek@vumc.org
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Department of Pathology
VML-1339
445 Great Circle Rd.
Nashville, TN 37228
Past Fellows:
Yenya Hu, MD, PhD (fellow from December 2002-November 2004) is currently a faculty member at Nashville State Community College. Eligible for AACC Board Examination.
Alexandra Belous, MD, PhD (fellow from July 2004-June 2006) is currently working as the Senior Label Management Associate on assignment to Eli Lilly, Indianapolis, IN. Eligible for AACC Board Examination.
Elizabeth O'Keeffe, PhD (fellow from May 2007-April 2009) was working at the FDA in in vitro diagnostics. Eligible for AACC Board Examination.
Amy Pyle, PhD, DABCC (fellow from July 2009-June 2011) is currently employed as the Assistant Director of Core Laboratory Services at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Pyle is certified by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry.
Jessica M. Colon-Franco, PhD, DABCC (fellow from July 2004-June 2006) (fellow from July 2011-June 2013) is currently employed as the Section Head of Clinical Biochemistry at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Colon-Franco is certified by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry.
Sarah Njoroge Bissonnette, PhD, DABCC (fellow from July 2013-June 2015) is currently employed as a Clinical Chemist at Marshfield Labs in Marshfield, Wisconsin. Dr. Bissonnette is certified by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry.
Joesph Wiencek, PhD, DABCC (fellow from July 2015-June 2017) is currently employed as the Service Line Director for the Core Laboratory at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Wiencek is certified by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry and National Registry of Certified Chemists.
Nicola Rutherford, PhD (fellow from July 2017-June 2019) Eligible for AACC Board Examination.
Nadia Ayala-Lopez, PhD, DABCC (fellow from July 2019-March 1, 2020) is currently the Clinical Chemistry Director, Medical Affairs at LabCorp Drug Development in Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Ayala-Lopez is certified by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry.
Erving T. Laryea, PhD (fellow from July 2022 – June 2024) Eligible for AACC Board Examination