Cardiothoracic Imaging

Two cardiothoracic imaging fellowship positions per year are available. Candidates for the Cardiothoracic Imaging Fellowship must (1) successfully complete an ACGME-accredited US or Canadian radiology residency program prior to the start of the fellowship, (2) be able to obtain a full unrestricted Georgia Medical License, and (3) be board eligible/certified. Please see the Georgia Composite Medical Board website for additional details about Georgia medical licensing.

Apply for a 2022-2023 fellowship position.

Apply for a 2023-2024 fellowship position.

EMORY UNIVERSITY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

The Cardiothoracic Imaging Fellowship program offered by the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences in the Emory University School of Medicine is designed to train radiologists to be highly competent in all aspects of cardiothoracic imaging. Training provides a complete experience, preparing the trainee through diverse clinical exposure in diagnostic cardiothoracic radiology, research, and teaching. Teaching opportunities are available with medical students, radiology residents, and pulmonary fellows. Fellows are expected to participate in at least one cardiothoracic research project that culminates in a presentation at a national meeting and/or publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

The Emory Cardiothoracic Imaging Fellowship emphasizes excellence in training with cutting-edge technology, valuable experiences in collaboration with cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery oncology, and pulmonary and critical care medicine, all with great diversity of pathology. A series of well-designed rotations provides excellent hands-on experiences in all aspects of diagnostic cardiothoracic imaging including advanced cardiac MRI applications, high-resolution CT (HRCT), cardiac CT imaging, vascular imaging, MR and CT angiography, and lung cancer screening. Our multiple hospital centers allow fellows to gain comprehensive exposure to referring clinicians, clinical context, and patient management. Fellows will receive hands-on training and protocol development at the MR scanner, which is an integral part of the fellowship. Vascular imaging exposes the learner to aortic pathology including aneurysm, dissection spectrum, postoperative aortic repair complications, and trauma.

In addition to providing clinical training at the highest level, our fellowship also focuses on our people, teamwork, wellness, diversity, and inclusion. Our fellowship benefits from the Emory School of Medicine's substantial physical resources, collaborative and collegial work environment, high-quality teaching programs, ethos of innovation and discovery, and a shared commitment to excellence.

Our fellowship's greatest asset is its diverse team of outstanding faculty, each with a unique area of expertise. Division of Cardiothoracic Imaging faculty members are friendly, knowledgeable, experienced, and active in national societies. Previous fellows have described the year as educational, exciting, and enjoyable.

Training affords experience with a broad spectrum of cardiopulmonary diseases due to the great diversity in the patient populations of our various hospitals. The fellowship includes experience with cases at Emory University Hospital, The Emory Clinic, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital, and Grady Memorial Hospital. Rotations include plain film chest radiography (outpatient 2-view chest radiographs), ICU portable chest radiography, inpatient CT, outpatient CT, CT/MR vascular/aorta, and cardiac CT/MR.

Emory University Hospital (EUH) Cardiac MRI and Cardiac CT

The rotation consists primarily of CT and MRI examinations performed on sick inpatients and outpatients, including those with complex congenital cardiac disease. Fellows will work closely with fellowship-trained cardiac radiologists and cardiologists, and gain invaluable insights into the latest cardiac MRI applications and receive training in advanced cardiac CT and MRI post processing.

Emory University Hospital Midtown Vascular Imaging

This rotation includes a high volume of cases including acute aortic CT, post-operative aortic CT (including endografts, trans aortic cardiac valve repair (TAVR) and other cardiac valve repairs, pulmonary vein ablation, and left atrial appendage occlusion device placement. Cardiothoracic fellows will read out cases under the supervision of subspecialty-trained cardiothoracic CT faculty.

Emory University Hospital/Emory University Hospital Midtown Thoracic CT

This includes inpatient and outpatient CT imaging plus acute overnight CT cases with preliminary reports issued by the on-call residents. Cardiothoracic fellows will read out cases under the supervision of cardiothoracic faculty. Thoracic imaging fellows also handle outpatient examinations with a high volume of examinations for primary and metastatic lung neoplasm, plus chest imaging of non-thoracic primary tumors, pulmonary embolism, and lung transplant cases.

Emory University Hospital/Emory University Hospital Midtown Chest Radiography

Cardiothoracic fellows will build on their fundamentals and really learn the art of chest radiography under the supervision of experienced cardiothoracic faculty. Chest radiography and CT comprise up to a third of general private practice cases, making this experience invaluable to fellows pursuing careers as general or private practice radiologists.

Emory University Hospital High-Resolution CT Imaging

The cardiothoracic fellows will have the opportunity to focus on the HRCT imaging of interstitial lung diseases, including lung transplant cases; airway diseases; acute and chronic, idiopathic and secondary interstitial lung disease; and sarcoidosis, all under the supervision of subspecialist faculty.

Grady Cardiothoracic Imaging

The Grady Hospital rotation incorporates a high volume of cases of chest trauma, acute chest pain imaging including CTA/CTPA, as well as imaging of advanced cancers, sickle cell disease, and infections including HIV and TB. Grady hospital also has a large volume of lung cancer screening patients receiving low-dose thoracic CT.

Interdisciplinary Rotations: Echocardiography (ECHO), Interventional Cardiology, Pulmonary Medicine and Pathology/Cytopathology

Cardiothoracic fellows will have opportunities to rotate in echocardiography as well as in the cardiac catheterization lab. Fellows can spend time in the pulmonary function testing laboratory/pulmonary medicine to understand the interplay of anatomic and functional testing and imaging. Cardiothoracic fellows also may rotate in pathology/cytopathology to experience and to better understand the interdisciplinary team work that is needed in managing interstitial and other lung diseases.

Other Radiology Subspecialty Rotations

Cardiothoracic fellows will have opportunities to rotate in other areas such as nuclear medicine PET/CT imaging, abdominal imaging, etc. Other specialties and modalities like PET/CT overlap with cardiothoracic imaging and the fellow can gain insights into how these imaging techniques complement each other and their intersecting roles in patient diagnosis, treatment planning and follow up.

On Call

Cardiothoracic fellows will take on call no more than 12 weekends a year. The fellow will be on call with an attending cardiothoracic radiologist and two radiology residents. Cardiothoracic imaging studies will be read from the Emory University Hospital main campus for both Emory Healthcare and Grady Memorial Hospital.

The fellows gain experience and skills necessary to become an expert in the multiple subspecialties of cardiothoracic imaging. Cardiothoracic radiology fellows attend and participate in a weekly Thoracic Tumor Board, Cardiothoracic Case Conference, and an Interstitial Lung Disease Multidisciplinary Conference. 

Fellows can prepare cases with faculty guidance at the following conferences (all times are Eastern Standard/Daylight Saving Time):

• Saint Joseph’s Hospital Thoracic Oncology Conference, biweekly on Tuesdays at 7:30 a.m.
• Emory University Hospital – Emory Midtown Hospital Thoracic Tumor Board, weekly on Tuesdays at 5 p.m.
• Grady Aerodigestive Conference, weekly on Wednesdays at 4 p.m.
• Saint Joseph's Hospital General Thoracic Conference, biweekly on Thursdays at 7:30 a.m.
• Emory University Interstitial Lung Disease Conference, weekly on Fridays at 2 p.m.

The fellows are encouraged to attend the following conferences while on rotations (all times are Eastern Standard/Daylight Saving Time):

• Heart and Vascular Grand Rounds, Mondays from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., online currently.
• Nuclear Medicine Lecture Series, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m.
• Grady Memorial Hospital, Fellows Conference, Mondays noon to 1:00 p.m., Cardiology Conference Room, C-249.
• Vascular Surgery Conference, Tuesdays at 6:30 a.m., online currently.
• Emory University Hospital, Department Of Medicine Grand Rounds, Tuesdays from noon to 1:00 p.m., online currently.
• Emory University Hospital, Cardiology Fellows Core Curriculum Conference, Wednesdays from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.
• Grady Memorial Hospital, Cardiology Fellows Conference, Wednesdays from noon to 1:00 p.m., room FOB101.
• STR Cardiothoracic Case Webinar. Thursdays from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., online.
• Emory University Hospital, Cardiology Fellows Conference, Fridays from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., online at present.
• Emory University Hospital, Clinical Cardiovascular Research Conference, Fridays from noon to 1:00 p.m., online at present.
• Emory University Hospital  Midtown, ECHO Conference, Fridays from noon to 1:00 p.m.
  

There are a number of dedicated and recurring educational conferences and opportunities that are provided to the cardiothoracic imaging fellows:

• Fellows’ Peer Learning Conference: This features robust discussion of difficult diagnoses in order to highlight blind spots, cultivate a culture of lifelong learning, and to teach fellows the broad categories of perceptual and interpretive errors.

• Interesting Case Conference: This is a case-based conference aimed at giving trainees practical experience taking a variety of cases in real-time with faculty feedback. It is attended by all available cardiothoracic imaging faculty, fellows, residents, and other trainees from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. every Friday. It is a great time for fellows to gain feedback from faculty and also learn different faculty approaches to cases as well as next steps in management and communication of findings.

• Cardiothoracic Imaging Journal Club: Four evening journal clubs offer time to discuss and critique current literature across a variety of topics chosen by the fellows and guided by an assigned mentor. This experience is designed to help fellows sharpen their critical thinking and analytical approach to the literature and to discern practical applications.

Our fellows utilize one academic day per week for research and teaching purposes. Trainees are encouraged to participate in projects of their own design or those of the faculty. We support fellows across a broad range of interests and experience in research; therefore, we present fellows with a variety of ways to choose a project ranging from brainstorming with faculty during read-outs to a shared list of all active research projects in our division.

Each fellow is strongly encouraged to submit a poster/presentation and/or paper to one of the annual meetings. Cardiothoracic fellows attend and are encouraged to present at national meetings, including but not limited to ARRS, AUR, NASCI, SABI, SCCT, SCMR, STR, and RSNA. We often have a large group of Emory faculty, residents, fellows and alumni gather at these events, which provides fellows a great opportunity to network and connect.

A $2,500 Professional Development Fund (PDF) is available for educational purposes, most commonly for attending and presenting at a professional association meeting. The division allows one week of conference time per calendar year for education/CME opportunities.

School of Medicine investigators have access to a comprehensive range of core facilities and innovative technologies to support their research. Along with advanced tools and equipment, the integrated core facilities offer the expertise of multidisciplinary teams experienced in supporting research across the Woodruff Health Sciences Center, which includes the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences in the School of Medicine.

The Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences has six areas of research discovery. In addition to clinical research, complete animal laboratory facilities are available. Research facilities include the Center for Systems Imaging Core, one of the Emory Integrated Core Facilities. The center boasts both human and animal imaging capabilities, with several 3T MR scanners and HRRT PET for human studies and MR and PET-CT imaging for small animal studies.

Other imaging sciences research partners include the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, one of only eight national primate research labs in the US, the Georgia Tech/Emory Biomedical Eingineering Consortium, which is ranked second in the nation, and the Medical Imaging, Informatics, and AI Core.

The Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences values work-life balance and the Division of Cardiothoracic Imaging takes intentional steps to support the well-being of our faculty, fellows, and trainees. We are proud of our people and our community. This family-friendly division supports our trainees both inside and outside of work, facilitating flexibility wherever needed and offers the following:

• Cut-off times for reading outpatient imaging studies to ensure trainees end their reading room shifts on time;
• Wellness lunches;
• Maternity and paternity leave; and
• Avenues for anonymous feedback to the fellowship program director.

Wellness and Well-Being

Fellows in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences benefit from numerous programs and resources for wellness and well-being.

• Emory Radiology Wellness
• Emory Radiology Well-Being and Safety

Life in Metro Atlanta

Learn more about what makes metro Atlanta such a wonderful place to live and work on the following pages:

• Visiting Atlanta: Things to Do and See
• Living in Atlanta