Research Training
Research is a cornerstone of the Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, offering trainees at all levels the opportunity to engage in impactful scientific discovery. Fellows work closely with faculty mentors to develop individualized research plans, gain hands-on experience with advanced methodologies, and contribute to projects spanning basic, translational, and clinical investigation. Regular progress reviews, weekly research-in-progress conferences, and grant-writing workshops support scholarly development and success in competitive funding opportunities. Many fellows benefit from structured research support through the NIH-funded Training Program in Imaging Sciences in Translational Cardiovascular Research (T32), which emphasizes multimodality imaging, translational science, and data-driven discovery. Additionally, the division provides intramural support to cardiology fellows to support individual research projects during fellowship, and the Department of Medicine also provides career development opportunities through its Physician Scientist Incubator program. Through this robust and flexible training environment, fellows acquire the skills, mentorship, and resources needed to bridge innovation and clinical practice while preparing for leadership roles in academic medicine.
Cardiology Fellow Research Grants
Here is a small sampling of some of the general cardiology fellow research projects from the past several years that have been funded through the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute. Funds are available on a competitive basis to fund the projects of cardiology fellows during their period of research training.
For more information, please contact:
Denise Goppman
Fellowship Coordinator
412-647-3429
goppmanda@upmc.edu
| FELLOW | MENTOR(S) | PROJECT |
| Anna Larosa, MD | Jared Magnani, MD, MSc | Association of area deprivation index and outcomes in transcatheter aortic valve implantation |
| Sae Jang, MD | Flordeliza Villanueva, MD, PhD | In vivo microbubble biophysical behavior under ultrasound excitation |
| Tanmay Gokhale, MD, PhD | Samir Saba, MD | Predicting response to cardiac resynchronization therapy using machine learning |
| Lindsey Cilia, MD | Jeffrey Fowler, DO | Laboratory Developed Test Using Radiometer Hemoglobin Assay to Detect Plasma Free Hemoglobin in Patients on Mechanical Circulatory Support |
| Daniel Shplisky, MD | Stephen Chan, MD, PhD | Persistent Postoperative Pulmonary Hypertension after Mitral Valve Surgery for Mitral Regurgitation as a Predictor for Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality |
| Jonathan Pollock, MD | Timothy Wong, MD | Cardiovascular outcomes in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with elevated troponin and/or myocardial fibrosis on cardiovascular magnetic resonance |
| Amy Marino, MD | Dennis McNamara, MD | Investigating the Link Between Preeclampsia and Peripartum Cardiomyopathy: A Cross Sectional Evaluation of Cardiac Dysfunction in Women with Severe Preeclampsia |
| Amr Barakat, MD | Dennis Bruemmer, MD Samir Saba, MD | Atrial Telomere Length and the Risk of Prevalent and Incident Atrial Fibrillation |
| Malamo Countouris, MD | Janet Catov, PhD Flordeliza Villanueva, MD, PhD | Placental Malperfusion and Association with Later Life Global Longitudinal Strain and Diastolic Dysfunction |
| George Cater, MD | Stephen Chan, MD, PhD | Quantitative Assessment of the Extracellular Matrix in a Rat model of PH-HFpEF |
| Michael Genuardi, MD | Sanjay Patel, MD, MS Jared Magnani, MD, MSc Stephen Chan, MD, PhD | Cardiovascular outcomes and mortality in patients with obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension |
| Polakit Teekakirikul, MD | Cecilia Lo, PhD | Identifying Genetic Etiology of Familial Atrial Septal Defect in a Five Generation Pedigree |