Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship
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About the Fellowship
Cardiovascular Department
The Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship at Houston Methodist Hospital is a three-year Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-approved comprehensive cardiovascular training program (ACGME ID: 1414813292) organized under the directorship of Stephen Little, MD. The fellowship is designed for individuals interested in pursuing a career in cardiology. The program adheres to the tenets outlined in the ACGME training requirements, American College of Cardiology (ACC) Core Cardiology Training Symposium (COCATS) guidelines document and the American Heart Association (AHA) statement on clinical competency in cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular Department
The department's cardiologists have enormous expertise in every aspect of cardiac care ranging from angiography, echocardiography and heart transplantation to advanced clinical research for cardiac rehabilitation, heart failure and preventive cardiology. Leaders in the research and development of new treatments and drug therapies that help improve the quality of life of patients, faculty members are authorities in the various subspecialties that comprise the field of cardiology, including noninvasive, invasive, diagnostic and therapeutic means of responding to heart problems.
If you have a strong background in medicine and would like to begin a comprehensive cardiovascular training program, we would like to invite you to apply to our cardiovascular fellowship training program. We believe the completion of this program will provide you with the training you need to pursue your goal in clinical, academic or investigative cardiology successfully.
Eligibility and Application
Selection Process
Thank you for your interest in Houston Methodist's Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship program. Our program participates in the; National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) and is registered with Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS); ACGME Program ID 1414813292 - July Application Cycle.
There are certain eligibility criteria that must be met to apply for the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship program:
Criteria
- Must apply via the Electronic Residency Applicant Service (ERAS) and must enroll in the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP)
- Be of good professional character with at least three letters of recommendation attesting to your academic and personal qualifications
- Graduate of a U.S. or Canadian Medical School accredited by the Liaison Committee for 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)
- Graduate of an ACGME-accredited or RCPSC-accredited (Canadian) three-year cardiovascular disease training program
- Board-eligible in internal medicine by time of fellowship appointment
- 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 (first attempt preferred). DO graduates must have taken and passed all three steps of COMLEX USA.
- Our program sponsors J1 visas. If you are an J1 visa holder, you must be eligible for three years of training at the beginning of the fellowship.
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.
Selection Process
Eight (8) fellows are selected from a highly competitive field of applicants for the training program. Fellows are selected from among eligible applicants on the basis of their ability, academic credentials, aptitude, communication skills, intellectual and humanistic qualities, personal attributes (such as motivation and integrity), preparedness, and their ability to benefit from the program. These qualities may be accessed through the review of academic records, letters of recommendation, standardized test scores and other means, including interviews. The department does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, age, religion, color, national origin, sexual orientation or veteran status. Interviewing is conducted annually in early October.
Training, Education & Research
Educational Conferences
Weekly Schedule (*required)
Monday
Cardiac Catheterization Conference*
CV Imaging MRI Conference
Tuesday
Multi-Modality Imaging Conference
Wednesday
Preventive Cardiology Conference*
Heart Failure Conference*
Research Conference*
Cardiovascular Research Seminar (bi-monthly)
Heart Valve Conference (bi-monthly)
Thursday
Heart & Vascular Center Grand Rounds*
Interventional Journal Club (monthly)
Friday
Multidisciplinary Ischemic Heart Conference (bi-monthly)
Professor Rounds*
Core Curriculum Conference*
CV Imaging Research/Journal Club
CV LAUNCH
Visiting Professors
Many of these conferences, including our Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center Grand Rounds and Multi-Modality Imaging Conference, are recorded live on our DeBakey YouTube Channel. We encourage you to take advantage of these free educational opportunities.
Excellence in Teaching
Research Opportunities
Fellows have ample opportunity to spend dedicated time during their fellowship training participating in research projects of their own selection. Houston Methodist offers an ideal environment for scientists and clinicians to come together with common goals of discovery and improving patient care. Our department has over 125 active clinical trials and a large number of active research grants. Under the direction of John P. Cooke, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the Houston Methodist Research Institute, the Heart & Vascular Research Center mentors are available to help fellows find opportunities in areas that most closely match their interests.
Scholarly Activities
Houston Methodist emphasizes the pursuit of research, including publications and presentations, and fellows are able to work together with our well-recognized research mentors on projects. Faculty and fellows average over 180 publications per year. Many of our fellows present their work at important national and international meetings and have been very successful in having their work published.
We also provide scholarly resources to our fellows through our DeBakey Education Journal.
Our Team
Our key teaching faculty are members of the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and have faculty appointments with our affiliate, Weill Cornell Medical College. They are nationally recognized for their expertise in the application of sophisticated imaging techniques, the performance of complex interventional and electrophysiology procedures, and the application of novel therapies for patients with heart failure and valvular diseases. A full listing of our cardiology faculty can be found here.
Chair
William A. Zoghbi, MD, FASE, FAHA, MACC
Program Director
Stephen H. Little, MD, FRCPC, FACC, FASE
Associate Program Directors
Rotation Directors
Mouaz Al-Mallah, MD (Nuclear)
John M. Buergler, MD, FACC, FSCAI (General Cardiology/Consults)
Nadia Fida, MD, FACC (HM Baytown)
Imad Hussain, MD (Heart Failure)
Ju H. Kim, MD, FACC (Cardiac Critical Care)
C. Huie Lin, MD, PhD, FACC, FSCAI (Adult Congenital Heart Disease)
John J. Mahmarian, MD,MASNC, FACC, FSCCT (Cardiac Tomography)
Sherif F. Nagueh, MD, FACC, FAHA, FASE (Echocardiography)
Alpesh Shah, MD, FACC, FSCAI (Catheterization)
Dipan J. Shah, MD, FACC (Cardiac MRI)
Miguel Valderrábano, MD, FACC (Cardiac Electrophysiology)
Cardiology Education Office
Etinosa Evbuomwan, MBA – Manager, Education Programs
About the Program Director
He has been heavily involved in education and national teaching activities for the last decade. He is an alumnus of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Emerging Faculty Program (2008), and is currently a member of the ACC working group to define structural heart disease training criteria. He is a member of the ACC writing group to define valvular heart disease systems of care, and is coeditor of the ACC EchoSap educational DVD series.
Little holds the John S. Dunn Chair in Clinical Cardiovascular Research and Education, is the director of the Houston Methodist Valve Institute, and director of the Cardiovascular Hemodynamics Imaging Laboratory. His recent research activities have focused on novel use of 3D echocardiography for the quantification of native and prosthetic valve dysfunction as well as imaging guidance for percutaneous structural heart interventions. His team has created a robust in vitro flow system for multimodality functional valve imaging under tailored hemodynamic conditions. In collaboration with research scientists and mathematicians, Little’s research group creates complex 3D printed heart valve constructs to address an increasingly important clinical need: To improve our understanding of heart valve dysfunction by employing multimodality imaging to better characterize and quantify complex intracardiac flow conditions.
Little is an associate professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, and adjunct associate professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Rice University. He received his medical degree from McMaster University and completed postgraduate training in internal medicine and cardiology at Western University. He completed research fellowships in echocardiography at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Society of Echocardiography.
Little has presented more than 130 invited lectures nationally and internationally, and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters. His current research activities are funded through grants from the National Science Foundation, the American Heart Association, and industry partnerships.
Stephen H. Little, MD, FRCPC, FASE, FACC
Program Director, Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship
John S. Dunn Chair of Clinical Cardiovascular Research and Education
Associate Professor of Clinical Cardiology, Weill Cornell Medical College
Cardiovascular Imaging Section, Department of Cardiology
Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center
Faculty Accolades
The following is a list of our local, state, national and international accomplishments, awards, recognitions, committee positions and other accolades.
| Masters Designation | Authors of National Guideline Documents |
| Miguel A. Quinones, MD, MACC William A. Zoghbi, MD, MACC Neil S. Kleiman, MD, MSCAI |
Miguel A. Quinones, MD, MACC William A. Zoghbi, MD, MACC Stephen H. Little, MD Dipan Shah, MD Sherif Nagueh, MD |
Mouaz Al-Mallah, MD
• Treasurer, American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ladder to president)
• Beverly B. and Daniel C. Arnold Distinguished Endowered Chair in Cardiology
Arvind Bhimaraj, MD
• Chairman/Committee, Early Career, Heart Failure Society of America
• Co-Chair/High-Risk/Surgery Committee, Heart Failure and Transplant Section, American College of Cardiology
Su Min Chang. MD
• Customer Service Award, William S. Middleton Memorial VAMC Department of Veteran Affairs Chapter
• Member, American Society of Echocardiography Information Technology Committee
• External Reviewer, Cardiac Computed Tomography Appropriateness Use Criteria, American College of Cardiology
Bindu Chebrolu, MD
• Women in Cardiology Committee (Co-Chair), Texas Chapter, American College of Cardiology
• Credentialing and Member Services Subcommittee, American College of Cardiology
• CME Committee, American Society of Echocardiography
• Cardiology FIT (Fellows in training) Jeopardy Committee, Texas Chapter, American College of Cardiology
• Committee Member, American Association of Physicians of Indian origin (AAPI)
Nadeen Faza, MD
• CME Editor and social media consultant, Journal of American College of Cardiology (JACC Case Reports)
• Chair, Social Media, Texas Chapter, American College of Cardiology
• Member, Public Relations Committee & Twitter Journal Club Task Force, American Society of Echocardiography
• Member, Curriculum Design Committee, American College of Cardiology
Nadia Fida, MD
• Member, Early Career Council, American College of Cardiology
• Chair, Webinars Working Group, ECC, ACC
Sachin Goel, MD
• SCAI Emerging Leader Mentorship (ELM) Program Circle Member
• CRT 2019 Young Leadership Recognition Program
Mahwash Kassi, MD
• Houston Methodist Specialty Physician Group Grant
• Texas A&M Presidential Research Partnership Grant
Neal Kleiman, MD
• Master Interventionalist, Society of Cardiovascular Interventions and Angiography, 2018
• Journal of American College of Cardiology - Elite Reviewer, 2007-2008
• Established Investigator Award: The Platelet Colloquium, 2009
• Simon Dack Award for Scholarship: Journal of American College of Cardiology, 2009
• Co-Chair, ACC Annual Scientific Session, 2000 & 2013
Stephen Little, MD
• Vice President, American Society of Echocardiography (ladder position to President)
• Endowed Chair: John S. Dunn Chair in Cardiovascular Education and Research
Maan Malahfji, MD
• Associate Editor of the Methodist Debakey Cardiovascular Journal
• Rising Star Committee Member, CME committee, American Society of Echocardiography
Faisal Nabi, MD
• Chair, TX chapter ACC Imaging Section
Khurram Nasir, MD
• Member, Applied Health Innovation Consortium Workgroup (American College of Cardiology)
• Society of Cardiac CT, Arthur S. Agaston Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Award, 2020
• Board of Directors, American Society of Preventive Cardiology (ASPC)
• Board of Directors, Society of Cardiac Computed Tomography (SCCT), 2014-2017
Miguel Quinones, MD
• Editor-in-Chief, Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal
• Master of the American College of Cardiology (MACC), 2012
• Board of Trustees, American College of Cardiology, 2004-2009
• American Society of Echocardiography Recipient Physician Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient, 2012
Dipan Shah, MD
• Beverly B. and Daniel C. Arnold Distinguished Centennial Chair in the Department of Cardiology
• Texas Chapter, American College of Cardiology, Co-Chair, Annual CME Meeting
• Publication Committee, Vice-Chair, Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR)
Barry Trachtenberg, MD
• Chair, Heart Failure Section of Texas Chapter, American College of Cardiology
• Co-Chair, Educational Planning Committee, Texas Chapter, American College of Cardiology
William Zoghbi, MD
• Master of the American College of Cardiology (MACC)
• President, American Society of Echocardiography, 2008-2009
• President, American College of Cardiology, 2012-2013
• Board of Trustees, American College of Cardiology, 2001-2015
Residency: Vanderbilt Univ. Med. Ctr. (IM)
Residency: Wayne State Univ. SOM (IM)
Residency: Baylor College of Medicine (IM)
Residency: New York Medical College (IM)
Residency: Indiana Univ. SOM (IM)
Residency: Houston Methodist (IM)
Residency: Univ. of Missouri-Kansas City SOM (IM)
Residency: Rochester General Hospital (IM)
Residency: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Residency: Cleveland Clinic (IM)
Residency: Cook County Health and Hospitals System (IM)
Residency: Yale-New Haven Medical Center- St. Raphael (IM)
Residency: New York Presbyterian Hospital- Cornell Campus (IM)
Residency: Houston Methodist Hospital (IM)
Residency: Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center (IM)
Residency: University of Maryland (IM)
Residency: University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Program (IM)
Residency: University of Louisville (IM)
Residency: Icahn School of Mount Sinai Hospital (IM)
Residency: Westchester Medical Center (IM)
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Foundation (IM)
Residency: Houston Methodist Hospital (IM)
Residency: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (IM)
Residency: Wayne State University School of Medicine (IM)
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Foundation (IM)
Message from the Chief Fellows
Houston Methodist is an internationally recognized institution with historic achievements and discoveries in the fields of cardiology and cardiovascular surgery. Our world-renowned faculty are leaders in their fields and include those who are past presidents of the American College of Cardiology, American Society of Echocardiography, and American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, as well as chairs and authors of multiple guidelines. Not only are they leaders in their respective fields, the faculty are also incredibly approachable and make fellow education their top priority. The relationships between faculty and fellows are collegial with fellows treated more as junior partners and colleagues.
In the heart of the Texas Medical Center, the Houston Methodist cardiovascular fellowship offers a wide breath of exposure. You will experience all areas of cardiovascular medicine and be at the forefront of innovation. We pride ourselves especially on exceptional clinical training, such that fellows can comfortably handle a wide range of complex cases by their second year of training. You will emerge a heart failure expert, taking care of cardiogenic shock, post-transplant and VAD patients, and all types of temporary mechanical circulatory support with ease. There is no shortage of procedures in the catheterization laboratory with everyone easily hitting their Level 2 and Level 3 COCATs requirements while seeing complex PCI and cutting-edge structural cases.
Our prolific imaging department allows fellows to come out Level 2 and above in any imaging subspecialty from echocardiography to cardiac CT. It’s truly a blessing to have these advanced imaging modalities under one roof and gain an understanding of when and how these modalities are best used for our patients. In your second year, you’ll have the opportunity to go to our community affiliate and spend a month putting all your clinical knowledge and skills to work in a low-resource environment. You’ll see your patient as a consult in the morning, interpret the nuclear in the afternoon, and then do the diagnostic catheterization (and sometimes the intervention!) before discharge.
On completion of your general cardiology fellowship, you’ll be aptly prepared for an advanced subspecialty fellowships in interventional cardiology, structural heart disease, advanced heart failure, advanced imaging (echocardiography, CT, nuclear [SPECT and PET], cardiac MRI) or electrophysiology. Having these specialties in house gives general fellows an opportunity to decide what part of the field will best suit them. Former graduates have gone on to thrive at both academic institutions and community practices throughout the nation.
For those who are interested in research, our department offers fellows abundant opportunities for impactful clinical research to excel in both academic and clinical practice. Fellows are given the opportunity to choose one of our prolific mentors who can guide them through the research process from identifying a hypothesis to presenting an abstract and publishing the manuscript. Other available opportunities include reviewing and contributing to the Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal.
We are a tightly knit and diverse group of fellows and faculty from all over the world with fellows routinely hanging out inside and outside the hospital. The program leadership works with us to continually change our program and strive to balance our educational needs and our well-being. Consequently, rotation schedules are highly flexible with over 12 electives months offered throughout general cardiology fellowship and time off accommodating. This allows each fellow to tailor his/her schedule according to their long-term goals and interests. Educational conferences are ample (check out our YouTube channel!), bedside teaching poignant, and clinical diagnostic reasoning rigorously challenged in our monthly Professor Rounds.
Houston is one of the largest and most diverse cities in America. The food and drink scene rivals the biggest cities in the country and is right on par with the likes of New York City (yes, we just went there!). It’s incredible cost of living for a metropolis makes starting and raising a family here a reality, with no state taxes a real plus. No matter what you like to do or where you are on your life journey, Houston can be a home for you.
We look forward to meeting you during the interview season and welcoming you to our cardiology family here at Houston Methodist. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us directly.
Sincerely,
Gina Lazzara, MD & Mohamad Taha, MD
2024-2025 Chief Fellows
Our Alumni
We are extremely proud of our Cardiovascular Disease fellowship program graduates. Each year the Houston Methodist Department of Cardiology hosts an alumni reception at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual meeting.
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Class of 2024 Smitha Narayana Gowda, MD Isadora Mathias, MD
Class of 2023
Hyeon (HJ) Ali, MD |
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Class of 2022
Tanushree Agrawal, MBBS
Class of 2021
Brian Hsi, MD
Class of 2020
Faheem Beg, MBBS
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Class of 2019
Wahaj Aman, MD
Class of 2018
Bashar Hannawi, MD
Class of 2017
Eric Bansal, MD
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Class of 2016
Paulino Alvarez, MD
Class of 2015
Nicholas Gramze, MD
Class of 2014
Jeffrey Dela Cruz, MD Corey Scruggs, MD |
Get In Touch
Program Contact
6550 Fannin St, Smith Tower 18-209
Houston, TX 77030
Tel. 346.238.5039
Email: CardioFellowship@houstonmethodist.org
Program Director
Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program
6550 Fannin St., Ste. SM1801
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.
Grant Submission Process – Pre Award
Israel Ramirez, Director, Office of Grants Administration
Jul 01 @ 11AM
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