Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship

Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship at Weill Cornell Medical College

This Cardiovascular Disease fellowship program takes place at Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. It is a three- to four-year program that prepares highly qualified candidates for careers in investigative and clinical cardiology.

Our program is one of approximately 170 programs accredited by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and participates in the Match conducted by the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP). The Internal Medicine Subspecialty Match for each academic year is now held in December of the year prior to the start of the fellowship in July.

Overview

This Fellowship is based at the Weill Cornell Campus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and includes clinical and research resources at our neighboring sister institution, Hospital for Special Surgery.

Clinical and research opportunities at both institutions are an integral part of the program, which is designed to train physicians interested in developing academic and clinical careers in cardiology. The 4.5 acres surrounding the hospital holds one of the largest concentrations of biomedical research and care anywhere in the world, including the Rockefeller Institute and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, both of which provide additional research opportunities.

Well-rounded training: The program integrates a broad-based, in-depth clinical and research experience to deliver the highest-quality academic training to cardiology professionals. Clinical care is the focus of the first two years, while the third and fourth years involve a more intensive, mentored experience in a clinical subspecialty or basic research. Every fellow is expected to be productive in research. An added year (or more) of training/research in a subspecialty area can be arranged.

Clinical experience: The clinical training here is unsurpassed. It includes rotations in:

• The cardiac intensive care unit and cardiac step-down units
• The inpatient consultation service at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and the Hospital for Special Surgery
• The cardiac catheterization lab
• The electrophysiology lab
• Cardiac graphics
• Heart failure
• Echocardiography
• Nuclear cardiology

Fellows spend one half-day per week in the outpatient clinic in adult cardiology. Fellows are trained and supervised clinically with one-on-one teaching by senior faculty. The didactic sessions include:

• A full introductory curriculum
• Weekly curriculum throughout the year
• Prevention and Management Conference
• Imaging Conference (specific to echo, cardiac CT and MRI), Clinical Case Conferences
• Monthly Journal Club
• Cardiovascular Grand Rounds
• Subspecialty conferences in catheterization, electrophysiology, adult congenital heart disease, vascular disease, and heart failure

At Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian, the Department of Medicine has approximately 17,000 admissions per year of which more than 3,000 are admitted to the cardiology inpatient service. Approximately 2,500 cardiology patients are seen in an ambulatory setting each year. A broad range of cardiological problems is assessed, including complex congenital heart disease, advanced heart failure, and pulmonary hypertension.

The invasive cardiac laboratories perform all diagnostic catheterizations, percutaneous interventions (including ASD and PFO closures), and electrophysiological studies (including ablations of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias and device implantation). We also actively enroll patients in large clinical trials, including those evaluating new stents, percutaneous aortic valve replacement, mitral valve repair, implantation of closure devices for paravalvular regurgitation, and renal artery denervation for resistant hypertension.

Research: Fellowship research projects tie in with ongoing research activities within the program. Each fellow’s research experience is coordinated by a faculty mentor of his/her choosing.

For fellows pursuing basic science or translational research, a master’s degree in science is offered over a two-year period. (These courses are scheduled within years two, three, or four.) Fellows pursuing a project in clinical research are encouraged to pursue a certificate in clinical investigation. All fellows are expected to present the results of their research at regional and national meetings.

The Weill Cornell Cardiology Fellowship Program is dedicated to advancing knowledge in both basic and clinical research. Multiple federal and non-federal grants strongly support the research program. Research is performed on-site in our state-of-the-art laboratory facilities.

Research is conducted in both traditional and emerging areas of cardiovascular research, including:

• Atherosclerosis
• Vascular physiology
• Electrophysiology and arrhythmia
• Stem cells and cell therapy
• Cardiac development
• Stroke and thrombosis
• Heart failure
• Interventional devices
• Health policy

Seventy percent of Weill Cornell cardiology faculty members take part in world-class basic science, translational, or clinical research, and 30 percent are full-time clinical cardiologists involved in clinical investigations and teaching.

After three years of training, candidates are eligible for board certification in cardiovascular disease, but would require at least one more year of training to subspecialize in Interventional Cardiology, Electrophysiology, Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology, or advanced imaging.

Our fellows receive comprehensive experience in all major clinical and laboratory aspects of contemporary cardiology under the close supervision of full-time staff. Also, all fellows are expected to take part in one or more areas of ongoing research during their training.