Dedicated educational experiences in the advanced heart failure fellowship

Our fellowship emphasizes professional development through active participation in conferences and presentation opportunities. These experiences are designed to help fellows build strong communication skills, stay current with the latest research and engage with the broader cardiology community.

Key presentation and conference opportunities include:

• Presenting clinical cases and research at the Cardiology Division Conference, fostering critical discussion and feedback
• Participating in Morbidity and Mortality conferences within the Heart Transplant and LVAD programs at Tufts Medical Center to analyze outcomes and improve patient care
• Financial support to attend major national and regional cardiology conferences, enabling fellows to learn from leaders in heart failure, transplant cardiology, and mechanical circulatory support
• Monthly New England Consortium for Heart Transplant meetings, where fellows engage with regional experts and collaborate on best practices

These opportunities prepare fellows to become confident educators and leaders in the field of advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology.

Advanced heart failure fellowship clinical rotations at Tufts Medical Center + Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Fellows spend 8 months at Tufts Medical Center and 4 months at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, completing a variety of clinical rotations.

Tufts Medical Center rotations:

• Inpatient care: 8 weeks
• Outpatient clinic: 13 weeks
• Cardiac care unit (CCU): 4 weeks
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, amyloid, cardio-oncology and sarcoidosis clinics: 4 weeks
• Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET): 2 weeks
• Elective: 2 weeks

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center rotations:

• Inpatient care: 8 weeks
• Outpatient clinic: 2 weeks
• Pulmonary hypertension: 2 weeks
• Electrophysiology: 2 weeks
• Palliative care: 2 weeks

Fellows cover the inpatient service at Tufts Medical Center for 10 weekends during the year. During this time, they also manage the LVAD emergency pager. Fellows are not on overnight call. At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, fellows cover the LVAD and ECMO pagers while managing the inpatient service.

A message from the program director

Thank you for your interest in the Tufts Medical Center–Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Advanced Heart Failure program. If you’re exploring advanced heart failure training, you probably already know that this is one of the most dynamic, intellectually engaging, and emotionally rewarding areas in cardiology. If you're like me, there's no other group of people you'd rather care for throughout your career. And through this process, I hope you'll also come to see what I believe: the Tufts Medical Center–Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center program is the best place to train to become a heart failure cardiologist.

I joined this program as a fellow because I wanted to learn from a team of smart, motivated, and deeply committed physicians. They had built a program larger than you’d expect from a faculty this size—one that earned the trust of patients and referring cardiologists across New England through hard work and dedication to outstanding care. It was an honor to join the faculty after completing my fellowship, and it’s now a privilege to lead this training program.

There are a few key reasons I believe this program stands out:

Clinical exposure: In a one-year fellowship, every opportunity counts. Across our two campuses, we perform over 100 heart transplants each year—more than most programs in the country. Fellows gain hands-on experience with the full spectrum of mechanical circulatory support devices, managing these patients in our cardiac care units rather than surgical ICUs. You'll also benefit from learning in two distinct academic environments, giving you broader exposure to how complex cases are approached.

Commitment to fellows: Our faculty are fully invested in your growth. Our cardiogenic shock simulation course gives you the space to gain practical experience with different MCS devices, ask questions, and learn through doing. You'll have protected time for weekly lectures, pathology sessions, and cath lab work with faculty. And thanks to our national network, our fellows secure jobs in the locations and practice types that are right for them.

The people: Heart failure care is deeply collaborative. We rely on our colleagues in other specialties, as well as APPs, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, financial coordinators, and many others. The teams at both Tufts Medical Center and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center are warm, supportive, and genuinely welcoming. They’ll not only teach you—they’ll become your lifelong colleagues.

Choosing where to spend your final year of training is a big decision. I hope the information on this site helps you see how our program can support your goals—and why we’d be excited to welcome you here.

We look forward to meeting you.

Gaurav Gulati, MD, MS
Program Director

Train with Boston’s leaders in heart failure + transplant cardiology

The Tufts Medical Center–Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology Fellowship is a dynamic 12-month program designed to train the next generation of heart failure cardiologists.

Two leading transplant programs

This joint program brings together two top hospitals in Boston that perform more than 100 heart transplants each year. Tufts Medical Center has led the region in heart transplant volume since 2023. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is the fastest-growing heart transplant program in New England.

Expert, team-based care

Fellows learn from dedicated teams at both sites, including cardiologists, APPs, nurse coordinators, pharmacists, and other specialists. These teams provide high-quality, patient-centered care for some of the sickest individuals in the region.

Hands-on experience with advanced therapies

Fellows gain direct experience managing a wide range of temporary and durable mechanical circulatory support devices. All training is supervised by nationally recognized experts in heart failure and transplant cardiology.

Broad exposure to complex cases

Throughout the year, fellows learn how to evaluate and care for people with advanced heart failure. Training includes:

• Clinical evaluations
• Invasive hemodynamic assessments
• Cardiopulmonary exercise testing
• Presenting cases in multidisciplinary transplant selection meetings

Fellows also gain experience with:

• Post-transplant complications
• Immunosuppression management
• Chronic LVAD support
• Subspecialty clinics in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, sarcoid cardiomyopathy, amyloid cardiomyopathy, and cardio-oncology

Strong educational curriculum

In addition to hands-on clinical training, fellows participate in weekly didactics, pathology rounds, and a hands-on cardiogenic shock simulation.