Why Choose Our Program?
Welcome to the University of Rochester Cardiology Division and the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Training Program​. Our mission is to train master clinicians prepared to provide comprehensive cardiac care to diverse patient populations and lead the cardiology community's education and research efforts.
- The University of Rochester Medical Center/Strong Memorial Hospital is a quaternary care hospital and home to our Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Training Program.
- We have over 50 full-time clinical and research faculty members specializing in clinical cardiology, advanced imaging, critical care, mechanical support, advanced heart failure and heart transplant, interventional cardiology including structural interventions, electrophysiology, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, hypertension, quality improvement, and clinical and basic science research.
- In recent years, we have seen tremendous growth in our faculty and services, including recruitment of numerous physicians and scientists, construction of a new cardiovascular intensive care unit, expansion of our left ventricular assist device program to one of the largest volume centers in the nation, and a revamping of our fellowship research program.
- High volume procedures performed in our cardiac catheterization laboratory include percutaneous coronary intervention, percutaneous intervention of valvular heart disease, Mitraclip, atrial septal defect and patent foramen ovale closure, left atrial appendage closure, alcohol septal ablation for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and mechanical circulatory support including ECMO, intra aortic balloon pump, and Impella.
We are the only heart transplant center in Upstate New York, and among the top ECMO and left ventricular assist device implant centers in the United States.
University of Rochester Medical Center has the largest electrophysiology program in upstate New York. We perform high volume advanced catheter ablation procedures for atrial fibrillation (cryoballoon ablation, radiofrequency ablation, and pulse field ablation) and ventricular tachycardia. We are also the only institution in the Rochester area to utilize robotic catheter ablation.
There are a multitude of basic science and clinical research opportunities available to our fellows. The Clinical Cardiovascular Research Center (CCRC) continues to advance four decades of cardiology research. The Heart Research Follow-up Program (HRFUP) is a world renowned program performing all of the initial ICD trials and continues to design, conduct and analyze small-and-large-scale, national and international clinical studies.
As of July 1, 2023, we received approval to increase our fellow complement from five to six fellows per year. By July 1, 2025, we will have 18 approved, filled ACGME positions. We also recently received 10 year ACGME re-accreditation without citation.
I invite you to explore the links of this web page for more detailed information regarding our specific rotations, our curriculum, and our current fellows, along with application information. We participate in the ERAS Application Service.
Our Leadership:
Burr W. Hall, M.D.
Program Director, Cardiovascular Fellowship Training Program
Professor of Medicine
Burr W. Hall Profile
Dr. Burr Hall grew up on a farm in Rochester, NY. He completed his medical education at the University of Rochester, followed by an internal medicine residency at the University of Virginia, and a cardiology and electrophysiology fellowship at the University of Michigan. In 2004, Dr. Hall joined the faculty at the University of Rochester, where he has since dedicated his time to working in the electrophysiology lab and directing the Heart Station. In 2020, he was appointed as the director of the cardiology fellowship program.
In his free time, Dr. Hall enjoys spending time with his family and his beloved Pug, Dumpling. He is also a self-declared expert in trout fishing in the Finger Lakes.
Christopher T. Sciria, M.D.
Senior Associate Program Director, Cardiovascular Fellowship Training Program
Christopher Sciria Profile
Dr. Christopher Sciria grew up in Buffalo, NY and went to SUNY Buffalo for medical school. He completed his residency and was chief resident at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, followed by a cardiology fellowship at Weill-Cornell Medical Center in New York City. He joined the faculty at the University of Rochester in 2022 with a special interest in medical education and cardiac imaging.
Dr. Sciria is a diehard Buffalo Bills fan and enjoys classic rock music, vinyl records, classic movies, American history and 20th century art.
Erin Armenia, M.D.
Associate Program Director, Cardiovascular Fellowship Training Program
Dr. Erin Armenia, Associate Program Director, is a native of Albany, NY. She completed her undergraduate studies at NYU, medical school at the University at Buffalo, and internal medicine residency at the University of Colorado. She completed fellowships in cardiovascular disease and clinical cardiac electrophysiology at the University of Rochester. She served as Chief Fellow of the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship and was the recipient of the Bordley Award for Fellowship Teaching. She decided to stay in Rochester as a faculty member because of the warm, collegial work environment, with close proximity to family and great quality of life.
Dr. Armenia loves to ski and wishes that all four seasons were winter (like a true Upstate New Yorker). She also enjoys urban hiking (long walks) with her daughter, real hiking, cycling, coffee, and all things Nintendo.
Charles D. Nicolais, M.D.
Associate Program Director, Cardiovascular Fellowship Training Program
Dr. Nicolais completed his medical degree at George Washington School of Medicine and Health Science in 2012, followed by an Internal Medicine residency and Cardiology fellowship at Temple University Hospital, where he also served as Chief Resident and Chief Fellow. He pursued further felllwship training in Interventional Cardiology and Structural Heart Interventions at The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Since completing his training in 2021, Dr. Nicolais has been serving as an Interventional and Structural Heart Cardiologist at St. Joseph Health Hospital in Syracuse, NY. Dr. Nicolais performs diagnostic catherterizations, complex percutaneous coronary intervention, and pulmonary emobolism intervention. He also specializes in evaluation and treatment of structural heart disease. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology.
Amy Gregory
Senior Program Administrator
Amy Gregory was born and raised in the suburbs of Rochester, NY. She has worked at the University of Rochester for 28 years, 24 of those years as a clinical secretary in Cardiology, before taking this position in 2020. She loves working with our fellows and is dedicated to helping them in any way she can.
Amy enjoys camping, gardening and spending time with her family, grand dog and grand kitties.
Angel Mellema
Program Administrator II
Angel Mellema, is a Rochester native, though she has traveled and enjoyed residing in several other states. She graduated summa cum laude earning her Bachelor of Business Administration from SUNY Empire and is pursuing graduate studies in the same. Angel has worked in various business settings more recently joining the URMC family excitedly declaring the GME world her niche.
Outside of work, Angel has a young son and cute dog with whom she enjoys spending her free time as well as reading, traveling and looks forward to furthering her education while growing in the UR community.