Career-defining Mentorship and Support: Lurie Children’s Premier Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago offers a competitive and rigorous three-year pediatric cardiology fellowship program designed to train the next generation of exceptional clinical cardiologists and future leaders in the field. The program includes:  

• Comprehensive Training: Fellows gain in-depth experience in all aspects of pediatric cardiology, including clinical care, research and education. Fellows rotate through subspecialties such as imaging, heart failure/transplant, electrophysiology and fetal cardiology, among others. Furthermore, fellows can opt for a fourth year in subspecialties including interventional catheterization, heart failure/transplant, electrophysiology, CICU and non-invasive cardiac imaging.
• Exceptional Mentorship: Fellows are mentored by world-renowned pediatric cardiologists at Lurie Children’s and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine who provide individualized guidance, support and opportunities for professional growth.    
• Cutting-Edge Research: Fellows are guaranteed time and are encouraged to pursue innovative clinical, translational and basic science research. Learn more about the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute. 
• Strong Academic Foundation: Fellows have access to a rich academic environment, participating in a carefully curated cardiology curriculum, grand rounds, conferences and options to complete certificate courses in advocacy, bioethics, education and global health.
• Collaborative Environment: The program fosters a collaborative and supportive learning environment where fellows work closely with a multidisciplinary team of experts.     
   

Past and Current Fellow Spotlights  

Dr. Keira Nassetta is in her third year of cardiology fellowship at Lurie Children’s, following completion of her residency here. She was drawn to Lurie Children’s for cardiology fellowship training, she said, because of its range of experts in niche fields, including those in her primary clinical areas of interest: pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary vein stenosis (PVS).  
  
Her mentors here, particularly Drs. Amanda Hauck and Paul Tannous, are experts in the field.  In addition to gaining a range clinical experience, Dr. Nassetta is on track to publish outcomes for premature infants with pulmonary vein stenosis, which are on par with the largest and busiest pediatric heart centers in the U.S., she said.   
  
“From the beginning of fellowship, my mentors have helped me develop projects that are both interesting from a clinical standpoint and feasible on a three-year timeline,” Dr. Nassetta said.  
  
Finally, the camaraderie of the Lurie Children’s Cardiology and CV surgery team has been a remarkable part of her experience.   
  
“Every cardiologist at Lurie Children’s knows me personally, and cares about my wellbeing,” she said. “They are a group of kind and caring people who also happen to be brilliant.”  
  

From Fellow to Faculty  

Dr. Lajja Desai was able to curate a unique fellowship experience when she came to Lurie Children’s in 2015. With an undergraduate engineering degree and interest in devices and tech, she sought to explore the power of new technology in cardiology. Between the supportive faculty at Lurie Children’s, and interest from Northwestern University’s biomedical engineering program, Dr. Desai found a place where her ideas were nurtured.  
  
 “As long as I was willing to put in the work, I had people supporting and mentoring me,” Dr. Desai recalls.  
  
Dr. Desai pursued electrophysiology as her fellowship focus with mentors in both cardiology and engineering. With their encouragement and guidance, Dr. Desai secured research funding, and was able to launch a study during her fellowship, Novel Non-invasive Cardiac MRI Techniques to Estimate Oxygen Saturations in Pediatric Heart Disease.   
  
She, along with Michael Markl, PhD, and the Cardiovascular MRI Group at Northwestern Medicine, worked with Ohio State University to refine a protocol to measure oxygen saturations via MRI and potentially reduce the need for invasive procedures. Data thus far has shown that MRI saturation values correlate with the current gold standard of invasive catheterization measurements. She and the team are working on manuscripts and publications about their work.  
  
Dr. Desai said when she was offered a faculty position at Lurie Children’s following her fellowship, there was little hesitation.   
  
“I was trying to do something unique, and they recognized that and there was value in that,” she said. “And they provided the mentorship and the time to do it.”