Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program

• ERAS program ID: Pending
• NRMP number: Pending
• We offer three (3) PGY4 positions for the 2027-2028 academic year

• All applications must be submitted through ERAS by July 2026. Incomplete or late applications will not be reviewed.
• Passing scores in Steps 1, 2, and 3 of USMLE or COMLEX-USA 1, 2, and 3.
• USMLE/COMLEX transcripts are required. Please request your official transcripts from NBME and upload them with your ERAS application.
• Medical school transcript
• Curriculum Vitae
• Personal Statement
• Three letters of recommendation, including one from your Pediatric Residency Program Director.
• ECFMG certification is required for Foreign Medical Graduates.
• Email address (we will respond to all questions via Program Messages on ERAS)
• Currently enrolled in, or completed within the last three (3) years, an ACGME-accredited pediatric residency program. Those who have completed their residency must be either eligible or board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics.
• Our institution only sponsors J-1 visas.

Please Note:

• Observership or externship opportunities are not offered at this time.
• Memorial Healthcare System (MHS) does not allow for away rotations. We require 100% of your training to occur at MHS, with almost no exception.

The Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship is a three-year, ACGME-accredited training program designed to develop skilled, thoughtful, and independent pediatric cardiologists. The curriculum blends comprehensive clinical training with robust didactics, multidisciplinary collaboration, and protected time for scholarly activity. Fellows rotate through all major subspecialty areas of pediatric and congenital cardiology while receiving individualized mentorship to support their professional goals in academic medicine, advanced subspecialty training, or clinical practice.

Core elements of the curriculum include:

• Foundational and advanced clinical training across inpatient, outpatient, and procedural cardiology
• Graduated autonomy with increasing responsibility over the three years
• Structured didactics and conferences that reinforce core knowledge and emerging science
• Dedicated scholarly activity with faculty mentorship
• Professional development in communication, leadership, and systems-based practice

Fellows gain broad exposure to the full spectrum of congenital and acquired heart disease. Rotations are designed to provide hands-on experience, multidisciplinary collaboration, and progressive independence. Rotations are typically scheduled in 4-week blocks to ensure depth of experience, continuity of patient care, ongoing supervision, and meaningful faculty assessment and feedback.

Inpatient Cardiology

Fellows serve as primary clinicians on the inpatient cardiology service, managing infants, children, and adolescents with a wide range of congenital and acquired heart conditions. Training emphasizes diagnostic evaluation, acute management, coordination of multidisciplinary care, and communication with families and referring providers.

Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU)

In the CVICU, fellows care for high-acuity patients, including those with postoperative congenital heart disease, complex physiology, and patients requiring mechanical circulatory support. Fellows participate in daily multidisciplinary rounds and develop skills in advanced hemodynamic assessment and critical decision-making.

Outpatient Cardiology

Outpatient training emphasizes continuity, breadth, and longitudinal patient relationships.

• Weekly Continuity Clinic: Fellows maintain their own patient panel, developing expertise in long-term management and family-centered care.
• General Cardiology Clinics: Dedicated rotations build proficiency in evaluating common presentations such as murmurs, chest pain, syncope, and acquired heart disease.
• Specialty Clinics: Fellows rotate through subspecialty clinics including cardiomyopathy, heart transplantation, electrophysiology, adult congenital heart disease, and other focused programs such as pulmonary hypertension, 22q11, Marfan syndrome, Fontan, and neuromuscular clinics.

Non-Invasive Imaging

Fellows develop competency in transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography, with additional exposure to fetal echocardiography. Experience with cardiac MRI and CT enhances understanding of multimodality imaging and advanced diagnostic techniques.

Cardiac Catheterization

Training includes participation in diagnostic and interventional catheterization procedures. Fellows learn procedural planning, catheter-based hemodynamic assessment, device closure techniques, and post-procedure care.

Electrophysiology

Fellows gain experience in arrhythmia evaluation and management, including EP studies, ablations, device implantation, and longitudinal rhythm care. Emphasis is placed on ECG interpretation, ambulatory rhythm monitoring, and integration of electrophysiology findings into patient management.

Heart Failure, VAD & Transplant

Rotations in advanced heart failure and transplant expose fellows to both inpatient and outpatient care of patients with cardiomyopathy and heart failure, including those requiring ventricular assist device (VAD) support and heart transplantation. Fellows participate in transplant evaluation, listing, multidisciplinary rounds, and transplant selection meetings, as well as long-term patient care.

Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD)

Fellows work alongside ACHD specialists to care for adolescents and adults with congenital heart disease. Training includes outpatient care, inpatient consultation, pregnancy and reproductive counseling, and transition-of-care principles.

Scholarly Activity

All fellows engage in scholarly work with protected research time. Faculty provide mentorship and support, with opportunities for collaboration across the Heart Institute and other disciplines. Fellows are encouraged and supported in presenting at national meetings and preparing manuscripts for publication.

The fellowship features a comprehensive educational program designed to build a deep understanding of cardiovascular physiology, congenital heart disease, and evolving clinical practice.

Core Didactic Series

• Weekly fellow lecture series covering foundational and advanced topics
• Weekly echocardiography, catheterization, and surgeon-led conferences focusing on diagnostic tools, procedural review, and discussion of catheterization- and surgical-based management of cardiac lesions
• Cardiac Pathology series with lecture and hands-on components
• Board review curriculum and journal club integrated throughout the year

Multidisciplinary Conferences

• PREP Rounds and Cardiac Case Management Conference for weekly patient case review and surgical planning
• Heart Failure/Transplant Selection covering patient management and listing decisions
• Fetal Cardiology Conference for prenatal diagnosis and perinatal planning
• ACHD Complex Case Discussion addressing the needs of the adult congenital heart disease population
• Morbidity & Mortality Conference emphasizing systems improvement

Professional Development

Workshops and seminars address communication skills, leadership, wellness, academic career development, and quality improvement methodology through the Business of Medicine curriculum. Fellows also participate in hospital-wide conferences, including Pediatric Grand Rounds and Schwartz Rounds.

Svetlana Shugh, MD
Program Director

Tom Forbes, MD
Chief of Cardiology

Frank Scholl, MD
Chief of Heart Institute

Cardiology

Maximo Aguirre, MD
Cardiology

 

Jyothsna Akam Venkata, MD
Cardiology, Imaging

Orlando Arce, MD
Cardiology

 

Brian Boe, MD
Cardiology, Cardiac Catheterization

Maria Brinez, MD
Cardiology

Kak-Chen Chan, MD
Cardiology, Cardiac Catheterization

Jay Chandar, MD
Cardiology

 

Sundararaman Chandrasekhar, MD
Cardiology

 

Laura D’Addese, MD
Heart Failure, VAD and Transplantation

 

Melissa Diamond, MD
Cardiology

 

David Drossner, MD
Cardiology

Renato Dubois, MD
Cardiology

 

Leslie Flores, MD
Cardiology

 

Debbie Friedman, MD
Cardiology

 

Jocelyn Garcia de Viera MD
Cardiology

 

Ashish Garg, MD
Heart Failure, VAD and Transplantation

 

Javier Gonzalez, MD
Cardiology, Imaging

 

Peter Guyon, MD
Cardiology, Cardiac Catheterization

 

Lazaro Hernandez, MD
Cardiology, Imaging

 

Jared Klein, MD
Cardiology, Imaging

Orhan Kilinc, MD
Electrophysiology

 

Vicente Lemes, MD
Cardiology

 

Tarah Popp, MD
Cardiology, Fetal

 

Todd Roth, MD
Adult Congenital Heart Disease

 

Joshua Saef, MD
Adult Congenital Heart Disease

 

Svetlana Shugh, MD
Heart Failure, VAD and Transplantation

 

Jeffrey Skimming, MD
Cardiology

 

Katelyn Snyder, MD
Cardiology, Fetal

 

Rowena Uy, MD
Cardiology

 

Congenital Cardiothoracic Surgery

Steven Bibevski, MD

John Dentel, MD

 

Frank Scholl, MD

 

Cardiac Intensivists

Jason Adler, MD

Allen Burkowsky, MD

Christopher Carafa, MD

Claudio Faraon, MD

Teresa Duncan, MD

Gerald Lavandosky, MD

Ryan Moran, MD

Chad Scheller, MD

Carlos Silva, MD