Our Current Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellows

Shreya Doshi

I grew up in Mumbai and moved to Baltimore for residency in 2019. I haven’t been able to visit Mumbai since (thank you, COVID!) but the DMV area has embraced me well. I love how diverse D.C. is in its food and culture, so basically, I came to D.C. for the food. Just kidding, the real answer is that this is a great program with cool people that had the "best vibe." My interests are broad and include global health, public health, lab/antimicrobial stewardship, QI and med-ed. I enjoy mentoring medical students and residents and I am an IMG advocate. I like to sing, play the guitar and reluctantly go on hikes with my husband. I may change my answer as bugs and I become better friends, but for now my favorite microbe is Lactobacillus acidophilus as it’s a friendly bug that creates a healthy microbiome.

Alaina Halbach

I was born in North Carolina but was whisked away to New England at 4 years of age when I started to develop a southern accent. I grew up in a small town in rural New Hampshire but got a taste of metropolitan life during my 6th grade year when I lived in Paris with my parents. I went to college on the Maine coast at Bowdoin where I majored in French but managed to complete my pre-med requirements. I studied abroad in Senegal during my junior year where I was introduced to the concept of public health and where I was also introduced to my husband, a fellow study-abroad student from Idaho. We maintained a long-distance relationship for the remainder of our undergrad and graduate school years. I graduated from Johns Hopkins with my master’s degree in Global Disease Epidemiology and took a job as an epidemiologist for the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch for four years before going back to school. I completed medical school and my pediatric residency at University of Maryland and am now very excited to dive back into the realm of infectious diseases and public health as a CBER ID fellow here at Children’s National! I spend my free time wrangling my two young kids and enjoy day trips around the Baltimore/DMV area whenever we can get organized enough to leave the house. My favorite pathogen is poliovirus because our global effort to eradicate it represents an amazing public health success and because it is still a major area of focus requiring new strategies to ultimately achieve our goal.

Antigone Kraft

I am originally from Salt Lake City, which remains my favorite place in the world. I have moved progressively east across the country – Chicago for residency, and now D.C. for fellowship as a CDER fellow. I was drawn to this program because of the dynamic clinical experience it offers and the warmth I experienced from the people in the division. My interests in infectious diseases are still broad and I am excited about the opportunities it offers. When I'm not at the hospital, you can find me exploring restaurants and wandering outside with my husband and baby girl. My favorite microbe is the variola virus (the virus that causes smallpox) because you probably haven't heard of it! I see this as evidence of how important the infectious diseases field is because this illness has been eradicated!

Alumni Updates

What Are Our Recent Graduates Up To?

Since 2010, 34 physicians have completed our pediatric infectious diseases fellowship training program and gone on to a variety of activities. Currently, 22 are in traditional academic practice (clinical, education, research). The remaining 12 have landed in perhaps less common but very challenging infectious diseases venues: nine are based with the FDA, one works for industry, one is with the CDC, and one is doing bench research with no clinical duties.

Quotes From Our Alumni

“D.C. is a cool city. It has a bit of everything; history, architecture, food, art, culture, politics, you name it. It also makes an interesting place to work. We have a fun group with lots of fellows and engaging faculty and staff. There is always the potential of a rural, urban and/or exotic differential being on your list of patients to see daily. We see and do a lot, but never feel overwhelmed!” – Dr. Amol Purandare, Alumnus 2018

“My experiences at Children’s National and the FDA have prepared me well for my new position. Children’s National provided me with a strong clinical background and the FDA a strong understanding of clinical trials and regulatory science.” – Dr. George Dubrocq, Alumnus 2017

“Looking back on my training, Children's National and the FDA was the perfect combination for me. I saw a tremendous volume of patients presenting with both common and uncommon infectious diseases and learned from amazing attendings on the wards and in the microbiology lab. Through my time in the FDA CDER track, I developed an understanding of drug development, clinical trials and labeling that has proven invaluable in my interactions with patients and in my pursuit of scholarly activity.” – Dr. Kimberly Martin, Alumna 2015

“During residency I became interested in pediatric HIV and international health. Out of residency, I worked for the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative in Malawi, and thereafter decided to pursue a Peds ID fellowship at Children's National because I knew it would offer me the opportunity to continue to pursue my interests in HIV, tropical medicine and international health but more importantly would give me the tools to become an effective clinician and independent physician scientist.

My primary scholarly research was completed at the FDA with a focus on evaluating safety and effectiveness of new vaccines. In addition, the fellowship offered me the opportunity to conduct investigator-initiated clinical research projects and I took courses in epidemiology and biostatistics in the school of public health at GWU. The support and academic experience at Children's National were optimal to pursue a career as a physician scientist.

After fellowship, I accepted a faculty position at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital/CWRU School of Medicine. In September 2016, I was awarded a K23 Mentored Career Development Award from the NIH to study the relationship of cardiovascular health and inflammation in children infected with HIV in Uganda.

The Peds ID fellowship at Children's National offered me the mentorship and environment to enable me to purse my research career and work towards achieving my long-term career objective and become a pediatric clinical research with international expertise in metabolic and cardiovascular complications of HIV.” – Dr. Sahera Fargo, Alumna 2013