Our Fellows - Division of Nephrology

Get to know our current fellows and the fellowship leaders:

Second-year fellows (2019-2021)

Gonzalo Matzumura, MD
Hometown: Lima, Peru
Medical School: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia Facultad de Medicina Alberto Hurtado, Lima, Peru
Residency: McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX
Twitter: @GMatzumura

Favorite Pastime in STL: Going to a Cardinals baseball game

Favorite STL Restaurants: Cocina Latina, Sugarfire Smoke House

Cocina Latina restaurant in St. Louis — Cocina Latina – authentic Peruvian cuisine

Sugarfire Smoke House – reinventing barbecue St. Louis style!

Maggie Meier, MD
Hometown: St. Louis, MO
Medical School: Ross University School of Medicine in Portsmouth, Dominica
Residency: St. Luke’s Hospital, Saint Louis, MO

Favorite Pastimes in STL: Cheering on the Cardinals and Blues at the games
and hiking in Queeny Park or Castlewood

STL Blues Hockey Team- 2019 Stanley Cup Winners

Meramac River Valley (credit: Charbel Khoury, MD)

Favorite STL Restaurants: Small Batch Restaurant and Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co. for coffee

Small Batch is a unique a whiskey lounge and restaurant in historic “auto-row” in MidTown

Reena Gurung, MD
Hometown: Kathmandu, Nepal
Medical School: School of Medical Sciences at Kathmandu University, Nepal
Residency: St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield, MO

Favorite Pastimes in STL: The parks in West County, Creve Coeur Park, Queeny Park

Creve Coeur Park - Dripping Falls — Creve Coeur Park – Dripping Falls

Favorite STL Restaurant: Any Italian restaurant on The Hill

Urzi’s Italian Market on The Hill. Some of the finest Italian restaurants in the country as well as many shopping and entertainment venues are found on The Hill. (credit: Charbel Khoury, MD)

Blessing Osondu, MD
Hometown: Lagos, Nigeria
Medical School: Lugansk State Medical University, Ukraine
Residency: Atlanticare Regional Medical Center, Atlantic City, NJ
Twitter: BHappy @awinner1015
In 2021, Blessing will enter the WashU Critical Care Medicine Fellowship

Favorite Pastime in STL: Bike riding in Forest Park

Favorite STL Restaurant: Sasha’s on Shaw Wine Bar

Sasha’s on Shaw (credit: Charbel Khoury, MD)

Sana Javeed Shaikh, MD
Hometown: Mumbai, India
Medical School: B.J. Medical College, Pune, India
Residency: SSM St. Mary’s Hospital in Saint Louis, MO
Twitter: @always_oncall

Favorite Pastime in STL: Forest Park, especially the Muny for their free outdoor plays

The Muny outdoor theater in Forest Park (credit: Explorestlouis.com)

Favorite STL Restaurant: Taste

First-year fellows (2020-2022)

Maryam Seelam, MBBS
Hometown: Punjab, Pakistan
Medical School: King Edward Medical University Pakistan
Residency: Yale University, Waterbury, CT

Favorite Pastimes in STL: Lone Elk Park, Creve Coeur Lake

Creve Coeur Lake (credit: visitmarylandheights.org)

Favorite STL Restaurants: Vine Café in the Grove

The Vine Mediterranean Cafe, Tower Grove South – a traditional Lebanese cafe.

Jason Cummings, MD
Hometown: Melbourne Beach Florida
Medical School: St George’s University, Grenada
Residency: Florida Atlantic University
Twitter: @jCummingsMD

Favorite Pastimes in STL: Working out and running around Forest Park

I’ve been training with a mask for about a month now and I PR’d my #snatch at 80kg/176lbs #causationorcorrelation #WearAMask pic.twitter.com/Nsm8WHjU8l
— Jason Cummings (@JCummingsMD) August 8, 2020

Jason Cummings shows how it’s done. This is his PR (personal record) 176 lb snatch!

Favorite STL Restaurants: Rush Bowls, Chao Bahn

Rush Bowls in Central West End (credit: feastmagazine.com)

Chao Bahn – Family-style Thai Food at 4087 Chouteau Ave in The Grove (credit: Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com/stltoday.com)

Hassan Iftikhar, MBBS
Hometown: Faisalabad, Pakistan
Medical School: King Edward University
Residency: Seton Hall University, Trenton, New Jersey
Twitter: @hassaaniftikhar

Favorite Pastimes in STL: St Louis Zoo, St. Louis Car Museum

Favorite STL Restaurant: Sultan Mediterranean Restaurant

Sultan Mediterranean Restaurant brings Syrian dumplings, Turkish pizza and more to The Grove.

Bharat Neelam Raju, MD
Hometown: Mumbai
Medical School: People’s Friendship University of Russia, Faculty of Medicine, Russian Federation
Residency: Good Samaritan TriHealth Cincinnati, OH
Twitter: @bharatnrajuMD

Favorite Pastimes in STL: Exploring the local small towns and wineries. Favorite winery so far is Augusta Winery

Augusta Winery, located in the scenic town of Augusta, MO, on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River Valley.

See teh top ten wineries near Augusta, MO, according to yelp

Favorite STL Restaurant: Addie’s Thai House in Chesterfield, MO.

Gaurav Rajashekar, MBBS
Hometown: Bangalore
Medical School: Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences
Residency: Texas Tech University Odessa, TX
Twitter: @Renoplant

Favorite Pastimes in STL: Exploring the restaurant and craft brewery scene

Urban Chestnut Brewing Company has four local locations in the St. Louis area, including one in The Grove.

Here are the 8 Best Craft Beer Breweries in St. Louis According to Hop Culture

Favorite STL Restaurant: Enjoying a socially distant outdoor meal in one of the many rooftop restaurants downtown.

Three Sixty in downtown St. Louis s known for its sweeping views, eclectic bar and food menus. The 6,000 square-foot space offers a view into Busch Stadium. Visitors can enjoy the rooftop experience year-round with both indoor and outdoor seating.

Here are 6 Stunning Rooftop Restaurants in Downtown St. Louis According to My Downtown STL

Transplant fellows (2020-2021)

Munis Mattu, MD
Hometown: Kashmir,
Medical School: JN Medical College, Belgaum, India
Residency: University of Buffalo, Sisters of Charity Hospital, Buffalo, NY
Renal Fellowship: University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, KS
Twitter: @mattuMunis

Favorite Pastimes in STL: Cycling

Favorite STL Restaurant: Saigon Cafe in the Central West End (also known as Little Saigon Cafe) features contemporary Vietnamese cuisine.

Wut Yi Hninn, MBBS
Hometown: Myeik, Myanmar
Medical School: University of Medicine 1
Residency: Interfaith Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
Renal Fellowship: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Facebook: Wutyi Hninn
Twitter @wutyihninn

Favorite Pastimes in STL: Exploring national forests and parks

Favorite STL Restaurant: Thai Country Cafe in the Delmar Loop has an “easy country feel” with authentic Thai food.

Meet our Nephrology Fellowship Leadership Team

Training Program Director, Nephrology Fellowship
Steven Cheng, MD
Phone: 314-362-7211
stcheng@wustl.edu
Twitter: @RenalRhapsody

Favorite Pastime in STL: The rich musical scene in Saint Louis: the outstanding St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and several other great local musical institutions ranging from classical music (Saint Louis Philharmonic), to musicals (The Muny, The Fabulous Fox Theater), to blues/jazz (Blueberry Hill, Jazz at the Bistro).”

Saint Louis Philharmonic Orchestra. — Cheng is a talented violinist who serves as co-concertmaster for the Saint Louis Philharmonic Orchestra (credit: STL Philharmonic Orchestra).

Blueberry Hill is the place to go for great food and live bands (credit: Blueberry Hill).

Favorite STL Restaurants: Tai Ke and Dim Sum at the Mandarin House.

Tai Ke – St. Louis’ first 100% authentic Taiwanese restaruant (credit: STL Magazine).

Mandarin House is a a well-loved and respected Chinese restaurant that opened in St. Louis in 1979.

Associate Program Director for Service and Assessment
Seth Goldberg, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Phone: 314-362-7211
sgoldber@wustl.edu
Twitter: @sgoldber99

Favorite Pastimes in STL: Sports scene, site of the 1904 Olympics, St Louis Cardinals, St Louis Blues, bar trivia, classic car shows.

Classic cars at the Annual Car Show (credit: stlouiscenter.org)

Favorite STL Restaurant: Blackthorn Pub and Pizza

BlackThorn Pub and Pizza, an old-school South-side watering hole that also happens to serve some of the city’s best pizza.

Associate Program Director for Clinical Research & Career Development and Wellness
Tingting Li, MD, MSCI
Associate Professor of Medicine
Phone: 314-362-7211
tingli@wustl.edu
Twitter: @Ting2li

Favorite Pastime in STL: Sledding down Art Hill in Forest Park in the winter, The Fox Theatre.

Art Hill in Forest Park is perfect for sledding on a winter day (credit: bombpopsaregood-flicker)

Favorite STL Restaurant: Mai Lee

Mai Lee Restaurant in Brentwood, Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine.

Associate Program Director for Curriculum Development
Frank O’Brien, MBBCh, MRCPI
Phone: 314-362-7211
fobrien@wustl.edu
Twitter: @frankjobrien84

Favorite Pastimes in STL: The unique individual neighborhoods of the city, The Missouri Botanical Garden.

Missouri Botanical Gardens at sunset (credit:Tripadvisor)

Favorite STL Restaurants: Sidney Street Café, Yellowbelly