Cardiovascular Imaging Fellowship

105

Active Clinical Trials Underway

10

Appointed Endowed Faculty

283

Peer-Reviewed Publications in 2023

Program Overview

Eligibility and Application

Thank you for your interest in Houston Methodist’s Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Fellowship program. Our program does not participate in the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) or the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Our application process is detailed below. Please note, all applicants, including those local to the Greater Houston Area, will be interviewed virtually.

Training period: 1 or 2 years
Training dates: July 1 – June 30
Teaching faculty include expert cardiologists dedicated to cardiovascular imaging.
All training takes place within the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, Houston Methodist Hospital.


Eligibility and Application Process
Eligiblity:
  • Graduate of a U.S. or Canadian Medical School accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), or a medical school outside the United States and Canada with a current valid certificate from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).
  • Must have completed 3 years of Cardiology Fellowship in ACGME or RCPSC (Canadian) accredited program; OR
  • Candidates who have completed cardiology fellowship outside the country may be considered if they meet the “exceptional candidate” requirements set by the ACGME.
  • Our program sponsors J-1 visas. If you are a J1 visa holder, you must be eligible for at least 1 year of training at beginning of fellowship.
  • Be of good professional character with at least three letters of recommendation attesting to your academic and personal qualifications
  • Applicants must be eligible for licensure (Physician-in-Training or Full License) by the Texas Medical Board.
  • All applicants must have taken and passed all three steps of USMLE exams. DO graduates must have taken and passed all three steps of COMLEX USA.

This is currently a Texas Medical Board (TMB) approved training program.  Fellows can train on a Physician-in-Training (PIT) license for at least 1 year.

To APPLY: Download the Fillable Application. There is a list of required documents on the last page which the GME office will need at a later date for offer of a position.  However, for initial review, we will only need the completed application, your current CV, 3 letters of recommendation (one should be from your current program director) and USMLE scores document.  



All documents must be sent to the program directly via email (do not send to GME office as noted on the last page of the application).  Your reference letters can also be sent directly by the physician offices. 

Houston Methodist is committed to improving the health of our patients, employees, and communities around us. As a health care provider, it’s our responsibility to promote a healthier environment for our employees.


Responsibility
  • Drug and Tobacco Screening- Job seekers will be tested for nicotine and drug usage during the post-offer physical. If a job seeker tests positive for nicotine use, including nicotine gum and patches, the offer will be rescinded, and individuals will be given the opportunity to participate in a free Houston Methodist-provided tobacco cessation program. Job seekers wishing to reapply after testing positive for nicotine may do so 90 days after the date the initial offer was rescinded. If the job seeker tests positive for drug use, the offer will be rescinded. Job seekers wishing to reapply after the drug screening is positive may do so one year after the date the initial offer was rescinded.
  • Background Check - Prior to employment start date, job seekers must complete a criminal background check.

Our Team

CVI-facultygroup


About the Program Director

Dipan J. Shah, MD is the program director for the Advanced Cardiovascular (CV) Imaging Fellowship Program and Director of the CV Imaging Institute at Houston Methodist Hospital. The institute is one of only a few in the country that brings together all aspect of CV imaging from echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, vascular ultrasound, cardiovascular CT, and cardiovascular MRI. 

Dr. Shah founded the Cardiovascular MRI (CMR) Laboratory at Houston Methodist Hospital in 2008. Since its inception in 2008, the laboratory has grown to become one of the largest CMR laboratories in the United States, performing nearly 4,000 studies annually. Dr. Shah also holds an academic appointment as Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. His clinical interests are in advanced cardiac and vascular imaging. His research interests focus on establishing the role of cardiovascular MRI in the evaluation and management of heart failure, valvular heart disease, and vascular diseases.

Dr. Shah received his medical degree and completed his internal medicine residency training at the Medical College of Wisconsin. After completing a general cardiology fellowship at Illinois Masonic Medical Center, he pursued additional specialty training in cardiac imaging through an advanced fellowship in echocardiography at Northwestern University and another advanced fellowship in cardiovascular MRI at Duke University.

Dr. Shah is the recipient of research grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and industry partnerships. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters. He has given more than 100 presentations at national and international cardiology and radiology scientific meetings and is a frequent invited speaker at the scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Heart Association, and the Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR). He has served on numerous committees for the ACC and SCMR, and was a member of the guidelines writing group of the American Society of Echocardiography on “Recommendations for Noninvasive Evaluation of Native Valvular Regurgitation.”
Our Fellows
Photo of Aneesh Dhore, MD
Aneesh Dhore, MMBS - PGY-8
2-year CMR/CT-PET
Case Western Reserve Univ.- Metro Health (IM)
Tulane Univ. Sch of Med. (CARD)
*CVI Chief Fellow*
Photo of Alba Munoz Estrella, MD
Alba Munoz Estrella, MD - PGY-8
 2-year CMR/Echo
Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital (IM & CARD)
Photo of Vivek Modi, MD
Vivek Modi, MD - PGY-8
2-year CMR/CT-PET
Mount Sinai St. Luke's & Mount Sinai West (IM)
St. Luke's University Health Network (CARD)
CVI FELLOW 24
Kazim Baser, MD - PGY-7
2-year CT-PET/CMR
Texas Tech University (IM)
(UAMS) College of Medicine (CARD)
Isadora Mathias, MD - PGY-7
1-year Echo
Cleveland Clinic (IM)
Houston Methodist Hospital (CARD)
Rasha Bazari, MD
Rasha N. Bazari, MBBS - PGY-7
1-year Advanced Echo
Henry Ford Health System (IM & CARD)
*Last Day 9/30/24*
CVI FELLOW 24
Leyla Gasimli-Gamache, DO - PGY-7
1-year CMR
Stony Brook Med. University (IM)
St. Luke's University Health Network (CARD)
Catherine Teng, MBBS - PGY-7
1-Year Echo
Yale-New Haven Hospital (IM)
UT San Antonio (CARD)
Nisha Ali, MBBS - PGY-7
2-Year CT-PET/CMR
Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital
(IM + CARD)
Hatem Alansari, MBBS - PGY-7
1-Year Echo
University Of Toronto
(IM + CARD)
Our Alumni

We are extremely proud of our Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging fellowship program graduates. Each year the Houston Methodist Department of Cardiology hosts an alumni reception at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual meeting.
 

Class of 2024


Mohammad Abu-Sheikha, MD
King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Rabel Rameez, MBBS

Class of 2023


Hossam Abubakar, MD
Cardiac Imaging Faculty, Sparrow Thoracic & Cardiovascular Institute in Lansing, MI

Mahmoud Al Rifai, MD
Cardiac Imaging Faculty, Houston Methodist Hospital

Purujit (PJ) Thacker, MD
Cardiac Imaging Faculty, St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem, PA

Priscilla Wessly, MD

Dixitha Anugula, MBBS 

        Class of 2022


Rowa Attar, MBBS
King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

David Lewandowski, MD
Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI

Nadeem Nimri, MD
Baylor College of Medicine, Ben Taub Hospital, Houston, TX

Payam Pournazari, MD
Royal Columbian Hospital, Vancouver, BC

Bhupendar Tayal, MBBS, PhD
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH



Class of 2021



Talal Alnabelsi, MD
University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

Ameer Fawzi, MD
Monument Health, Rapid City, SD

George Dibu, MD
Ascension St. Vincent Hospital, Jacksonville, FL

Carlos El-Tallawi, MD
Cardiology Faculty, Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center

Alison Spangler, DO
Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy Fellowship-Stanford University, Memphis, TN   
      Class of 2020


Basil Al-Sabeq, MD
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Memphis, TN

Shaden Khalaf, MD
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Maan Malahfji, MD
Cardiology Faculty, Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, Houston, TX

Roosha Parikh, MBBS
St. Francis Heart Center, Long Island, NY

Alpana Senapati, DO
Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, UT

Pimprapa Vejpongsa, MD
Methodist DeBakey Cardiology Associates, Baytown, TX   
     Class of 2019


Nadeen Faza, MD
Cardiology Faculty, Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, Houston, TX


Yang Zhan, MD
Cardiology Faculty, Regina General Hospital, University of Saskatchewan, Canada

Class of 2018


Mohammad Chamsi-Pasha, MD
Cardiology Faculty, Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, Houston, TX

Gary Huang, MD
Cardiology Faculty, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Jessen Jacob, MD
Cardiology Faculty, University of Florida-Springhill, Gainesville, FL

Get In Touch

Program Coordinator

Lianna White
6550 Fannin St, Smith Tower 18
Houston, TX 77030
Tel. 346.238.5039
Email: CardioFellowship@houstonmethodist.org

Program Director

Dipan J. Shah, MD, FACC
Department of Cardiology
6550 Fannin St., Smith Tower 1901
Houston, TX 77030

Upcoming Academic Events

Grand rounds, tumor boards, regularly scheduled series and case presentations are offered in multiple clinical disciplines and Houston Methodist locations.
CV Live: At the Cutting Edge of Cardiovascular Sciences

John P. Cooke, MD, PhD, and Li Lai, PhD

Nov 11 @ 11AM

See Details
Center for Neuroregeneration Visiting Lecture Series - Jeannie Chin, PhD
Houston Methodist Hospital

Jeannie Chin, PhD

Nov 12 @ 10AM

See Details

55

Grand Rounds conducted in 2023
These educational events are held according to varying schedules by departments and divisions within the Houston Methodist Academic Institute

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