Begin your application to UNM's Infectious Diseases fellowship through ERAS. For more information contact Dr. N Mariam Salas at masalas@salud.unm.edu
505-272-5666
A Word from the Program Director:
Welcome to the University of New Mexico – Infectious Diseases Fellowship! At UNM ID, we are more than a team; we are a family. Every member of the fellowship team will work to develop an educational support system tailored to your specific needs. You will be paired with a faculty mentor (or mentors) based on your goals and interests, taking into account the intersecting aspects of your identity. We also celebrate the diversity of our division and invite our fellows and faculty to bring their whole selves into every aspect of the fellowship program. Between our Division Chief playing maracas at holiday parties, our faculty members arguing about whether to support Argentina or Ecuador in the World Cup, or me ensuring parasitology lectures include a crash course about the singer Abdul Halim Hafiz, we embody the spirit of “come as you are.” Whatever your story, or the road that brought you here, you are welcome, and we want to learn from you.
Our 2-year ACGME accredited program provides the highest caliber of subspecialty infectious diseases training in a nurturing environment dedicated to improving the health of our community through scientific enquiry, advocacy and social justice.
Fellows are offered all the exceptional educational experiences of a Level-1 Trauma Center, in addition to unique clinical opportunities created by our program including state-of-the-art HIV and Hepatitis C experiences as well as opportunities to practice infectious disease on the Navajo Nations. Our 24-month curriculum is diverse and flexible for the needs and interests of fellows, while meeting ACGME requirements.
The curriculum includes:
Time is divided equally between UNM Hospital and the New Mexico Veterans Affairs Healthcare System (NMVHCS). We also have a robust, longitudinal, integrated Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) curriculum that includes didactics, skills training, rotations and research. The educational experiences are designed to meet our mission of developing exceptional Infectious Diseases physicians capable in clinical, academic and public health environments, while promoting health equity for all New Mexicans through patient advocacy, clinical excellence and compassion. Diversity and health equity aren’t boxes we check; they are the infrastructure around which we have designed our program. Click here and scroll to the bottom for more information on how the UNM ID fellowship will prepare you to care for patients from all walks of life with empathy, humility and cutting-edge science.
We pride ourselves in our flexibility – we want YOU to succeed in whatever ID career-path you choose, and we will customize your fellowship experience to meet your personal goals.
In addition to our traditional ID Fellowship training we have 2 optional educational tracks:
Each clinical fellow is assigned a two-year HIV continuity clinic. Fellows complete an ambulatory care month with rotations through:
Elective outpatient clinical opportunities include UNM Pediatric ID clinic and New Mexico TeleECHO Clinics (Hepatitis C, HIV and TB).
Elective inpatient clinical opportunities include UNM Hospital Pediatric ID consult rotations, UNM Hospital and NMVHCS Antimicrobial Stewardship rotation, and the opportunity to spend one month with the transplant ID service at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston, Texas.
The People!
As a majority-minority state, we are honored to care for an incredibly diverse patient population, including our local Hispanic community which makes up about 55% of the population (Cuida a tu gente! El 25% de nuestra población habla español como primer idioma), a diverse Native American population (3rd highest in the country; includes 19 Pueblo communities, the Navajo Nations, and the Apache peoples), a compelling Black community, as well as immigrant and refugee peoples from south of the border and beyond.
The Places!
New Mexico boasts 2 World Heritage site (Toas Pueblo and Chaco Canyon), 3 National Parks (Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park and White Sands National Park (Remember Boyz II Men “Water Runs Dry”? No? I’m getting old...) and 11 National Monuments (3rd most in the nation!) Best part? So many amazing places are under a 2-hour drive away from the hospital! You will only ever be about a 15-minute drive from an amazing walk/hike/mountain bike ride from anywhere in the city.
The Pathology!
No where else will you have a clinical service where you are managing Bubonic plague, cerebrospinal neurocysticercosis, Hanta virus, coccidiomycosis and post neurosurgical cerebral phycomycosis. Though UNM Hospital is not a large organ transplant center, we managed many severely immunocompromised patients (stage 3 HIV, post renal transplant, and those on chemotherapy or immunomodulating therapy.) UNM Hospital is also a Level –1 Trauma Center, and you will be exposed to extensive post-traumatic and/or post-surgical infectious complications. We can say with confidence, you will NEVER be bored!
The Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program accepts two fellows each year and participates annually in the NRMP Match. Fellowship applicants interested in our program are required to provide with their ERAS application a Program Director's letter and three additional letters of recommendation (at least one from an infectious diseases provider). Apply through ERAS today.
Our program only accepts applicants who are U. S. citizens, permanent residents and those with a J-1 Visa status. H1-B visas are not accepted. We occasionally accept foreign medical graduate applicants who have not yet completed an ACGME internal medicine residency on a case by case basis. Email Rene' Forsythe, Program Coordinator, for details.
Gathering photo
Infectious Diseases faculty and families
Fellowship 2021 Graduation party
2022 Fellowship Graduation party
Welcome to Infectious Diseases New Fellows - 2023
Thursday Fellows Conference and Didactics
|
Program Director
Dr. N. Mariam Salas
|
Dr. Salas has been at UNM since 2010 and is a UNM ID Fellowship alumna. She obtained her medical degree from Dubai Medical College, and completed residency and fellowship at The University of New Mexico Health Science Center. She specializes in HIV care with a focus on developing healthcare delivery systems for vulnerable populations. Dr. Salas has extensive experience in curriculum development and adult learning. Her mission is to create new and diverse learning opportunities for trainees, and to inspire continual academic curiosity in an environment ruled by the principles of diversity, inclusion and anti-racism. |
|
Associate Program Director
Dr. Leonor Echevarria
|
Dr. Echevarria received her medical doctor degree from the University of San Marcos, Lima, Peru. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency in Bronx Lebanon, NY and her Infectious Diseases Fellowship in 2005 at UNM. Dr. Echevarria worked at Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ for 12 years providing exemplary care to a diverse patient population with a multitude of infectious diseases. Her work included the challenging complexities of working closely with the Transplant Team and the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program before returning to Albuquerque, NM in 2020 for a position with the NM VA. Dr. Echevarria is the Medical Director of the ID Travel Clinic. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Echevarria is a life-long educator and passionate about clinical teaching.
|
|
Fellowship Coordinator
René Forsythe
|
Ms. Forsythe previously worked at UNM and was hired as the Fellowship Coordinator for both Infectious Diseases and Rheumatology. She graduated from Columbia Basin College with an Associate's Degree and transferred to Franciscan University of Steubenville where she graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing and minors in both Management and Music. Ms. Forsythe completed a Master's in Project Management from Anderson School of Business from UNM in May 2023. Outside of working at UNM, Ms. Forsythe is a cantor and plays her viola for weddings and funerals and is a soprano in the chorus for Opera Southwest. |
|
Clarence E. Calhoun, MD |
|
|
|
Badr A. Badr, MD |
|
|
Ana-Alicia Leonso, MD |
Where did you complete residency? Why do you love infectious diseases? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kimiknu Mentore, MD |
Where did you complete residency? Louisiana State University, New Orleans Why do you love infectious diseases? I've been fascinated by tropical diseases since I spent a summer in the Amazon Rainforest and saw my first Leishmaniasis lesion. When I discovered how many other areas of ID I could explore, I was hooked. My husband and I were looking for places neither of us had lived previously with a good cost of living and where we could grow as a family. When I looked into UNM's program, we were hooked. The program's focus on service was directly in line with my own values. |
|
|
|
||
|
Kory Tillery, MD |
Where did you complete residency? Right here at UNM! Why do you love infectious diseases? Infectious disease, to me, is like fighting a war against an unseen enemy. It’s as much about knowing the enemy, as knowing the battlefield you’re fighting on. Often these battles are won - ID is one of the few medical specialties that can often achieve a cure! It’s very satisfying to diagnose a sick patient, initiate appropriate treatment, and completely rid them of their malady. Our specialty has a long history which is always growing and changing as new infections emerge, and it’s exciting to keep up with these new challenges as they arise.
New Mexico chose me! I was born and raised here in Albuquerque and I am proud to continue serving my community. I am proud of our rich, albeit complicated, history, and of our efforts to right historic wrongs as we forge a new path forward. I am very grateful for the opportunity to continue my training here, and look forward to practicing in New Mexico for the long term. |
 |
| Liana Atallah, MD |
 |
| Tamara Al-Maktar, MD |
|
|
| Harshdeep Babbar, MD |
|
|
|
| Timothy Noonan, MD & Family | Peter Tran, MD & Family |
Weekly Educational Conferences include:
Monthly Conferences include:
Supplemental Curricula include:
These include, but are not limited to:
Fellows attend one half-day outpatient HIV continuity clinic weekly during their fellowship at either UNM Hospital or the VA. During elective rotations, fellows attend an additional half day per week of an infectious disease clinic of their interest (from list above). Fellows will be ready for independent practice in HIV primary care by the end of fellowship.
The infectious disease inpatient consult rotations are divided between UNM Hospital and the Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center. Fellows lead rounds on teaching services in both hospitals. Our fellowship focuses on balancing service and education.
The division pays meticulous attention to duty hours, with limitations on the number of new consults and note writing. Meanwhile, fellows will experience diverse and exciting pathology, ranging from complicated post-surgical infections to exotic, imported tropical diseases. Fellows will be on call an average of one in four weekends.
Division of Infectious Diseases
Department of Internal Medicine
MSC10-5550
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
Phone: 505-272-5666
Fax: 505-272-4435
For the Infectious Disease Consult Clinic and OPAT Clinic, please call:
