Fellowship Alumni

The Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program at the University of Virginia will give you all the tools you need to move on to the next step in your career. We have placed former fellows in many private practices, public health, professorships and more.

Our alumni have gone on to pursue diverse career paths, from renowned academic institutions to clinical practice settings and leadership roles. They have excelled in various subspecialties and are making a significant impact in pediatric cardiology. We celebrate the achievements of our alumni who continue to advance the field, improve patient care, and inspire future generations of pediatric cardiologists.

If you would like to hear first-hand from a former fellow, we will get you in touch with one in your area. Our fellows come from all over and head out to places far and wide when their fellowship has ended.

• Walter Hoyt – Electrophysiology and adult congenital-Oshsner Hospital for Children, New Orleans, LA
• Mark Michael – General/imaging cardiology – Children’s Hospital of New Jersey, Newark, NJ
• Shelby White – General/imaging/fetal cardiology – University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
• Andrew Kim – General/fetal cardiology – University of Virginia, Richmond, VA
• Jamie Colombo – General/fetal cardiology – Vanderbilt University/Monroe Carell Jr Children’s Hospital, Nashville, TN
• Vanessa Hormaza – General cardiology – Nemours Children’s Hospital, Orlando, FL
• Brandon Jones – General/imaging/fetal cardiology – Akron Children’s Hospital, Akron, OH
• Jimmy Smith – Cardiac ICU – University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
• Brian Madden – Heart failure/transplant cardiology – Northwestern University/Lurie Children’s, Chicago, IL
• Michael Shorofsky – Interventional cardiology – University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
• Benjamin Biddix – General Cardiology – Capital District Pediatric Associates – Albany, NY
• Brena Haughey – General/fetal cardiology – Captain, Air Force, San Antonio, TX
• Firezer Haregu – Heart failure/transplant cardiology – University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
• Mandy Nasworthy – General/inpatient cardiology- LSU/Children’s Hospital New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
• Andrew Reittinger – General/imaging/fetal cardiology – VCU/Children’s Hospital of Richmond, Richmond, VA

Recently we have had fellows present their research and/or quality initiatives at national meetings:

• American Heart Association
• American College of Cardiology
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery
• International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation
• Pediatric and Congenital Interventional Cardiovascular Society
• Congenital Heart Disease in the Adult Annual Conference

Fellows have also had a chance to successfully publish their research, quality initiatives, and review articles.  Some of the fellow articles over the past 6 years include:

• Biddix, B., Hainstock, M., Vergales, J., Shorofsky, M., Conaway, M., Mutters, T., & McCulloch, M. A. (2022). Standard volume infusion unmasked diastolic dysfunction in pediatric heart transplant recipients during surveillance cardiac catheterization, but without echocardiographic correlates. Pediatric Transplantation.
• Colombo, J. N., Hainstock, M. R., Spaeder, M. C., & Vergales, J. E. (2019). Economic implications of outpatient cardiac catheterization in infants with single ventricle congenital heart disease. Cardiology in the Young.
• Colombo, J. N., Sawda, C. N., & White, S. C. (2022). Cardiac Concerns in the Pediatric Athlete. In Clinics in Sports Medicine.
• Colombo, J. N., Spaeder, M. C., & Hainstock, M. R. (2018). Safety of outpatient cardiac catheterization in infants with single-ventricle or shunt-dependent biventricular congenital heart disease. Cardiology in the Young.
• Haregu, F., McCulloch, M., Wong, N., & Lim, D. S. (2023). (1107) Percutaneous Mitral Valve Repair in Pediatric Patients. The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation.
• Haregu, F., Porter, M., Dixon, J., & McCulloch, M. (2023). (1033) Effect of Practice Variation Amongst Organ Procurement Organizations on Pediatric Donor Heart Utilization. The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation.
• Haregu, F., Roeser, M., Gangemi, J. J., McCulloch, M., White, S., Alderson, T., Smith, P., Ellis, A., Tucker, E., Mamikonian, L., & Downs, E. (2023). (596) Trapped: Cardiac Herniation Requiring Transplant. The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation.
• Haregu, F, McCulloch, M., Vergales, B., Garrod, A., Conaway, M., & Hainstock, M. (2023). Transcatheter Occlusion of Left-To-Right Shunts in Premature Infants with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia. Neonatology.
• Haregu, Firezer, McDaniel, G., & Dean, P. (2021). Exercise and Sports Participation in Adolescents and Young Adults With Congenital Heart Disease. Current Treatment Options in Cardiovascular Medicine.
• Haughey, B. S., Dean, P., Spaeder, M. C., Smith, C. J., Conaway, M., & White, S. C. (2022). Gastrostomy tube placement in congenital cardiac surgery: a multi-institutional database study. Cardiology in the Young.
• Haughey, B. S., Elliott, M. R., Wiggin, J. Y., Conaway, M. R., White, S. C., Swanson, J. R., & Dean, P. N. (2023). Standardizing Prostaglandin Initiation in Prenatally Diagnosed Ductal-Dependent Neonates; A Quality Initiative. Pediatric Cardiology.
• Hormaza, V. M., Conaway, M., Schneider, D. S., & Vergales, J. E. (2019). The effect of right ventricular function on survival and morbidity following stage 2 palliation: An analysis of the single ventricle reconstruction trial public data set. Congenital Heart Disease.
• Jones, B. A., Conaway, M. R., Spaeder, M. C., & Dean, P. N. (2021). Hospital Survival After Surgical Repair of Truncus Arteriosus with Interrupted Aortic Arch: Results from a Multi-institutional Database. Pediatric Cardiology.
• Kim, A. S., Witzenburg, C. M., Conaway, M., Vergales, J. E., Holmes, J. W., L’Ecuyer, T. J., & Dean, P. N. (2019). Trajectory of right ventricular indices is an early predictor of outcomes in hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Congenital Heart Disease, 14(6), 1185–1192.
• Madden, B. A., Conaway, M. R., Zanelli, S. A., & McCulloch, M. A. (2022). Screening Echocardiography Identifies Risk Factors for Pulmonary Hypertension at Discharge in Premature Infants with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia. Pediatric Cardiology
• Naim MY, Putt M, Abend NS, Mastropietro CW, Frank DU, Chen JM, Fuller S, Gangemi JJ, Gaynor JW, Heinan K, Licht DJ, Mascio CE, Massey S, Roeser ME, Smith CJ, Kimmel SE. Development and Validation of a Seizure Prediction Model in Neonates After Cardiac Surgery. Ann Thorac Surg. 2021 Jun;111(6):2041-2048. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2020.05.157. Epub 2020 Jul 29. PMID: 32738224.
• Reittinger AM, Jackson LB, Dean PN. Preparticipation Cardiac Evaluation from the Pediatric Perspective. Cardiol Clin. 2023 Feb;41(1):1-14. doi: 10.1016/j.ccl.2022.08.001. Epub 2022 Oct 21. PMID: 36368806.
• Smith CJ, McCulloch MA, Shirley DA, L’Ecuyer TJ. Pediatric heart transplantation from an influenza B-positive donor. Pediatric Transplant. 2019 Mar;23(2):e13353. doi: 10.1111/petr.13353. Epub 2019 Jan 9. PMID: 30623994.
• Spaeder MC, Keller JM, Sawda CN, Surma VJ, Platter EN, White DN, Smith CJ, Harmon WG. Implementation of a Regional Oxygen Saturation Thought Algorithm and Association with Clinical Outcomes in Pediatric Patients Following Cardiac Surgery. Pediatric Cardiology. 2023 Apr;44(4):940-945. doi: 10.1007/s00246-022-03071-z. Epub 2022 Dec 13. PMID: 36512036; PMCID: PMC9745270.
• White, S. C., Dean, P. N., McGahren, E. D., Gangemi, J. J., & Vergales, J. (2018). Malrotation is not associated with adverse outcomes after cardiac surgery in patients with heterotaxy syndrome. Journal of Pediatric Surgery.
• Winder MM, Schwartz S, Buckley JR, Fogg KL, Matiasek M, Lyman A, Tortorich A, Holmes K, Frank DU, Nasworthy M, Vichayavilas PE, Bertrandt RA, Kasmai C, Kuester JC, Raymond TT, Greiten LE, Reeder RW, Bailly DK. Optimal Fat-Modified Diet Duration for the Treatment of Postoperative Chylothorax in Children. Ann Thorac Surg. 2024 Jul;118(1):181-187. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2023.05.021. Epub 2023 Jun 10. PMID: 37308065.
• Wong N, Shorofsky M, Lim DS. Catheter-based Interventions in Tetralogy of Fallot Across the Lifespan. CJC Pediatr Congenit Heart Dis. 2023 Sep 15;2(6Part A):339-351. doi: 10.1016/j.cjcpc.2023.09.005. PMID: 38161670; PMCID: PMC10755836