In addition to the core programs in Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care, fellows have the option of pursuing specialized training in a conventional or innovative area of special clinical interest. Several of these tracks are described below.
Sleep Medicine
All fellows will receive a core education in sleep in their first two years of fellowship through a lecture series, participation in sleep clinics, and a regular polysomnogram conference. Fellows interested in making sleep disorders the focus of their career have the opportunity to pursue additional in-depth clinical training in sleep medicine, focusing on both respiratory and non-respiratory disorders of sleep. This will require an additional year of clinical work focusing on sleep in the ACGME-accredited sleep fellowship. Pulmonary fellows are accepted directly into the sleep fellowship without an additional application process.
Advanced Lung Disease and Lung Transplantation
A specialized pathway is available incorporating an additional year of training to develop the skills required to become an attending transplant pulmonologist; to provide a comprehensive outpatient experience in advanced lung disease subspecialty clinics; and to pursue scholarly work in lung transplantation or advanced lung disease.
Fellows will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of surgeons and transplant-trained advanced practice providers, nurse coordinators, pharmacists, physical therapists, speech pathologists, social workers, and nutritionists in the inpatient and outpatient setting. Fellows play an active role in the clinical services of one of the busiest and well-established lung transplant programs in the country.
SRTR Penn Lung Transplant Program Information
The fellow will have opportunities including:
- Training in the Penn outpatient advanced lung disease centers: interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, cystic fibrosis, and COPD
- Understanding patient selection criteria through participation in lung selection meetings
- Pre- and post-operative ICU management of the lung transplant candidate and recipient, including patients requiring ECMO
- Post-transplant bronchoscopy, including exposure to advanced bronchoscopic techniques
- Completing OPTN requirements for future medical directors of lung transplant programs
- Outpatient care of long-term transplant recipients
The fellowship runs from July to June yearly. Applicants are expected to be finishing or to have completed a pulmonary and critical care fellowship in an accredited program.
To apply, please submit a CV and a brief cover letter to the Fellowship Program Director. Qualified applicants will be required to submit letters of recommendation for interviews to be scheduled in August/September each year. For more information, please contact:
Andrew Courtwright, MD, PhD
Fellowship Program Director
Advanced Lung Disease and Lung Transplantation
Email: Andrew.Courtwright@uphs.upenn.edu
Interventional Pulmonology
A specialized pathway incorporating an additional year of training has been established to train fellows in advanced bronchoscopic, pleuroscopic and other techniques employed in the care of patients with lung disease. Skills acquired as part of this training include:
- Laser bronchoscopy
- Insertion of tracheal and bronchial stents
- Rigid bronchoscopy
- Endobronchial brachytherapy
- Insertion of chest tubes and PleurX catheters
- Pleuroscopy
- Percutaneous tracheostomy
Pulmonary Hypertension/Pulmonary Vascular Disease
The Pulmonary Hypertension/Pulmonary Vascular Disease Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania is a 1-year non-ACGME accredited fellowship opportunity at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. Our PH/PVD program was established in the 1980’s and is a PHA-accredited Center of Comprehensive Care, based in the Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care and Cardiovascular Medicine Divisions.
In this program, fellows will gain extensive experience in the diagnosis, assessment and management across the spectrum of PH/PVD. Fellows will become proficient in the interpretation of diagnostic data including imaging modalities (CT, echo, VQ scan, cardiac MRI), pulmonary function testing, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, and performance of right heart catheterization and interpretation of cardiopulmonary hemodynamics. Fellows will also become proficient in the treatment of PH in the acute and chronic settings, as well as participate in rotations across relevant subspecialties including rheumatology, adult congenital heart disease, advanced heart failure/transplantation, advanced lung disease and lung transplantation, and advanced liver disease, among others. Fellows will be involved in scholarly activity including case-conferences, CTEPH conference, journal club and will be provided mentorship in the analysis and execution of PH/PVD-related research.
The fellowship is open to physicians who have completed an ACGME accredited fellowship in Cardiology or Pulmonary/Critical Care. Interested applicants should submit their CV, a cover letter explaining their career goals and interest in the program and 3 letters of recommendation to our education coordinator, Denice Susini at Denice.Susini@pennmedicine.upenn.edu by October 15.
Cyrus Vahdatpour, MBBCh, MS
Medical School: Trinity College of Dublin
Residency Program: Pennsylvania Hospital
Pulmonary Critical Care Fellowship: University of Florida Health
Other Options
By special arrangement, fellows may develop their own advanced clinical training pathways. In recent years, fellows have extended their core clinical training with advanced studies in allergy and immunology, critical care administration, post-graduate education administration, and international health.