In order to expand
the impact of our mission of saving children
we have, in recent years, funded the Rachel
Cooper Foundation Fellowship. In this way
we have supported the training of
exceptional surgeons who, both in their work
and research efforts increase our impact on
saving lives exponentially. They have become
leaders in their field and are training
other surgeons. The total number of children
who will be helped by this program is
incalculable. Below are the biographies of
our first two fellows.
Dr. Venkataramana Vijay was the first
recipient of the Rachel Cooper Foundation
Fellowship. Already an accomplished surgeon,
he honed his skills in pediatric
cardiothoracic surgery and engaged in
cutting-edge research during his two year
fellowship. Dr. Vijay is indebted to the
Rachel Cooper Foundation for changing the
direction of his career. “The Fellowship led
to my appointment to the faculty of the
Albert Einstein College of Medicine where I
supervise the training of cardiothoracic
surgeons and continue to pursue vital
research projects.” To date, Dr. Vijay has
published over 100 medical journal articles
and abstracts. He feels strongly that in
addition to his own work as a surgeon, his
teaching and research has enabled him to
give back to his profession, by making a
contribution to the advancement of surgical
procedures and patient care.
He is currently working at Beth Israel
Hospital in Brooklyn, a campus of the Albert
Einstein College of Medicine in the
Department of Surgery & Surgical Critical
Care. He is also a member of the Rachel
Cooper Foundation’s Medical Advisory Board.
Dr. Reshma Biniwale completed her tenure at
Children’s Hospital as the second Rachel
Cooper Foundation Fellow in 2005. She worked
directly with Dr. Sam Weinstein, Director,
Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery assisting
him in over 300 pediatric cardiothoracic
surgeries, including all the children whose
surgeries were sponsored by the Rachel
Cooper Foundation. She also supervised the
recovery of all these children and managed
their treatment plans.
Currently, Dr. Biniwale has assumed the
position of Clinical Instructor in
Cardiopulmonary Transplantation at the David
Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She
credits the Rachel Cooper Foundation
Fellowship with giving her the grounding in
pediatric cardiac surgery that has enabled
her to develop a niche in pediatric cardiac
transplantation. The preliminary research
that she conducted as a Rachel Cooper Fellow
familiarized her with the rigors and
applications of bench research and
reinforced her determination to pursue
pediatric cardiothoracic surgery as a
career.
We are grateful to Dr. Biniwale for joining
the Foundation’s Medical Advisory Board.
Dr. Kanwal Farooqi is our newest Rachel Cooper Fellow. She completed her residency in pediatric medicine at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) in 2010 and this fellowship will enable her to fulfill her dream of devoting her career to children suffering from congenital heart defects. As a Fellow she will undergo intensive training in echocardiograms, cardiac catherization and electro physiology, which is a study of the heart’s electrical conduction system. She will also be responsible for the pre and post operative care of all the children who have cardiac surgery at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM). This assignment will include working closely with Dr. Daphne Hsu, Division Chief of Pediatric Cardiology, in managing the care of children hospitalized for heart transplantation.
We are proud to welcome Dr. Farooqi to the Rachel Cooper Foundation family, and to support her training in this specialized field of medicine.
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