Fellows & Alumni

Meet Our Current Nephrology Fellows

Nephrology fellows at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center are given opportunities for training in all aspects of kidney disease. Learn about the current fellows below.

First Year

Giovana Jaen, MD  Gio Jaen, MD

Giovana (Gio) Jaen was raised in Boca Raton, FL. She completed a dual-enrollment program to finish with a degree in Biology at Florida Atlantic University, then going on to attend the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University. She moved to Boston after medical school to complete Internal Medicine-Pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital. She developed her interest in nephrology while rotating through the elective in medical school. In residency, she grew to enjoy the unique challenges that come along with caring for young adult patients while they are transitioning between pediatric and adult care in residency, particularly patients with Lupus glomerulonephritis. She plans to complete dual-fellowship training in nephrology, starting with adult renal fellowship at BIDMC before moving on to complete a pediatric nephrology fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital.

 

 

Emily Rademacher, MD

Emily Rademacher, MD ​

 

 

 

Gloria Rodriguez Gomez, MD

Gloria Rodriguez ,MD Gloria Paulina Rodriguez was born in Mexico City and raised in Monterrey, Mexico. She earned her medical degree from Tecnológico de Monterrey, where she discovered her passion for nephrology while caring for a young patient with lupus nephritis. She completed her internal medicine residency at Yale New Haven Hospital, where her enthusiasm for medical education and all things electrolytes continued to grow. Gloria is especially committed to caring for Hispanic patients in their native language, aiming to create more comfortable and accessible healthcare experiences. She’s looking forward to exploring transplant nephrology and building strong, lasting connections with her clinic patients. Outside of medicine, she enjoys discovering new bakeries, exploring museums, and practicing yoga.

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Sarah Rokaw, MD

Sarah Rokaw, MD ​​​Sarah Rokaw grew up in Louisiana and moved across the country, attending college in St. Louis, medical school in Pittsburgh, and then residency in Boston at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She loved the culture of BI so much she decided to stay for fellowship and a Chief Medical Resident year! She first fell in love with the kidneys in college when learning about membrane physiology, and her interest was cemented in medical school upon realizing she was the only person excited about hyponatremia during medicine rounds. In residency, she enjoyed developing deep relationships with her primary care patients and can’t wait to do the same with her clinic and dialysis patients. She also holds a special interest in women’s health nephrology and hopes to work closely with obstetrics to care for women with kidney disease throughout high-risk pregnancies. When she is outside of the hospital, you can find her sipping an iced latte while shopping on Newbury street, curled up next to her dog Kimberly with a good book, playing games with her friends, or enjoying a delicious meal with her husband.

Second Year

Ifeoluwa Stowe, MD  Ife Stowe, MD ​​​

Ifeoluwa Stowe was born and raised in Nigeria. She graduated from the University of Lagos, Nigeria and then started her Internal Medicine Residency training at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital. She developed an avid interest in nephrology during her IM training and completed her nephrology fellowship training at the same institution. She served as the Chief Resident of the Department of Medicine for 2 years while doing her nephrology fellowship. In her quest for more knowledge and broader clinical exposure, she came to the US and started IM residency training at Baton Rouge General Medical Center, Louisiana. She is now joining the BIDMC family and is hoping to grow as a clinician with special interests in acute kidney injury, APOL-1 related kidney diseases, renal transplantation, and health disparities.

 

Nang San Hti Lar Seng, MD, PhD  Nang Seng, MD ​​​

Nang San Hti Lar Seng grew up in Kyaing Tong, Myanmar. She went to Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, where she majored in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology. After college, she completed her PhD training at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), where she studied the role of Cdk2 in cisplatin nephrotoxicity under Dr. Peter Price in the Division of Nephrology. After receiving her PhD degree, she went to Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.

She moved to New York for her Internal Medicine Residency training at Jacobi Medical Center in 2021. During her residency, she conducted research on the role of reference and haplotype FAT10 in APOL-1 related kidney disease in human podocytes under Dr. Michael J. Ross at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center. She also participated in several clinical research projects with Dr. Belinda Jim including 1) the correlation of troponins and angiographic coronary artery disease in CKD patients and 2) the role of repeat renal biopsies in lupus nephritis patients in predominantly Black and Hispanic populations. During residency, she received the Best Ambulatory Care Resident award and the Humanism in Medicine award. She was also a recipient of the Kidney STARS award in 2022 to attend the ASN conference. She was inducted into the Einstein Chapter of the AΩA Honor Medical Society in June 2024. She is excited to join the BIDMC family with an interest in pursuing a research track.

Samir Hirpara, MD  Samir Hirpara, MD ​​​

Samir Hirpara was born in New Jersey, but raised near Annapolis, Maryland. He attended the University of Maryland in College Park where he majored in Neurobiology and Physiology. He then went to The Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University and completed Internal Medicine Residency training at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus in northern Virginia. During his training, he discovered an interest in Nephrology and has since joined the fellowship program at BIDMC.

Samir has a passion for teaching and POCUS. He hopes to continue to grow in the field of medical education. In his free time, he enjoys weight training, playing basketball, cooking, and trying the diverse cuisine that Boston has to offer.

Akil Serdar Kavcar, MD   Akil Kavcar, MD ​​​

Akil Serdar Kavcar is a first-year fellow in the BIDMC Nephrology Program. He earned his MD from Acibadem University School of Medicine in Istanbul, Turkey, and completed his residency at East Carolina University Medical Center in Greenville, North Carolina. During his residency, he found a passion for nephrology, especially in treating diabetic kidney disease and dialysis access. To further explore this interest, he worked on a study focused on arteriovenous fistula maturation in Eastern North Carolina. His dedication led to him receiving the Resident Award for Excellence in Diabetes Medicine two years in a row, and spots in the American Society of Diagnostic and Interventional Nephrology Research Mentorship Program and the ASN STARS program.

Akil is excited about Interventional Nephrology, focusing on dialysis access, and looks forward to exploring transplant nephrology during his fellowship. When he's not working, you'll find him exploring Boston's historical sites, learning to row on the Charles River, or acting as his wife's sous chef while they cook Turkish recipes together.

Transplant Fellow

Eric Xu, MD​  Eric Xu, MD ​​​

Eric Xu was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. He studied Biochemistry and taught organic chemistry to undergraduate students at the University of Pennsylvania before attending medical school at Johns Hopkins, where he would quickly discover how incredible the kidneys are. Eric found his calling in transplant nephrology during his residency at BIDMC. After completing general nephrology fellowship at Mass General Brigham, he has returned to BIDMC to further his training. He has a passion for teaching and hopes to inspire others to pursue transplant nephrology.

Eric's favourite part of the nephron is the "immaculate" densa. In his spare time, he enjoys playing with his two huskies, experimenting in the kitchen, and exploring the various parks and museums Boston has to offer. He hopes to one day have a vanity plate that reads FK506.