Advanced Structural Heart Fellowship
The Advanced Structural Heart Fellowship at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is a one-year, non-ACGME-accredited fellowship. The goals of the fellowship are to allow the fellow to gain exposure and expertise in structural heart disease conditions, including diagnosis, evaluation, procedural techniques and follow-up care to succeed in clinical practice. Typical diseases encountered during the year will include valvular disease (i.e., aortic, mitral, tricuspid and pulmonic), adult congenital heart disease, interventional heart failure structural procedures and other disease conditions managed by interventional cardiology.
Program Overview
- Duration: 12 months
- Program type: Non-ACGME-accredited advanced fellowship
- Prerequisite training: Completion of cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology fellowship training
- Start date: July 1
- Positions: One fellow per year
- Training site: Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois
About the Fellowship
Education & Clinical Experience
During this one-year fellowship, fellows spend 12 months training in structural heart interventions and procedural care at Northwestern Memorial Hospital's main campus in Chicago. Clinical training includes a dedicated ambulatory clinic one day per week focused on structural interventional cardiology and comprehensive management of structural heart disease.
Fellows participate in a half-day imaging experience each week, gaining exposure to transesophageal echocardiography for valve procedure evaluation and screening, as well as to cardiac CT imaging. This includes preparing, analyzing, and planning CT scans for patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation using the 3mensio platform.
Additional clinical responsibilities include rounding on hospitalized structural heart patients, evaluating new structural heart consultations alongside the Valve Advanced Practice Provider team, and actively participating in the monthly Structural Heart Journal Club. Fellows will also attend weekly catheterization laboratory didactic sessions with general cardiology and interventional cardiology fellows.
Call Responsibilities
Fellows will participate in ST-elevation myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism response team and cardiogenic shock home call coverage, with a maximum call frequency of one in every three rotations.
Research & Scholarly Activities
Fellows receive one half-day of protected research time each week. Under the mentorship of a member of the structural heart faculty, fellows are expected to complete at least one research project during the fellowship year. Scholarly requirements include presenting at least one abstract at a national or international conference and publishing at least one manuscript.
Eligibility
Fellowship requirements:
- Completion of ACGME-accredited cardiovascular disease fellowship training, per American Board of Internal Medicine guidelines (ABIM) or the international equivalent
- Completion of ACGME-accredited interventional cardiology fellowship training, per ABIM guidelines or the international equivalent
- ABIM board certification or board eligibility
- Applicants must secure a full Illinois medical license before July 1.
- If applicable, international medical graduate applicants must also possess a valid ECFMG certification.
Application Process
Thank you for your interest in our program. Applications for the 2027–28 program are open. The following documents are required from each applicant:
- Curriculum vitae
- Personal statement (one-page maximum)
- USMLE/COMLEX transcript with Step 1, 2 and 3 scores
- ABIM board certificate
- ECFMG certificate (if applicable)
- One letter of recommendation from your cardiovascular disease fellowship program director
- Two letters of recommendation from cardiologists familiar with the candidate's work
Please forward all application documents to Vivian Kelly at cardsfellowship@nm.org.
Meet Our Fellow
Katherine McGee, MD
Interventional Cardiology Fellowship: Northwestern University
Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship: Northwestern University
