FELLOWSHIP TRACKS
Combined Clinical and Research Training in Cardiology (three to five years)
Candidates for this program should hold the M.D. or M.D./Ph.D. degrees and have completed an internal medicine residency at the time of enrollment. This program meets all the requirements of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) for subspecialty certification in cardiovascular disease. Completion of the program requires demonstration of competence in general cardiology, including invasive and non-invasive procedural skills. The primary goal of the training program is to prepare fellows for careers in academic cardiology. There are two distinct tracks within this track: 1) Clinical Investigator, and 2) Physician Scientist.
Clinical Investigator (three to four years)
Fellows on the Clinical Investigator track complete at least three years of training (but usually 4 years) which will include one or more years of research training. The first two years are devoted to the core curriculum in clinical cardiology. The third training year is dedicated to research, with a fourth training year devoted to an additional year of research or a combination of research and subspecialty clinical training. At the end of the fourth fellowship year, the Clinical Investigator is well-prepared for the practice of general cardiology and should be competitive for a faculty position at an academic medical center.
Physician Scientist (four to five years)
Fellows on the Physician Scientist track complete four or five years of training, which includes two or three years of basic research. Fellows in this track may elect to enter the laboratory either before or after the two-year core curriculum in clinical cardiology. Upon successful completion of training, the Physician Scientist should be competitive for a career combining basic research with general clinical cardiology at a major academic medical center. Some enter the fellowship program with well-defined career goals and their "track" is easily defined. Others require additional time to define their career paths. Midway through the second clinical year, fellows are asked to commit to one of these three tracks so their subsequent training can be tailored to meet their individual career goals.
DETAILS
Training in Clinical Cardiology
Two years are devoted to a core curriculum in clinical cardiology with rotations through the clinical units at Parkland Memorial Hospital (PMH) (940 beds), University Hospital- St.Paul (300 beds), and the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center (720 beds). These hospitals are staffed entirely by full-time faculty members of the Division of Cardiology. These three distinctive clinical settings provide a rich mixture of patients with diverse cardiovascular problems. This core curriculum includes rotations on the cardiology consultation service, coronary care unit, noninvasive laboratory, cardiac rehabilitation service, nuclear cardiology, cardiac MRI, cardiac catheterization laboratory, cardiac electrophysiology, and congestive heart failure/cardiac transplantation. In addition, each fellow is assigned a continuity clinic which meets one morning or afternoon per week throughout the three or four year training period. Completion of the core curriculum satisfies certification requirements of the ABIM, as well as those of the ACP/ACC/AHA Task Force on Clinical Privileges in Cardiology. After completion of the two-year core curriculum, subsequent experiences in clinical cardiology are determined by the career goals of each individual fellow.
Acute Coronary Care
The CCU service at Parkland Memorial Hospital occupies a 12-bed intensive care unit and an adjacent 24-bed telemetry monitoring unit. Approximately 1500 patients annually are served by four teams of housestaff and students, supervised by two cardiology fellows and two attending cardiologists. A fluoroscopic procedure suite located within the CCU is used for approximately 400 invasive procedures annually. Patients with acute coronary syndromes or other cardiovascular emergencies are also managed in a combined medical-surgical ICU at University Hospital-St.Paul. At the Dallas VA medical Center, the CCU occupies 16 beds and serves approximately 1,300 patients annually. The unit is equipped with state-of-the art data managing and monitoring systems. A procedure room located within the CCU is used for more than 600 invasive procedures annually, including right heart catheterizations, temporary and permanent pacemaker insertions, and pericardiocentesis.
Noninvasive Imaging
Both Parkland Memorial Hospital and the VA Medical Center maintain high volume noninvasive laboratories that offer a wide range of diagnostic tests, including resting and ambulatory ECG, exercise testing, transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography, Doppler color flow mapping, and nuclear perfusion imaging. Both Parkland Memorial Hospital and University Hospital-St. Paul are also large volume centers for cardiac MRI imaging and have growing programs in cardiovascular CT. Fellows on the noninvasive rotations are assisted by skilled technicians and supervised by faculty members with a goal of attaining proficiency in the performance, interpretation, and clinical application of these procedures.
Cardiac Catheterization and Interventional Cardiology
The Cardiac Catheterization Service at Parkland Memorial Hospital currently performs 1,250 procedures annually, of which 250-300are interventional procedures. About 65 percent of patients present with coronary artery disease, while the remainder have primary myocardial, valvular, or congenital heart disease. Fellows serve as the primary operators on all cases, with faculty supervision. At least one to two hours daily are devoted to a didactic session in which cases are discussed in depth by faculty and fellows. Fellows also rotate through the catheterization labs at the University Hospital-St.Paul which performs 1,500 cases annually (250 interventional procedures) and the VA Hospital which performs 1400 cases annually, including >50 peripheral arterial cases and >400 interventional procedures.
Cardiac Electrophysiology
The Clinical Electrophysiology Service cares for patients with cardiac rhythm disturbances at Parkland Memorial Hospital, University Hospital-St.Paul, and the VA Medical Center where full-time faculty actively participate in all aspects of clinical electrophysiology, including ablation of supraventricular and ventricular tachycardias and implantation of cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators. Approximately 900-1000 cases each year are performed in these institutions. Cardiology fellows spend two months of their core curriculum on the electrophysiology service. Fellows with plans to specialize in clinical cardiac electrophysiology spend two full years training in clinical and research electrophysiology.
Consultative Cardiology
Active consult services at each of the three teaching hospitals permit trainees to be involved in the care of patients with an extraordinary diversity of cardiovascular diseases. Fellows supervise the activities of housestaff in conjunction with senior cardiology faculty. Special experiences also are available in postoperative management of patients undergoing cardiac surgery, cardiac rehabilitation, and pediatric cardiology.
Congestive Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplantation
Special training in the diagnosis and management of patients with ventricular dysfunction is available in the context of a specialized heart failure service. Dr. Clyde Yancy of our division overseas the congestive heart failure service/transplantation programs at Parkland Memorial Hospital and University Hospitals-St. Paul. Fellows have the opportunity to participate in the care of patients with advanced congestive heart failure, perioperative and long-term management of patients receiving transplants, and an active clinical and basic research program.
Preventive Cardiology
The Program in Preventive Cardiology offers exposure to diverse areas in the field of preventive cardiology such as complex dyslipidemias, metabolic syndrome, premature and familial coronary artery disease, exercise and nutritional counseling, cardiac rehabilitation, and atherosclerotic imaging. Additional exposure to preventive care are available through the Division of Hypertension, headed by Ron Victor, and the Center for Human Nutrition directed by Dr. Scott Grundy.
CONFERENCES AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
The development of skills necessary for the practice of cardiology and successful academic careers are enhanced by a variety of didactic exercises at the divisional level. A partial list of didactic clinical conferences include:
Cardiology Division Case Conference (weekly)
Cardiology Grand Rounds (monthly)
Fellows Didactic Lecture (bi-weekly)
EKG conference (bi-weekly)
Fellows Case Conference (bi-weekly)
Journal Club (weekly)
Non-invasive imaging conference (bi-weekly)
Heart failure transplantation conference (bi-weekly)
Fellows Cath Lab Conference (3 times weekly)
EP Journal Club/Research Conference (weekly)
VA Combined Cardiology/Cardiothoracic Surgery Conference (weekly)
RESEARCH TRAINING
A wide range of clinical and basic research opportunities are available for trainees. The specific research interests of our faculty encompass a large variety of subjects, ranging from fundamental studies of gene regulation using model systems in lower eukaryotic organisms, to clinical trials of new pharmacologic agents or interventional devices to large epidemiologic database studies. The Division of Cardiology encourages early exposure to these opportunities by having an annual Cardiology Research Forum where faculty members in the division showcase their research interests and projects for the fellows. In addition, fellows and faculty members present and receive feedback on their ongoing or evolving research projects at a weekly Cardiology Research Conference which is lead by Drs. Milton Packer and James de Lemos. Formal training in clinical research methods are available through the Department of Clinical Sciences, as part of a degree program or as individual courses. These courses complement the numerous diverse clinical research opportunities provided by the Donald W. Reynolds Cardiovascular Clinical Research Center and the Dallas Heart Study. Additional, short courses in biostatistics, experimental design, medical and scientific writing, grant strategies, and experimental methodology are offered on a periodic basis. Practice sessions for fellows presenting at national meetings are scheduled to provide the opportunity to hone skills of scientific communication in a collegial, constructive atmosphere.
Basic science investigations are based in the Simmons Biomedical Research Building on UT Southwestern's North Campus. The basic laboratories occupy approximately 30,000 square feet of research and office space and are equipped to perform cutting-edge investigation utilizing molecular and cellular approaches. The fundamental biology of the cardiac myocyte is an area of particular emphasis. Special note should be made of the extensive and close relationships between the Division of Cardiology and other research units within The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The Molecular Cardiology Research Laboratories have been developed in association with the Department of Biochemistry. Research activities in cardiovascular diagnostics involve long-standing collaborative ties with the Department of Radiology, directed by Dr. Robert W. Parkey; Dr. Ron Peshock directs studies in clinical MRI and Dr. Craig Malloy leads a group with diverse interests in NMR spectroscopy at the Rogers Magnetic Resonance Center. Other important collaborations have developed through ties to Cardiovascular Surgery, led by Dr. W. Steves Ring; Molecular Genetics, led by Drs. Joseph Goldstein and Michael S. Brown; Pharmacology, chaired by Dr. Alfred Gilman; and Molecular Biology, chaired by Dr. Eric Olson.
All fellows in either the combined clinical/research or the dedicated research training programs will identify a mentor from within the cardiology faculty or from other university faculty, subject to the approval of the director. While all fellows on the Clinical Investigator and Physician Scientist tracks will devote at least one year to investigation, a serious commitment to a research career in almost any discipline will require additional training. Such additional training will be planned in concert by the trainee, research mentor, and divisional director and may extend past the fellowship to a junior faculty appointment.
PROGRAM DIRECTORS
CURRENT FELLOWS
First Clinical Year Fellows
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Neeraj Badhey, M.D.
Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital
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Sachin Gupta, M.D.
University of Texas Health Science Center
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Jeffery L. Hastings, M.D.
UT Southwestern Medical Center |
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Kristopher Heinzman, M.D.
UT Southwestern Medical Center |
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Young-Jae Nam, M.D., PHD.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine / Jacobi Hospital |
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Shailja Parikh, M.D.
UT Southwestern Medical Center |
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Tiffany Powell, M.D.
Brigham and Women's Hospital |
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Amy Stancoven, M.D.
UT Southwestern Medical Center |
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Jennifer Taylor, M.D.
University of Maryland School of Medicine |
Second Clinical Year Fellows
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Shuaib M. Abdullah, M.D.
UT Southwestern Medical Center
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Vassilis Dimas, M.D.
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
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Paul D. Haas, M.D.
UCLA Medical Center
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Sandeep A. Kamath, M.D.
UT Southwestern Medical Center
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Christopher S. Lichtenwalter, M.D.
UT Southwestern Medical Center
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Jason B. Lindsey, M.D. (Basic Research)
University of Tennessee HSC |
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Nicole E. Minniefield, M.D.
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
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Andrew W. Owens, M.D.
Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital
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Parag C. Patel, M.D.
UT Southwestern Medical Center
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Keattiyoat Wattanakit, M.D., MPH
University of Minnesota
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Senior Clinical Fellows
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James D. Daniels, M.D.
University of New Mexico HSC
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Sunita S. Koshy, M.D. (EP)
University of Maryland Medical Center
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Jorge E. Massare, M.D.
Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center
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Phi Wiegn, M.D. (EP)
The New York Hospital-Cornell
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Research Fellows
APPLICANTS
Interested applicants, please review our Selection Criteria before completing application process.
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