Fellowship training

Fellowship training consists of 13 four-week blocks per year divided as follows:

Learning environment and educational conferences

A world-class faculty composed of expert educators who participate in clinical conferences, seminars, small discussion groups, journal clubs, and one-on-one instruction significantly enhance the learning environment.

Core educational conferences include:

• Monday: Cardiovascular grand rounds
• Tuesday: Core curriculum lecture series
• Wednesday: Cardiac imaging grand rounds, cardiac cath lab conference, hemodynamics special sessions
• Thursday: Chief’s case conference, cardiovascular research seminar
• Friday: Hemodynamics in echo sessions, echo conference, and heart rhythm grand rounds

Research training

Our mission is to prepare our trainees for a career in academic medicine. All Mayo Clinic cardiovascular fellows have a year of protected research time. This dedicated time has consistently allowed our fellows to conduct and publish high-impact research. 

In addition, fellows may enroll in a curriculum that leads to a Postdoctoral Master's in Clinical Investigation offered by the Center for Clinical and Translational Science. Candidates interested in more extensive research training can be part of our NIH track, which offers two years of dedicated research training prior to the two years of required clinical training.

We work to match all fellows with a research mentor. Our program’s commitment to mentorship has resulted in our fellows receiving a number of prestigious awards, including:

• American Heart Association Young Investigators Award
• American College of Cardiology Young Investigators Award
• Heart Failure Society Research Award
• American College of Cardiology Travel Award
• North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology Young Investigators Award
• American Society of Echocardiography Young Investigator Award

The Cardiovascular Department is deeply invested in supporting the research interests of our clinical fellows. This includes the introduction of CV Fellow-Mentor research grants, which are offered on a competitive basis to first and second year fellows partnered with a research faculty mentor.

For candidates interested in more extensive basic, translational, or clinical research training, we offer a two-year research pathway. Fellows in this program begin their fellowship with two years of dedicated, protected mentored research training.

During the fellowship interview process, fellows identify mentors with a research focus that matches their interests. This pathway prepares fellows to submit a career development award at the completion of their fellowship training.

Additional academics

Fellows in the Cardiovascular Diseases Fellowship have access to additional academic experiences and programs to complement the education and training received in the program.

The Center for Clinical and Translational Science

The Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCaTS) is a support center designed to help those at Mayo Clinic involved in clinical research conducted with human subjects. CCaTS provides consultative and support services vital to the efficient conduct of clinical research.

Fellows may earn a Postdoctoral Master's in Clinical Investigation offered by CCaTS. Candidates interested in more extensive research training can be part of our NIH track, which offers two years of dedicated research training prior to the two years of required clinical training.

Innovation and entrepreneurship

The Center for Clinical and Translational Science also offers entrepreneurship education through a certificate in Entrepreneurship or a Postdoctoral Master’s in Clinical Investigation with an emphasis in Innovation, including networking and application support for all Mayo Clinic faculty, fellows, and staff.

Additional resources to support innovation and entrepreneurship include assistance with the development of small business grants (NIH SBIR), support for intellectual property protection, opportunities to pitch innovations to biotechnology companies, and facilitation of interactions between innovators, investigators, and industry partners.

Artificial intelligence

The Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Mayo Clinic has a robust program in innovation and artificial intelligence, and there are a multiple projects and investigators to serve as mentors for fellows in the program. Investigators are using AI and machine learning applications to identify and risk stratify patients with cardiovascular conditions, and implement interventions to improve cardiovascular care. A number of AI algorithms have been developed using the ECG, which are available as an AI dashboard to screen for CV disease.