Interventional Cardiology Fellowship

• The mission of the Interventional Cardiology Training Program is to train future leaders in the field of Interventional Cardiovascular Medicine. The goals of the program are to:
• Provide high-quality clinical training in interventional cardiology and develop competent and independent practitioners in the field of interventional cardiovascular medicine;
• Provide a broad didactic educational experience in interventional cardiovascular medicine via a core curriculum lecture series and case review sessions with faculty;
• Provide an exposure to clinical investigation in interventional cardiovascular medicine by promoting hypothesis generation and exploration using existing interventional cardiology databases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital with the ultimate goals of abstract submission, presentation at a national meeting, and publication in a peer-reviewed journal;
• Promote technological advancements in the field through participation in clinical trials of novel devices and pharmacotherapies for use in percutaneous cardiovascular interventions;
• Promote an environment of self-evaluation and practice improvement through participation in quality improvement conferences and quality improvement programs.

The 12-month training program is divided into 26 two-week rotations: 

• BWH catheterization laboratory:  8-9 rotations
• BWH catheterization laboratory/research:  8-9 rotations
• VA catheterization laboratory:  8-9 rotations

At any given time, one fellow will be full-time in the BWH catheterization laboratory, one fellow will be part-time in the BWH catheterization laboratory with the remainder of their time spent on research endeavors, and one fellow will be full-time in the WRVA catheterization laboratory. The first-year interventional cardiology fellows are exposed to a high volume of complex cases; autonomy for fellows is prioritized early in the fellowship year. Each fellow will also participate in an ambulatory care experience one half-day per week. The rotation schedule will be constructed by the program director with priority given to requested vacation periods.   

The call will average every fourth night. During weeks when a fellow is on vacation, the call will average every third night. The fellow will take call every fourth weekend which will begin at 6 pm on Friday night and end at 7 am on Monday morning. The fellow will be on-call for both BWH and the WRVA.

Meetings

Fellows attend and present at many regional and national meetings including:

• Transcatheter Therapeutics
• American College of Cardiology
• American Heart Association

There are two fully funded conferences during the course of the year designed for interventional fellows:

• SCAI Interventional Fellows Course
• CRF Interventional Fellows Course

Interventional Cardiology Conference Schedule

Jonathan Sevilla Cazes, MD, MPH

Raghav Gattani, MBBS

Dhruv Mahtta, DO, MBA

Samantha Espinosa, MD

Prakriti Gaba, MD

Edwin Mandieka, MD

Research opportunities in the Cardiovascular Division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital are plentiful. The Cardiovascular Division received $112 million in research grants in 2014. Each interventional cardiology fellow is required to participate in ongoing scholarly activity under the supervision of the attending staff.

A formal mentorship program has been initiated in order to help fellows pursue investigative interests. Prior to the start of the academic year, the fellows will choose a member of the faculty whose interest aligns with their own and will work with this mentor during the course of the year. Fellows will be required to generate an abstract during this year and submit the work for presentation at a national meeting. The ultimate goal will be for the fellow to write a manuscript with their mentor and submit their work to a peer-reviewed journal. Protected research time is provided during this fellowship.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital is a leader in clinical care and clinical, translational and basic research. The hospital has a long history of firsts in research discoveries. We foster a shared commitment to predict, prevent and treat the world’s toughest diseases. Our collaborations are changing the future of medicine in Boston and beyond.

Our culture in providing excellence in patient care, teaching and research affords an exceptional environment for clinical training and participation in exciting advances in basic and clinical research.

Committed to teaching and mentoring the next generation of physicians and leaders in medicine, our faculty is comprised of experienced clinicians who impart breadth of knowledge and expertise during clinical rounds and in clinics. In addition, basic and clinical research mentors provide many research opportunities for fellows.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital Interventional Cardiology faculty are board-certified interventional cardiologists with full-time academic appointments at Harvard Medical School:

• Kevin Croce, MD PhD
• Scott Kinlay, MBBS, PhD
• James Kirshenbaum, MD
• Jane Leopold, MD
• Pinak D. Shah, MD
• Piotr Sobieszczyk, MD

The fellows receive training at BWH and the West Roxbury Veteran’s Administration Medical Center (WRVA). The state-of-the-art Shapiro Cardiovascular Center at BWH has 136 beds providing the full range of cardiovascular services. There are five cardiac catheterization laboratories, three of which are fully equipped for the performance of peripheral vascular procedures. Approximately 800 percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) procedures are performed per year at BWH.

The WRVA is the tertiary cardiovascular referral center for all Veteran’s Administration medical centers in Northern New England. There are two dedicated cardiac catheterization laboratories and one room that can be used as a catheterization laboratory as well as an electrophysiology laboratory. Approximately 300 PCI procedures are performed per year at WRVA. In addition, there is an active peripheral vascular disease program and a growing structural heart disease program.

Applications for the fellowship are accepted from the opening of ERAS to January 1st from physicians who will have completed a three-year ACGME-accredited cardiovascular disease fellowship by the time the interventional cardiology program begins in July. All applicants must register and complete an application from the AAMC ERAS electronic residency application system. Programs participating in ERAS may only accept those application materials sent electronically through ERAS. We will not accept any additional supporting documents by mail.

We require the following documents to be available for download through ERAS for a complete application to be reviewed:

• ERAS application 
• Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Personal statement
• Three letters of recommendation including one from your current program director, and one from a member of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at the institution where you completed your cardiovascular fellowship

Please note, admissions are rolling and positions are often filled prior to the application deadline.

Each application is reviewed in its entirety with an eye toward a combination of overall academic excellence, leadership ability, career development potential and personal character.

We interview approximately 8-10 candidates for the interventional cardiology program each year. Although we receive applications from many well-qualified candidates, it is not possible to interview all who apply. Every effort is made to notify applicants of their interview status in a timely manner.

In accordance with restrictions placed for the COVID-19 pandemic, all interviews will be digital (via Zoom) this academic year.