Welcome from the Program Director

Welcome to our program!

Thank you for your interest in our program.  The Advanced Heart Failure Program at the University of Rochester Medical Center is an ACGME accredited Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Fellowship that offers intensive training for clinical fellows who plan to have a career focused on treating patients with heart failure, cardiac transplantation and mechanical circulatory support.

This is a comprehensive program; providing all aspects of heart failure care. We are an international leader in implanting ventricular assist devices and have helped pioneer less invasive methods for LVAD implantation and developed novel programs to monitor these patients remotely. We have the only heart transplantation program in Upstate and Western NY serving as the referral center to many hospitals and clinics including other university health systems in the area. 

We are also a leading research center, both in the basic and clinical arenas.  The Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute consists of more than 60 scientists studying the genetic, cellular and molecular mechanisms of heart failure and is part of our university’s larger biomedical research enterprise in Upstate New York, with nearly 500 faculty members spread across approximately 40 departments and research centers.  Our program has led major international trials in heart failure. The  Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation family of trials (MADIT I, MADIT II, MADIT-CRT)  have been truly paradigm shifting in our field and have made a significant impact on survival in our HF patients using ICDs and CRT devices .  Prospective fellows are afforded many opportunities to ask their own research questions using these large well-established databases.

The University of Rochester is a top academic institution and has been recognized as one of the 25 “New Ivies”.  The medical school is one of the oldest and most respected in the United States receiving national attention for its “Double Helix” curriculum and the establishment of the Biopsychosocial model that are used in many other medical schools.  The Biopsychosocial model in particular is emphasized as part of the core training for heart failure fellows and will serve as an important skill for the rest of their careers.

Rochester, NY is a picturesque, mid-sized city overflowing with cultural, recreational, and scenic opportunities. In 2012, Forbes called it the nation’s 14th most innovative city. That same year, The Daily Beast listed it as one of the top 10 smartest cities in America in 2010 and Bloomberg Businessweek ranked Rochester among America’s 50 best cities. Rochester boasts an international jazz festival, a thriving orchestra, several theaters, and countless festivals and fairs.  Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes, gorgeous public parks and trailways, and the Genesee River – with its impressive waterfalls—offer an open invitation to explore the natural world.

Heart failure continues to be an epidemic in this country and yet there continues to be a shortage of well-trained cardiologists to maintain the high-level of sophistication and dedication required to provide the best care to these patients. We hope to improve this situation by training superb heart failure cardiologists.  Our training program meets and exceeds all requirements needed for United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) certification for heart transplantation.  Many of our trainees have gone on to serve leadership roles in other heart failure sections throughout the country.

All prospective fellows are required to complete 36 months of an accredited Cardiovascular Fellowship Training Program in order to be eligible.  J-1 visas can be sponsored for applicants who are accepted into the program. Foreign medical graduates will need to have completed an ACGME-approved residency program in internal medicine prior to beginning the program. We value diversity of our institution and division and encourage and welcome all applicants.

We look forward to your further interest in our program. 

Please view How to Apply for required application materials.