Lauren Kaczka-Weiss, D.O.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Fellowship Training Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, JSUMC
Residency/Fellowship: Tulane Triple Board Program (Pediatrics/Adult Psychiatry/Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) at Tulane School of Medicine
Research/Clinical Interests: Perinatal & women’s psychiatry, graduate medical education, dyadic therapies, psychiatric care of medically ill children

Eric Alcera, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Network Medical Director, Hackensack Meridian Behavioral Health, Chairman of Psychiatry at Riverview Medical Center
Residency: Cooper University Hospital – UMDNJ/Rutgers
Fellowship: New York Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia University
Research/Clinical interests: PTSD, Stellate Ganglion Blockade, ADHD, Adolescent Depression and Anxiety

Shobha Chottera, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Residency: University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
Fellowship: University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
Research/Clinical Interests: Research & Clinical Methods from Systemic Perspectives

Stacy Doumas, M.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Vice-Chair of Education and Research, Residency Program Director, JSUMC
Residency: University of Miami, Jackson Memorial Hospital
Fellowship: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Miami, Jackson Memorial Hospital
Research/Clinical Interests: Medical education, ADHD, Adolescent depression and anxiety, Healthcare provider well-being, women in medicine, Autism

Percy LeBlanc, D.O.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Staff Psychiatrist, General Psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, JSUMC
Residency: Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Fellowship: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry – Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Research/Clinical Interests: Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Depression, Anxiety, Adolescent Substance Use

Anthony Marino, Jr., M.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Chief of Adolescent Services, Carrier Clinic
Residency: Temple University Hospital
Fellowship: Child Guidance Clinic, Philadelphia
Research/Clinical Interests: Mood Disorders

Kenan Osmanovic, M.D.
Assistant Clinic Professor, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Medical Director, Child Day Program, PHP/IOP at JSUMC
Residency: Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Fellowship: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry – Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Research/Clinical Interests: ADHD, ODD, OCD, Anxiety Disorders, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Jagwinder Sandhu, M.D.
Carrier Clinic

Ramon Solhkhah, M.D., MBA
Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health, and Pediatrics
Fellowship Director for the Child and Adolescent Fellowship
Chair, Department of Psychiatry
Residency: General Psychiatry at Mt. Sinai Medical Center and Bronx VAMC (Mt. Sinai School of Medicine)
Fellowship: Fellowship in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital (Harvard Medical School); Fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry at New York University and Bellevue Hospital Center (NYU School of Medicine)
Research/Clinical interests: Adolescent Substance Use Disorders, Psychopharmacology, Psychiatric Administration and Policy, Precision Psychiatry

Syed Tirmazi, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Division Chief/Director Inpatient Psychiatry at JSUMC
Residency: General Psychiatry at SUNNY Upstate Med Univ Syracuse NY
Fellowship: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Univ of Texas Med Branch Galveston, TX(1st year) and at Rutgers Piscataway, NJ (2nd year)
Research/Clinical Interests: Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Philip Vincent, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Staff Psychiatrist, Adult Inpatient Unit, Jersey Shore University Medical Center
Residency: General Psychiatry at UF, Shands Hospital in Gainesville Florida
Fellowship: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UF, Shands Hospital in Gainesville Florida, and Administrative Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York
Research/Clinical Interests: Tourettes and Child Development

Meera Wells, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Staff Psychiatrist, General Psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Residency: St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Washington, DC
Fellowship: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Albert Einstein School of Medicine
Research/Clinical Interests: Mood disorders, PTSD, Autism, Cross cultural psychiatry, psychodynamic psychotherapy

Research and Innovation

A formal scholarly oversight committee (SOC) will be established to mentor and guide each fellow during the fellowship program. The SOC will be composed of at least four individuals, including the research mentor, a mentor for clinical and career development, and additional mentors with expertise in the particular area of scholarship that is being pursued by the fellow. Fellows have a choice of basic, clinical or quality improvement research. Our faculty is involved in clinical research, basic science and QI science/methodology. We have been members of Vermont Oxford for over 15 years.

The specific goals of the SOC are:

1. To meet with the fellow a minimum of 2 times per year. In the first year, the SOC will meet quarterly to ensure adequate development of the program and at least biannually in the second and third year.

2. Complete evaluation/progress reports after each meeting to assess progress and detail accomplishments.

3. Review and approve the proposed research plan for the first-year fellows.

4. Evaluate the fellow’s written product of scholarly activity.

Each fellow is expected to formalize their hypothesis and submit their written proposal by the end of year one and will present their research proposal/initial data at the yearly research seminar at the end year. SOC is committed to ensure progression of the fellow’s project and that their research is on trajectory for completion by the end of the 3rd year of training. Fellows are expected to present research at the yearly research seminar and at local, regional, and national meetings. Manuscript submission at the end of the training program is required. The research mentor oversees all research presentations.

Clinical Rotations

Clinical training consists of rotations at our tertiary site at Jersey Shore University Medical Center (JSUMC), with a community rotation at our affiliated hospital, JFK Medical Center. Our hospital has 45 inpatient beds, and approximately 1,300 admissions per year. Additionally, JSUMC houses a well newborn nursery, a 35-bed Level III NICU, and a 10-bed PICU. Fellows will be exposed to a variety of clinical cases, including bread and butter inpatient pediatrics as well as children with medical complexity and unusual presentations. JSUMC has diverse pediatric subspecialty as well as surgical support including:

• Anesthesia & Sedation
• Behavior/development
• Cardiology
• Child Abuse & Neglect
• Dermatology
• Endocrinology
• ENT
• Gastroenterology
• Genetics
• Hematology/oncology
• Infectious disease
• Nephrology
• Neurology
• Neurosurgery
• Orthopedics
• Palliative Care
• Pediatric surgery
• Pulmonology
• Radiology
• Rheumatology
• Urology

Fellows can choose to do clinical electives, based on their own individualized needs and career goals. Core inpatient rotations are scheduled longitudinally 1 week at a time (as opposed to 4-week blocks) to mirror attending schedules and to provide amble protected time for scholarly pursuits. Fellows will work no more than 1 weekend per month.

Educational Conferences

During the two-year fellowship, fellows will actively participate in a variety of conferences. The goal of these conferences is to:

• Improve critical thinking
• Improve understanding and interpretation of the literature
• Improve the management of patients with complex conditions and diseases
• Improve the understanding of ethical principles in the care for children

Major educational conferences are listed below.

In addition to conferences/events listed above, fellows also have the following as part of their didactic curriculum and training:

• Research and Biostatistics
  • Will participate in scholarly project
  • Obtain IRB approval
• Quality Improvement
• Reflection Rounds
  • Co-facilitated (chaplain and physician) small groups
  • Goal to integrate meaning, purpose, and connectedness in medicine and medical education
  Contact Us

  • Name*
    First Last
  • Email*
  • Phone
  • Address
    Street Address Address Line 2 City AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingArmed Forces AmericasArmed Forces EuropeArmed Forces Pacific State ZIP Code
  • Subject
  • Comments or Questions*

  • Please Note:

    This e-mail form should never be used for urgent or emergency problems. In such cases you should call your physician’s office or go to an emergency department. By agreeing to e-mail communications between you and Hackensack Meridian Health, you agree that you will not hold Hackensack Meridian Health responsible for accidental or inadvertent transfer of personal medical correspondence to unintended individuals or institutions. We will remain responsible for any malicious or deliberate inappropriate transfer of information by us and will follow legal requirements protecting your medical information.