Cardiothoracic Imaging
PLEASE NOTE: If you are interested in a Cardiovascular Imaging Fellowship in Cardiology, please click here.
Our Program
The Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging at the University of Virginia offers one fellowship position in Cardiothoracic Imaging.
The Cardiothoracic Imaging fellowship includes a balanced combination of cardiovascular and thoracic imaging during the year of training. The cardiac imaging content of the training year includes hands-on experience in the acquisition and interpretation of cardiac CT and MRI for all indications, including coronary CTA, pre- and post-intervention structural CT/MRI, stress MRI, and pediatric and adult congenital heart disease. The vascular imaging service provides the full breadth of cross-sectional vascular imaging including CTA for acute traumatic injuries, gastrointestinal bleeding, mesenteric ischemia, pre- and post-operative evaluation of acute and chronic aortic pathology, and MRA/MRV for congenital abnormalities, transplant vascular stenosis, vascular malformations, and vasculitis. For thoracic imaging, the trainee will acquire experience in conventional radiography, CT, and MRI of the chest, focused on pulmonary, mediastinal, and pleural pathology including interstitial and occupational lung disease, primary lung and metastatic thoracic malignancy, and lung transplant. Fellows are offered elective opportunity to gain experience in thoracic image-guided procedures using ultrasound and CT. Fellows are asked to participate in four thoracic weekend calls and one buddy (directly supervised by a thoracic attending) call to prepare for independent call coverage.
Cardiothoracic fellows will actively participate in multidisciplinary meetings with the Departments of Cardiology, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Pulmonology, and Pathology, as well as in daily teaching activities through interactions with residents, medical students, and clinical faculty. In addition to teaching at the workstation and the rotating didactic teaching curriculum, fellows will have the opportunity to present and participate in formal case conferences in the classroom and small group settings, and share cases in a supportive bi-weekly thoracic peer learning conference.
Fellows are encouraged to engage in research or other academic pursuits during training, and regular academic time is provided to those who do. Participation in national meetings is also encouraged and financial support is provided for fellows presenting scientific research and educational content. Research opportunities in both cardiovascular and thoracic imaging are offered.
Cardiovascular
Radiologists
Dr. Patrick Norton (Co-Director, Fellowship Program)
Dr. Thomas Battey
Dr. Klaus Hagspiel (Division Director, Noninvasive Cardiovascular Imaging)
Dr. Nabeel Hassan
Cardiologists
Dr. Christopher Kramer (Division Director, Cardiovascular Medicine)
Dr. Jamieson M. Bourque (Medical Director of Nuclear Cardiology)
Dr. Jonathan Pan (Division of Cardiovascular Medicine)
Dr. Amit Patel (Director of CT/MRI, Cardiology)
Dr. Patricia Rodriguez Lozano (Division of Cardiovascular Medicine)
Dr. Todd Villines (Division of Cardiovascular Medicine)
Thoracic
Dr. Alan Ropp (Co-Director, Fellowship Program)
Dr. Thomas Battey
Dr. Juliana Elias (Vice Chair of Educational Operations for Radiology)
Dr. Nabeel Hassan
Dr. Juan Olazagasti
Dr. Michael Sneider (Section Chief, Thoracic Imaging)
We use state of the art Siemens and GE equipment for cardiothoracic imaging, including dual source/dual energy CT and 1.5T and 3T cardiovascular MRI systems. UVA is also one of only three US institutions equipped to perform clinical MRIs with inhaled hyperpolarized Xenon gas, an emerging state-of-the-art technique for functional lung imaging.
Overnight “24/7” ED Coverage
The UVA Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging offers internal moonlighting involving the interpretation of overnight ED studies. Most MSK and some other clinical instructors participate, but participation is optional. Participating instructors are provided with a home workstation, which allows for this coverage to largely be done from home if desired. Participants are also pardoned from regular daytime clinical duties for up to two weeks of the academic year to enable this coverage. Subspecialty faculty are available for backup coverage should a question arise overnight. Various advanced imaging studies or complicated cases where a subspecialty read is necessary can receive a preliminary report overnight with final read by a subspecialty attending in the morning. Subspecialty services are also available for urgent overnight procedures, such that the clinical instructors can focus on diagnostic studies. The program has helped our fellows to maintain and further develop general radiology skills for both boards preparation and practice, while also increasing their confidence in independent image interpretation. Notably, contributing to this coverage also supplements income by approximately $15,000 / week.
Weekend Call
A select number of thoracic weekend incentive calls are currently offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Per-Click Program
Additional moonlighting in the form of per-click reads is also available to interested fellows.
Applying for 2027-2028 Positions
As a non-match fellowship, our program complies with the timeline established by the Society of Chairs of Academic Radiology Departments (SCARD). Our program cannot accept applications or offer an opportunity to interview until November 1, 2025. Applications may be uploaded to Interfolio, but will not be reviewed until November 1.
Exceptions to the SCARD embargo include:
- Applicants whose spouse/domestic partner is also applying for a medical fellowship in the same year
- Internal candidates
- Military candidates
- International candidates – international candidates are defined as applicants from programs that are neither ACGME or RCPS programs (i.e. Canadian applicants are NOT excluded from the embargo.)
Interviews will begin January 12, 2025 and must be completed by March 31, 2026. A personal interview is required for all applicants. Interviews will be conducted virtually for this cycle upon the recommendation of SCARD.
To apply for this position, please go to https://apply.interfolio.com/172550. For full consideration, applications must include a curriculum vitae, cover letter/personal statement, USMLE transcript that includes Step 1, 2, and 3 scores (or equivalent), and ECFMG (if applicable). Three current letters of recommendation are to be sent directly to the program administrator Sandy Kerns at sk9ef@uvahealth.org.
Acceptance into the program will be on a rolling basis. Per SCARD guidelines, noon eastern standard time on January 26, 2026 is the first day offers may be made. Applicants have until noon January 28, 2026 to accept or decline any offer made before January 28. For any offer made on or after January 28, the candidate has a one-day grace period (noon eastern standard time) to accept or decline the offer.
For questions about the position or fellowship, please contact Sandy Kerns at sk9ef@uvahealth.org.
Additional Application Information
Fellows are selected on the basis of their medical training, general and academic achievements, and personal qualities. Minimum entry requirements include successful completion of a diagnostic radiology residency and the ability to obtain a medical license in the Commonwealth of Virginia. International medical graduates need to have a permanently validated ECFMG certificate and have passed USMLE Steps 1, 2, and 3. They will be offered a visa for the duration of their fellowship.
Applications from graduates of non-US radiology programs are considered on a case-by-case basis if the duration of the completed training is at least five years including one year of clinical training in the US.
The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer.
Pre-Employment Drug Testing and Background Check
Resident/fellow appointment is conditional based on the approval of the Clinical Staff Credentials Committee (CSCC) and the Clinical Staff Executive Committee (CSEC) and based on successful completion of credentialing, including but not limited to our review and acceptance of information from the criminal background check, successful completion of the pre-employment drug screen, passing applicable medical licensing exams (USMLE, COMLEX or MCCQE), receipt of a Virginia Medical License (if applicable), honest and accurate completion of all required paperwork and training modules prior to Orientation. For more information, please see the sample GME Contract linked here.
For Residency and Fellowship Applicants Requiring Visa Sponsorship
Institutionally, we sponsor the J1 clinical visa. Decisions about sponsorship of other visa types are made at the department level. All graduates of international medical schools must hold a valid certificate issued by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) to be appointed as a resident or fellow following the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
Evaluations
Fellows are provided with written evaluation of their performance four times during the program. The faculty performs evaluations of the fellows’ performance at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months through New Innovations.
Anonymous evaluations by the fellows of the program are completed annually, and faculty are anonymously evaluated quarterly. Faculty are evaluated using a numerical scoring system on a wide variety of clinical, teaching, and research skills.
Fellowship program directors complete exit interviews with the fellows near the completion of the academic year. The goals of this interview are to review the fellow experience and receive feedback on opportunities to improve the fellowship. Program directors are very proactive in implementing changes to support the fellows and ensure an optimal educational experience.
Salary, Benefits and Academic Stipend
Our fellows receive a competitive salary and benefits package. Fellowship trainees receive medical and dental care benefits for themselves and their immediate family. Additionally, malpractice insurance is provided at no charge.
An annual stipend to cover expenses related to attending meetings or buying educational materials is provided. Fellows are encouraged to attend one educational meeting of their choice.
Vacation and Leave Policy
Our fellows have 22 days of vacation time plus time off at holidays. Additional professional time off is granted for fellows presenting at national Radiology meetings.
Office Space
Fellows have combined office space with several cubicles, separate computers, telephones, and PACS.
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Fellow Testimonials
“I was fortunate to be introduced to cardiothoracic imaging as a subspecialty option early in my medical education journey through the unique, talented, and engaging chest section at my medical school. I remember when I matched at UVA for radiology residency, I was told that I would receive excellent cardiothoracic training in the section here and do well as a result. I found my expectations exceeded from my first rotation as a resident reading chest radiographs through my final rotation as a fellow reading cardiac MRI. While in training, I thrived not only intellectually and academically, but also personally, finding valuable mentors and forging strong relationships with radiologists in the section who began as my teachers and became my friends and colleagues. The educational experience is tailored to each fellow, meeting them where they are while encouraging supported, graduated independence so that they are ready to run a subspecialty cardiac, vascular, and/or thoracic imaging service when their training is complete. Now as faculty, I continue to learn from my colleagues in an environment that makes it easy to look forward to work every day – with resident and fellow education the bright spot at the center of it all.”
– Thomas Battey, M.D.
“My cardiothoracic imaging fellowship has been an exceptional learning experience, largely due to the outstanding faculty and educators who demonstrated a remarkable commitment to teaching. Their welcoming and enthusiastic approach made me feel integrated into the team, and I was consistently involved in discussions regarding proposed changes and improvements to the program.
The fellowship provided a diverse range of complex chest and cardiovascular cases, significantly enhancing my clinical skills. A notable strength of the program was its structured transition from a fellow to an attending. In the latter part of my fellowship, I was granted autonomy to sign off on my own cases and to conduct read outs with residents. This experience proved invaluable, thoroughly preparing me for my future role as an attending cardiothoracic radiologist.
Overall, my cardiothoracic fellowship at UVA stands out as the most fulfilling and rewarding experience of my entire training period.”
-Nabeel Hassan, M.D.
“The cardiothoracic fellowship program has a great curriculum with a strong mix of research, diagnostics, and procedures, but also allows balanced work-life style. Great collegiality with excellent referring physicians is another asset of this program, allowing in-depth experiences covering the scope of cardiothoracic imaging. But most of all, the cardiothoracic imaging division is absolutely filled with great people and respectable teachers.”
– Wooil Kim, M.D.
Contacts
Patrick Norton, MD
Associate Professor, Cardiothoracic Imaging
Co-Director, Cardiothoracic Fellowship Program
UVA Department of Radiology
(434) 924-9391
ptn7y@uvahealth.org
Alan Ropp, MD
Associate Professor, Thoracic Imaging
Co-Director, Cardiothoracic Fellowship Program
(434) 982-6018
amr9ar@uvahealth.org
Sandy Kerns
Administrative Generalist, Education & Faculty Affairs
SK9EF@uvahealth.org
Tiffany Steward
Verification Coordinator (view more info here)
tim9t@uvahealth.org
Address
For US Postal service delivery:
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging
Box 800170
Charlottesville, VA 22908
Physical address (for all other forms of delivery):
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging
1215 Lee Street
Charlottesville, VA 22908
The University of Virginia School of Medicine is accredited by The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). The University of Virginia is an Equal Opportunity employer.