Division of Developmental Medicine

Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Fellowship Program

Our mission is to enhance the behavioral, psychosocial and developmental components of pediatric care by preparing fellows for leadership roles as clinicians, investigators, educators and advocates. Fellows participate in an extensive set of didactic, clinical, scholarly, advocacy and community experiences. We emphasize interdisciplinary collaboration and family partnership using a public-health approach. Training takes place in an environment that serves a multicultural, disadvantaged population, and fellows are trained by faculty who represent nine disciplines.

Elisa I. Muniz, MD, Director, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Fellowship Program, Rose F. Kennedy Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center

Why train at our program

The Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP) Fellowship Program is based in the Division of Developmental Medicine, within the Department of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) and our Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Our training program’s primary clinical site is the Rose F. Kennedy Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center (RFK CERC), which has a long, proud history of training developmental-behavioral pediatricians. Of the 105 fellows who’ve completed our program, 98 percent have remained in the field, and roughly 50 percent are affiliated with teaching hospitals. At least 20 have served as directors of developmental pediatrics programs in the New York area and beyond.

What our program offers

The DBP program prepares fellows to develop the skills required to effectively collaborate on interdisciplinary teams, caring for children with developmental-behavioral disorders. Fellows obtain leadership roles in DBP as teachers, investigators, clinicians and advocates to advance the field through mastery of various techniques and skills. They also learn to apply research methodology to conducting scholarly projects, resulting in publication in peer-reviewed journals. They learn about and implement quality-improvement (QI) methods to design and implement a QI scholarly project, and learn to utilize the biopsychosocial knowledge and clinical expertise required to provide culturally competent care to individuals with developmental disabilities, particularly those from underrepresented groups. In addition, fellows learn to become medical educators in DBP through experiences teaching medical trainees, by participating in community agency education sessions and presenting cases in division case conferences and grand rounds.

Children's Hospital at Montefiore

Located on our Moses Campus, CHAM is a premier academic children’s hospital nationally renowned for its clinical excellence, innovative research and commitment to training the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists. 

A world-renowned faculty

Elisa I. Muniz, MD

Director, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Fellowship Program, Rose F. Kennedy Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center

A challenging and innovative curriculum

We offer longitudinal interdisciplinary education in the areas of clinical care, education, research and advocacy. Our fellows perform extensive diagnostic assessments and provide developmental/behavioral follow-up care to infants, children and adolescents from 0-21 years of age. Fellows are trained to administer developmental/behavioral screening instruments, in the interpretation of psychological measures of cognition/adaptive function and to utilize the results of speech and language testing to inform the development of comprehensive patient-care plans. 

Additional required clinical rotations take place in pediatric physiatry, premature infant follow-up and genetics. Electives in audiology, occupational/physical therapy, ophthalmology and neuromuscular diseases are also available. First-year fellows are mentored by core program faculty on how to perform a literature search, choosing a topic of scholarly interest, and in the preparation of a protocol for IRB submission. Educational activities include departmental and division grand rounds, DBP seminars and child and adolescent psychiatry seminars. 

Fellows are encouraged to participate in a wide array of interdepartmental conferences offered throughout the institution. Advocacy training includes participation in local community and national advocacy initiatives. Opportunities to participate in teaching rotating residents and medical students, and in community agencies, also exist in the second and third years of training.

Additionally, fellows participate in the RFK CERC Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program. As LEND trainees, fellows obtain additional graduate-level interdisciplinary leadership training, with the goal of preparing trainees from diverse professional disciplines to assume leadership roles in their respective fields and demonstrate high levels of interdisciplinary clinical competence. That’s accomplished through both didactic and experiential training.

Fellowship Application Information

We’re seeking fellows who will shape the future of healthcare.

If you would like to apply to become a Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Fellow at Montefiore Einstein, here’s some information to keep in mind.

  • Applications will be processed through ERAS in accordance with the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) subspecialty fall match for Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics. 
  • Information is available on the NRMP website.

Montefiore Einstein recognizes that having a diverse and inclusive institution is critical to success, and we reaffirm our fervent commitment to fostering a culture in which diversity is a central tenet.

Have questions? Get in touch.

Elisa I. Muniz, MD, MS 
Director, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Fellowship Program
elmuniz@montefiore.org 
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718-430-3914  

Learn more about the Montefiore Einstein Division of Developmental Medicine