Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program

The Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center is a three-year, ACGME-accredited training program with a long history of preparing physicians for successful careers in academic neonatology, clinical practice, research, education, quality improvement, and leadership. Learn about the program’s history and mission.

Fellows develop expertise in:

The care of critically ill neonates
Fetal and neonatal physiology and pathophysiology
Evidence-based neonatal practice
Procedural skills
Multidisciplinary team leadership
Scholarly inquiry
Quality improvement

They graduate prepared for successful academic or clinical careers and for certification in neonatal-perinatal medicine by the American Board of Pediatrics.

The program's vision is that graduates will positively impact the health of neonates through leadership, research, and excellence in patient care. The mission spans compassionate family-centered care, high-quality research, and training future leaders in neonatal medicine.

Strengths of the Program

Exceptional clinical training across complementary sites: Fellows train in high-volume, high-acuity neonatal environments, including Parkland Memorial Hospital and Children's Medical Center Dallas, with exposure to Level III and Level IV neonatal care, surgical neonatology, complex congenital anomalies, transport, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), NeuroNICU, resuscitation, and cardiac critical care.
Strong research and scholarly infrastructure: Fellows complete mentored scholarly work under the guidance of a Scholarship Oversight Committee and are supported in clinical, translational, basic science, quality improvement, and educational scholarship.
National Institutes of Health-funded T32 research training pathway: The fellowship benefits from the T32 training program, Developmental Brain Science from Bench to Bedside, led by Lina Chalak, M.D., as Principal Investigator, with Imran Mir, M.D., and Rachel Leon, M.D., as Co-Principal Investigators. This program strengthens fellow research training in developmental neuroscience, neonatal brain injury, fetal-neonatal biology, translational science, and neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Robust didactic and evidence-based curriculum: Fellows participate in structured conferences in physiology, evidence-based medicine, quality improvement, M&M, ethics, health disparities and advocacy, divisional research, resuscitation, NeuroNICU, and fetal-neonatal care.
Supportive mentorship and wellness culture: Fellows are supported by program leadership, class mentors, research mentors, faculty mentors, a Fellow Wellness Committee, and regular professional development activities.

Duration of Fellowship

Three years

Number of Fellows

Five per year, 15 fellows total

Message from the Director

Imran Mir, M.D.

Program Director, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship

Welcome to the UT Southwestern Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program.

Our fellowship has a long history of training neonatologists who go on to lead in academic medicine, clinical practice, research, quality improvement, and education. At UT Southwestern, fellows learn in a rich clinical environment that spans high-risk delivery care, Level III and Level IV NICU care, complex surgical and cardiac neonatology, neonatal follow-up, and multidisciplinary care of medically fragile infants.

We are deeply committed to helping each fellow grow into the kind of neonatologist they aspire to become. Some fellows pursue careers as physician-scientists, some as clinician-educators, some as quality and safety leaders, and others as outstanding clinical neonatologists. Our job is to provide the structure, mentorship, challenge, and support to help them get there.

We are proud of the strength of our clinical training, the breadth of our research opportunities, and the collegiality of our faculty and fellows. Most of all, we are proud of the people who train here and the impact they make on infants, families, and the field of neonatal-perinatal medicine.”

Testimonials

“I wholeheartedly recommend the UTSW program for fellowship training in neonatal-perinatal medicine. The program provided excellent clinical training and significant protected time for my laboratory research, thus greatly facilitating my development as a physician-scientist. In addition, the wonderful culture and camaraderie within the fellowship and the Division as a whole made me feel heard and supported as a fellow. This program is a 10/10! ”
Walter Chen, M.D.

“I was always told that to learn medicine, you have to go where the patients are. What I appreciated most about my fellowship was the chance to see and care for everything. Between Parkland, one of the highest-volume delivery centers in the country, and the Level IV referral NICU at Children's Medical Center Dallas, I felt genuinely prepared to step into an attending role when I finished. The breadth of those experiences taught me to respond confidently across a wide range of clinical contexts and to not shy away from rare conditions. And while it might sound corny, the team at UTSW genuinely likes each other, so I always felt supported and part of a tight-knit team where everyone had my back.”
Charles Herrin, M.D.

“The UTSW Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program gave me the opportunity, mentorship, and support to achieve the professional goals I outlined in my personal statement when I first applied. The outstanding clinical training, research support, and collaborative fellow culture helped me grow both personally and professionally. More importantly, the program also taught me how to navigate setbacks, learn from failure, and continue growing with resilience and confidence. Beyond training, I gained lifelong mentors, meaningful friendships, and an experience that truly prepared me for my future career. ”
Khawar Nawaz, M.D.

“UT Southwestern provided me with exceptional clinical training, meaningful opportunities for scholarship, and the chance to care for a wonderfully diverse patient population. The volume and complexity of cases, combined with outstanding faculty mentorship and support, prepared me exceptionally well for independent practice. Equally important, the program gave me the flexibility and resources to pursue my scholarly interests, helping me grow into a well-rounded neonatologist.”
James Rohwer, M.D.

“My fellowship training provided an exceptional clinical and educational experience that prepared me to confidently continue practicing and learning as an attending. The program offered outstanding exposure to neonatal resuscitation, with extensive hands-on delivery room experience. With the high delivery volume and the exceptional dedicated resuscitation team, I felt that I was able to confidently run delivery room resuscitations even after my first year of fellowship. Additionally, it was very cool to have a firsthand view of how NICU clinical trials are conducted.”
Riti Chokshi, M.D.