Skip to main content

Current Fellows

Faculty members stand with fellowsOne of the strengths of the Pediatric Nephrology Fellowship at IU School of Medicine is the size and collegiality of our fellow cohort. Fellows train alongside a robust group of peers across all years of fellowship, creating a close-knit community that learns together, supports one another clinically and academically, and builds lasting professional relationships. This strong fellow-to-fellow support is matched by excellent educational outcomes, with our graduates achieving a 100% board pass rate.

67894-Boakye, Amma

Amma Boakye, DO

PGY 7
Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Medical School: Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: MetroHealth Medical Center/Case Western Reserve University

Hobbies: Bad reality television, going to concerts, Xtreme Hip Hop step aerobics, photography and reading

Research Interests: Our communities and lives outside the doctor's office often inform our health, so I am particularly interested in how these factors drive disparities in health outcomes. I'm also med-peds trained, so evaluating and improving the transition from the pediatric to adult medical home is always a point of interest near and dear to my heart.

Why Pediatric Nephrology? The pathology is varied and fascinating, and there are many points for intervention to improve health outcomes in pediatric nephrology.

Why IU School of Medicine/Riley Hospital? Academically, I was excited to see Riley Hospital's range of pathology and complexity, so I knew I would receive excellent training. The "secret sauce" is the culture here — community, teamwork and collaboration are the rule, not the exception, and everyone's opinions and contributions are valued and sought after. It's been a supportive place to cultivate my professional (and personal) identity.

Read Bio

61945-Pierce, Keith

Keith Pierce, MD

PGY 5
University Of Tennessee Health Science Center College Of Medicine

Medical School: University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Residency: University of Indiana

Hobbies: Live music, sports, game collecting, 3D printing, cooking, gardening, restoring vintage electronics and cars, and spending time with my family and pets

Research Interest: My research up to now has been centered around the complex relationship between the kidneys and the immune system. Specifically, my focus has been on antimicrobial peptides and how they can be used to diagnose and treat infections in the kidneys and urinary tract. I hope to continue this research while in fellowship and explore other interesting avenues during my research time.

Why Pediatric Nephrology: Nephrology is one of the few specialties that gets to do and see it all - inpatient wards, intensive care, outpatient, research, advocacy, and community outreach. In addition to the medical complexity and variability we see, all our patients and their families have their own unique stories to tell, and I am thrilled at every opportunity to learn from them.

Why IU School of Medicine/Riley Hospital: From residency onward, Riley and Indiana have felt like a second home to me. We have a highly diverse patient population from all over the Midwest and have an equally diverse nephrology department here. Riley has a deep well of experts in every pediatric specialty. I am very blessed to be a part of the care team here.

Read Bio

70089-Whitman, Abbie

Abbie M. Whitman, MD

PGY 6
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine

Medical School: Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
Residency: University of Wisconsin in Madison

Hobbies: Taking my toddler to new places to explore, cuddling my dogs, crafting with my Cricut, reading

Research Interests: Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract – I’m specifically interested in predictors of progression as well as various biomarkers that may help us risk stratify these patients over time.

Why Pediatric Nephrology? I love physiology. Nephrology allows you to critically think about labs and patient presentations and reason your way to where the pathology likely is. It is a subspecialty but with such broad pathology that is all so interesting. You also get the privilege of developing longitudinal relationships with amazing kids and their families.

Why IU School of Medicine/Riley Hospital? To put it simply, it felt like home. It was clear the people in the division truly enjoyed working with each other and at Riley. They all support each other as colleagues but also as friends. Despite having that small, warm feel it is actually large in terms of having ample research opportunities and exposure to a wide variety of pathology.

Read Bio

71756-Adams, Sam

Sam Adams, MD

PGY 4
Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College Of Medicine

Medical School: Washington State University, Elson S Floyd College of Medicine
Residency: Michigan State University/Corewell Health at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital

Hobbies: Spending time with my wife and three boys, schvitzing in my wood-fired sauna and pickin' a few tunes on my guitar and mandolin.

Research Interests: Interested in further phenotypic characterization of Lowe Syndrome.

Why Pediatric Nephrology? The thing I love most in pediatric medicine is the honor of helping a family navigate a journey with a chronic disease. In addition to providing essentially unlimited opportunities for this experience, nephrology has everything you could possibly ask for in a specialty including the most fascinating physiology and getting to work in every clinical environment. I fell in love at the beginning of my second year of residency, and have never looked back!

Why IU School of Medicine/Riley Hospital? I love IU for multiple reasons! Not only is there strong support for the specific type of research I am interested in, but the fellows here are genuinely happy. The program is welcoming and supportive, and Indianapolis is a wonderful community for my family! I could not be happier to be here!

Read Bio

71654-Sheveland, Emily

Emily R. Sheveland, MD

PGY 4
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine

Medical School: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Residency: Orlando Health

Hobbies: I am always riding horses or enjoying all the parks around Indianapolis.

Research Interests: I’m still figuring it out.

Why Pediatric Nephrology? My love for nephrology came in a bit of a roundabout way. My academic interest is the immune system and sadly the immune system causes a lot of issues for the kidney. Nephrology offers many angles to explore this relationship in the way of Glomerulonephritis, transplant and opportunistic infections.

Why IU School of Medicine/Riley Hospital? IU has a large team; it is one big supportive family. Each person has their own niche which provides a variety of opportunities to learn from experts in their field. IU has a large catchment area that provides a diverse set of patient and pathology. Specifically given my interested in the immune system I was most excited about the GN and transplant opportunities.

Read Bio

Graduated Fellows

Graduates of our fellowship program leave well prepared for diverse careers in pediatric nephrology. Our alumni have maintained a 100% board pass rate and have gone on to successful roles in academic medicine, including leadership positions as dialysis directors, as well as clinical careers in transplant nephrology, general pediatric nephrology and multidisciplinary care settings across the country. Their career paths reflect the breadth of training, mentorship and clinical experience available through our program.

Abbie Whitman and Keith Pierce