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Pediatrics: Education & Training
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INFORMATION FOR

Training Program in Pediatric Cardiology at Yale

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me and I learn.

Benjamin Franklin
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The Program

The Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program at Yale School of Medicine is a three-year program designed to train board-eligible pediatricians for a career in academic pediatric cardiology. The fellowship's strength lies in the close working relationship between faculty and fellows and a strong emphasis on participatory learning. A total of 6 fellows matriculate through the program at any given time.

The faculty includes members with specific expertise in echocardiography, exercise physiology, interventional catheterization, adult congenital heart disease, heart failure, electrophysiology, genetics, developmental biology, and general cardiology.

The entire training is received at Yale School of Medicine and the Children's Hospital at Yale New Haven. The clinical facilities include a fully digital echocardiography laboratory, a state of the art pediatric hybrid catheterization laboratory, pediatric exercise laboratory, and cardiac MRI and CT.

The first year of training is designed to provide concentrated exposure to clinical pediatric cardiology in order to facilitate rapid knowledge acquisition and clinical skill development. Fellows are assigned to echocardiography, invasive cardiology, and inpatient service in month-long blocks that rotate throughout the year. In addition, fellows are assigned to a weekly half-day outpatient clinic throughout the 3 years. The clinic day and faculty member rotate every 6 months. The third year of fellowship is quite flexible and allows individual fellows to concentrate their learning within a specific area for much of the year. For example, some fellows opt to spend dedicated time in the echo lab to advance their echo reading skills and their transesophgeal echocardiography skills.

In addition to the hands-on learning opportunities, teaching conferences occur on multiple days of the week. These include weekly echocardiography, catheterization, and electrophysiology conferences. EKG reading sessions and a Chief conference occur weekly as well. A weekly multidisciplinary “core lecture series” provides didactic sessions on a wide variety of topics. In addition a Pediatric Department wide fellows conference occurs weekly and addresses topics common to all pediatric fellowship programs – biostatistics, research design, abstract writing, ethics, etc.

The congenital cardiology program at Yale has a long history of major contributions to the field of pediatric cardiology and congenital cardiac surgery. Clinical and basic science research opportunities abound within the division and across multiple disciplines within the medical school. Dr. Martina Brueckner, a member of the cardiology faculty, heads up the “Genetics of human heterotaxy and aortic arch malformations study,” a project under the larger multicenter Pediatric Cardiac Genomics Consortium. Fellow projects often span multiple disciplines and involve faculty from areas such as surgery, adult cardiology, ICU, and nuclear medicine. Fellows are assigned two two-week research blocks in their 1st year. Research time increases to 5 months and 6 months in the 2nd and 3rd years.

New Haven is a vibrant and exciting small city. The picturesque Yale University campus lies at the heart of downtown New Haven. The city offers a wide variety of exceptional restaurants and entertainment opportunities. Hiking, biking, swimming and other outdoor activities are minutes away. New York City is accessible by train in about 90 minutes.

Those interested in applying for fellowship training should address inquires to Dr. Robert Elder, Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program Director, c/o Massima Lunato.

Applying to the Yale Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program

We participate in the Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Match of the NRMP (National Resident Match Program)

All interested applicants should submit an application through ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service)

Documents required for application:

  • At least two letters of recommendation forwarded from Faculty members, including Departmental Chairpersons or Chiefs of Service.
  • Up to date Curriculum Vitae with any medical or scientific publications listed.
  • Copy of ECFMG certificate (if applicable).
  • Personal statement
  • Recent photo

All applicants that are competitive for positions will have a personal interview scheduled between February and April. Yale University School of Medicine is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Fellows Publications

  • Leone DM, Park HJ, Unlu S, Gurvitz M, Kang I, Elder RW. T Cell Response to Influenza Vaccination Remains Intact in Adults with Congenital Heart Disease Who Underwent Early Thymectomy. Int J Cardiol Congenit Heart Dis. 2022 Jun;8:100359. doi: 10.1016/j.ijcchd.2022.100359. Epub 2022 Mar 25. PMID: 35600131; PMCID: PMC9122016.
  • He M, Leone DM, Frye R, Ferdman DJ, Shabanova V, Kosiv KA, Sugeng L, Faherty E, Karnik R. Longitudinal Assessment of Global and Regional Left Ventricular Strain in Patients with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). Pediatr Cardiol. 2022 Apr;43(4):844-854. doi: 10.1007/s00246-021-02796-7. Epub 2022 Jan 7. PMID: 34993558; PMCID: PMC8739007.
  • Shah HP, Frye R, Chang S, Faherty E, Steele J, Karnik R. Challenges of Diagnosing Viral Myocarditis in Adolescents in the Era of COVID-19 and MIS-C. Case Rep Pediatr. 2021 Oct 4;2021:4797498. doi: 10.1155/2021/4797498. PMID: 34616578; PMCID: PMC8490073.
  • Andrea Otero-Luna, Stephen Ghiroli, Tain-Yen Hsia, John Fahey, Robert W. Elder, Diagnosis, surgical management, and long-term outcomes of double chambered right ventricle: a rare and challenging disease in the adult population, Progress in Pediatric Cardiology, 2021 July 17.
  • A window into portal hemodynamics in adult fontan patients? Simmons MA, Revzin M, To U, Liapakis A, Fahey J, Elder RW.Int J Cardiol. 2021 Jan 15;323:61-64. doi: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2020.09.047. Epub 2020 Sep 24.PMID: 32979426
  • Neonatal Cardiac Emergencies: A Multidisciplinary Simulation Curriculum for Neonatology and Pediatric Cardiology Fellows. Simmons MA, Otero-Luna A, Redmond B, Fahey J, Beach C, Bruno C, Johnston L.MedEdPORTAL. 2020 Dec 16;16:11045. doi: 10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11045.PMID: 33365389
  • A 13-Year-Old With Fever and Chest Pain. Soma G, Simmons MA, Canarie MF, Karnik R, Steele J, Tiyyagura G, Asnes J.Pediatrics. 2021 Aug 3:e2021050960. doi: 10.1542/peds.2021-050960. Online ahead of print.PMID: 3434480
  • Rheumatic Heart Disease in the United States: Forgotten But Not Gone: Results of a 10 Year Multicenter Review. de Loizaga SR, Arthur L, Arya B, Beckman B, Belay W, Brokamp C, Hyun Choi N, Connolly S, Dasgupta S, Dibert T, Dryer MM, Gokanapudy Hahn LR, Greene EA, Kernizan D, Khalid O, Klein J, Kobayashi R, Lahiri S, Lorenzoni RP, Otero Luna A, Marshall J, Millette T, Moore L, Muhamed B, Murali M, Parikh K, Sanyahumbi A, Shakti D, Stein E, Shah S, Wilkins H, Windom M, Wirth S, Zimmerman M, Beck AF, Ollberding N, Sable C, Beaton A.J Am Heart Assoc. 2021 Aug 17;10(16):e020992. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.120.020992. Epub 2021 Aug 5.PMID: 34348475
  • Maitoza LA, Neeman E, Funaro M, Pierce RW. Relevance of Microvascular Flow Assessments in Critically Ill Neonates and Children: A Systematic Review. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2020 Apr;21(4):373-384. doi: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000002201.
  • “Methylene Blue for Refractory Shock in Children: A Systematic Review and Survey Practice Analysis” Andrea V Otero Luna , Rachel Johnson, Melissa Funaro, Michael F Canarie, Richard W Pierce. Pediatr Crit Care Med Actions. 2020 Jun;21(6): e378-e386. PMID: 32453920
  • “Ventricular arrhythmias immediately following transcatheter pulmonary valve implantation: A cause for concern?” Simmons MA, Elder RW, Shabanova V, Hellenbrand W, Asnes J.; Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2018 Apr 1;91(5):920-926. Epub 2017 Dec 27. PMID: 29280541
  • “Postpartum anticoagulation in women with mechanical heart valves” Roxanna A Irani, Ann Santa-Ines, Robert W Elder, Heather S Lipkind, Michael J Paidas, and Katherine H Campbell; Int J Womens Health. 2018; 10: 663–670. Published online 2018 Oct 25. PMID: 30498374
  • “The genetics of congenital heart disease… understanding and improving long-term outcomes in congenital heart disease: a review for the general cardiologist and primary care physician.”
  • Simmons MA, Brueckner M.; Curr Opin Pediatr. 2017 Oct;29(5):520-528. PMID: 28872494
  • ­­­“Modern Incidence of Complete Heart Block in Patients with L-looped Ventricles: Does Univentricular Status Matter?” Simmons MA, Rollinson N, Fishberger S, Qin L, Fahey J, Elder RW. Congenit Heart Dis. 2015 Sep-Oct;10(5):E237-42. Epub 2015 Jun 15. PMID: 26077963
  • “The Impact of Prenatal Diagnosis of Congenital Heart Disease on Parental Knowledge and Anxiety, and on Parent-Child Attachment.” Michael Willers, MD1; Lynette Tay, PhD2; Kathleen Samuels, MD3; Linda Mayes, MD4; Bevin Weeks, MD5.
  • Transatrial lead implantation using the 4-Fr lumenless pacing lead and delivery system in young adults with congenital heart disease.” Fishberger S, Rollinson N,Warsy IA, Wang B, Kim R. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 2009 Sep 10.
  • Colon, M., Anderson, R. H., Weinberg, P., Mussatto, K., Bove, E., & Friedman, A. H. (2008). Anatomy, morphogenesis, diagnosis, management, and outcomes for neonates with common arterial trunk. Cardiology in the Young, 18 Suppl 3, 52-62.
  • Li W, Niu B, Henderson K, Northrup V, Pollak JS, Trow T, Fahey JT, White RI Jr. Reproducibility of oxygen saturation monitoring during six-minute walk and exercise testing in patients with pulmonary arteriovenous malformations. Pediatr Cardiol 2011; 32(5): 590-4.
  • Li W, Pietris N, Mistry P, Lui G, Bhatt A, Grant E, Tran K, Northrup V, Asnes J, Rosenfeld LE, Fahey JT, Jacoby D. “Adults with Tetralogy of Fallot are at Risk of Chronic Liver Disease.” (2011). Journal of The American College of Cardiology - J AMER COLL CARDIOL. 57. . 10.1016/S0735-1097(11)60434-8.

Contact

Massima Lunato