About the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program
The Interventional Cardiology Fellowship program is designed to train fellows in the use of percutaneous interventional techniques and the management of coronary, peripheral vascular disease and exposure to percutaneous treatment of valvular heart disease. The one-year program is comprehensive, structured and supervised by a board-certified staff totaling more than 100 years of interventional experience. Fellows train at both the VCU Medical Center and the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center.
The training includes didactic conferences, weekly case conferences, and individual fellow and faculty clinical patient reviews (pre- and post-procedure) to discuss risks, benefits, results, treatment strategies, and complications. Fellow experience is very individualized with one-on-one faculty interactions for each procedure. Trainees also assist in teaching diagnostic fellows, medicine residents and other student groups, such as biomedical and undergraduate.
Program emphasis is placed on giving fellows ample opportunity to learn appropriate technical skills for safe coronary and peripheral intervention using multiple devices (including atherectomy, balloons, stents, filter devices, intravascular imaging), and to advance and refine diagnostic catheterization skills.
Facilities
The VCU Medical Center has four state of the art catheterization laboratories, one biplane, one with OR capabilities, and two coronary laboratories. All are digital and linked with a mass storage archival device for easy retrieval of prior comparative studies. The Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center has two labs with digital acquisition and an archival storage system. Both institutions have on-site cardiac surgery as well as cardiac transplant programs, including the availability of destination LVADS and the Total Artificial Heart.
Accreditation
We are fully accredited by the ACGME for a one-year ABIM Board eligible Interventional training program for three fellows per year. Board pass rates have been excellent.
Welcome
Program Director: Barbara D. Lawson, MD
Learn
Program Curriculum & Conferences
Curriculum & Conferences
We have weekly case review conference that is attended by faculty, interventional cardiology fellows, and general cardiology fellows. We are often joined by some of the cardiac surgeons who offer a unique perspective. This conference is an open forum where questions can be asked freely and alternatives to treatment are discussed.
We also have a weekly didactic conference geared specifically towards the interventional cardiology boards. The topics that we review include the following:
- Radiation Safety
- Contrast Use
- Vascular Access and Complications
- Vascular Closure Devices
- Coronary Anomalies
- Basic Imaging – IVUS, OCT, Intracardiac Echo
- Peripheral Vascular Disease – Renal, Lower Extremity, Carotid, Subclavian
- Interventional Pharmacotherapies – Antiplatelet, Anticoagulant, Thrombolytic
- Cath Lab Drugs – Sedation, Reversal Agents, Vasoactive, Antiarrhythmic
- Cath Lab Hemodynamics
- Lesion Hemodynamic Assessment
- Ostial and Bifurcation PCI
- Chronic Total Occlusion PCI
- SVG and IMA PCI, Embolic Protection Devices
- Unstable angina, NSTEMI, STEMI
- PCI Complications
- Stent Thrombosis, Embolization, No-reflow
- Atherectomy – Rotational, Orbital, Laser, Shockwave
- Brachytherapy
- Percutaneous Approaches to Valve Disease
- HOCM, ASD, PFO
- Trans-septal Puncture, LAA Occlusion
- Mechanical Circulatory Support
- Pulmonary Hypertension
- Pericardial Diseases
- Vascular Biology
Once per month, we have a joint conference with Interventional Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery to discuss complex cases and hybrid approaches. We also have monthly Journal Club, bimonthly M&M, and occasional Cath-Cardiac MRI correlation conferences.
Scholarship
Our recent publications, presentations and abstracts
All fellows are expected to actively engage in scholarly activities. Since the clinical responsibilities are quite robust and the fellowship is only one year, we understand that the time available to complete an extensive research project is limited. Academic productivity can be in the form of quality improvement project, case report, case series, review article, or presenting at academic meetings. Opportunities for research topics are primarily available in the fields of coronary intervention as well as structural heart disease.
As a sign of our commitment to the scholarly efforts of the fellows, the Department of Internal Medicine has designated funding which is set aside specifically to offset the travel cost for fellows who are presenting their work at regional, national, and international scientific and academic meetings.
Fellows are also encouraged to attend conferences specifically geared towards the field of interventional cardiology. They are all given time off to attend the SCAI Fellows Course in November as well as another meeting of their choice.
Recent Scholarship
Look at pubmed for the following: Nayef Abouzaki, Shafeeq Ahmed, Richard H. Cooke, Zachary M. Gertz, Ion S. Jovin, Barbara D. Lawson
Life During Fellowship
Interventional Cardiology Fellowship
Vacation Time
- Each fellow is allowed three weeks of vacation per training year.
Night Call
- The Interventional Cardiology fellows cover STEMI call for 1 week at a time. Although it sounds daunting, they are usually only called a few times per week, and it is manageable.
- The fellows are expected to be available by phone during their STEMI call days/nights, and to come to the hospital for urgent/emergent cases.
- The fellows provide coverage for STEMI call at both the VA Medical Center and VCU on the same night.
- It is extremely rare to be called from both hospitals. Should it happen, the fellow can communicate to the second hospital that he/she is currently doing a STEMI case in the first hospital that called. He/she is not expected to cover both.
Weekend Coverage
- The same fellow who took STEMI call during the week will cover STEMI call during the weekend.
- The on-call fellow rounds on and discharges the patients who stayed overnight after Friday procedures.
GME Resident & Fellow Well-Being
Graduate Medical Education training is not easy. With the GME Physician Well-being program, we first and foremost assert our commitment to your well-being, resilience and all aspects of a healthy lifestyle. VCU and VCUHealth are dedicated to ensuring that you have the tools you need to be your best. (Learn more)
All About VCU, VCUHealth, and RVA
First things first. We fondly refer to Richmond as RVA. People love this city because it’s awesome. And Virginia Commonwealth University is in the middle of it all. Learn more about VCU, VCUHealth, and RVA!
Program Leadership
Interventional Cardiology Fellowship

Barbara D. Lawson, MD
Program Director

Barbara D. Lawson, MD
Program Director
Internal Medicine
Division of Cardiology
Email: barbara.lawson@vcuhealth.org

William Gregory Hundley, MD
Division Chair

William Gregory Hundley, MD
Division Chair
Internal Medicine
Division of Cardiology
Email: greg.hundley@vcuhealth.org
Faculty
Interventional Cardiology Fellowship
- Nayef Abouzaki, MD - VAMC
- Shafeeq Ahmed, MD – VAMC
- Richard Cooke, MD
- Zachary M. Gertz, MD
- William "Greg" Hundley, MD - Division Chair
- Ion Jovin, MD, ScD
- Barbara D. Lawson, MD - Fellowship Program Director
- Deepak Thomas, MD
Fellows
Interventional Cardiology Fellowship
Class of 2023

Medical School: Mamata Medical College
Residency: University of Miami/JFK Medical Center

Medical School: Ross University School of Medicine, Dominica
Residency: Vidant Medical Center - Greenville, NC

Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine
Residency: St. Vincent Hospital - Indianapolis, IN
Class of 2022

Medical School: Aga Khan University Medical College, Pakistan
Residency: State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University Syracuse, NY
Fellowship: University of Tennessee Health Science Center Memphis, Memphis, TN

Medical School: American University of Beirut Faculty of Medicine Lebanon
Residency: Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN
Fellowship: New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital Brooklyn, NY

Medical School: Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine - Virginia Campus
Residency: University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT
Fellowship: Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, LA
Alumni
Class of 2021
Residency: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
Residency: Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, Toledo, OH
Residency: University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Department of Internal Medicine
Class of 2020
Medical School: University of Aleppo Faculty of Medicine
Residency: Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership
Fellowship: University of Louisville School of Medicine
Medical School: University of Damascus Faculty of Medicine
Residency: University of Miami/JFK Medical Center Palm Beach Regional GME Consortium
Fellowship: University of Miami/JFK Medical Center Palm Beach Regional GME Consortium
Medical School: Medical College Baroda
Residency: Georgetown University Hospital
Fellowship: Cardiovascular Disease - VCU
Class of 2019
Medical School: The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Residency: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine , Richmond VA
Fellowship: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine , Richmond VA
Medical School: Université Saint Esprit de Kaslik Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences Médicales
Residency: University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Fellowship: University of Florida, Jacksonville, FL
Medical School: Kursk State Medical University
Residency: Carney Hospital/ Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Fellowship: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA
Class of 2018
Jorge Betancor, MD
Medical School: St. George's University School of Medicine, Grenada
Residency: Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL
Fellowship: Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL - Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiac Ultrasound, Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cardiothoracic Radiology
Dan Le, MD
Medical School: University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
Residency: The Brooklyn Hospital Center‐Weill Cornell Medical College Brooklyn, NY
Fellowship: East Carolina University, Greenville, NC – Cardiovascular Disease, Methodist DeBakey Heart &Center, Houston, TX – Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL – Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology, Cardiac Ultrasound
John “JT” Owens, MD
Medical School: Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Blacksburg, VA
Residency: Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond Virginia
Fellowship: Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond Virginia
Class of 2017
Nayef Abouzaki
Medical School: Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA
Residency: Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Fellowship: Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Ryan Melchior
Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, PA
Residency: Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Fellowship: Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Parham Parto
Medical School: St. George’s University School of Medicine, Grenada
Residency: University of Texas Medical Branch Hospitals, TX
Fellowship: Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, LA
Class of 2016
Stephen Hunley
Medical School: University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY
Residency: University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY
Fellowship: University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY
George Mueller, III
Medical School: Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Blacksburg, Virginia
Residency: Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Fellowship: Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Rachit Shah
Medical School: Smt. N.H.L. Municipal Medical College, Gujarat, India
Residency: Rosalind Franklin University/Chicago Medical School, Chicago, IL
Apply
Interventional Cardiology Fellowship
Eligibility Requirements
A major aim of the Interventional Cardiology fellowship is to offer comprehensive training that will prepare fellows for careers in either academic medicine or clinical practice.
We offer three Interventional Cardiology fellowship positions each year.
- Fellows must have U.S. citizenship or a permanent or J1 Visa. YOU MUST POSSESS YOUR PERMANENT OR J-1 VISA AT THE TIME OF YOUR FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION. H-1 Visa will NOT be considered.
- Graduates of foreign (not U.S. or Canadian) medical schools should have three years of residency in internal medicine in the primary hospital of a university medical school in the U.S. or Canada and be on track to complete an ACGME accredited Cardiology Fellowship.
- Personal statements should provide background information about you. We are interested in knowing why you have chosen Interventional Cardiology and what you plan to do after fellowship.
How to Apply
All applications to the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program should go through ERAS, starting December 1. The timeline for application for medical subspecialty fellowships has been modified. This will leave very little time for completion of applications, review of applications, and selection of applicants for interviews.
Any interested applicants are urged to start their application process early. Requests for USMLE reports, reference letters, and other supporting documentation should be ready for submission on December 1 when you receive your applicant number from ERAS. We recommend that applicants have all the information required for the ERAS application form ready for submission on December 1. When reference letters are requested, we recommend that faculty members be notified that their letters should be ready for submission to ERAS on December 1, if possible.
VCU School of Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
Box 980509
Richmond, VA 23298-0509
Phone: (804) 828-9726
Email: imfellowships@vcuhealth.org
Required Documents
All applicants must apply through ERAS and register with the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). Along with your application, we require several documents that ERAS does not scan. **A copy of Virginia medical license (if you have one); ECFMG certificate; Certified original and or notarized copy of your J1 or green card; Certified original and or notarized copy of your medical school diploma (and translation where applicable); and a fourth reference letter.
Our ideal candidate has completed three years of Residency in an ACGME accredited Internal Medicine in a university hospital and has completed an ACGME accredited Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program.
Application Timeline
We plan on interviewing applicants starting in mid-December through January. We will begin to review applications as soon as they are released by ERAS, and priority will be given to applications that are complete.
Our deadline for applications will be December 31.
Interview Information
Recruitment Itinerary (pending in-person opportunity):
- 7:30 – 8:30 am Breakfast with fellows
- Tour of VCU by Fellow
- 3 x 20-30 minute interviews with faculty: Dr. Lawsom, Dr. Gertz, Dr. Cooke, Dr. Thomas
- 11:00 Travel to VA
- Tour of VA by Fellow
- 12:00 – 1:00 Lunch with VA Faculty and Fellow
- 3 x 20-30 minute interviews with faculty: Dr. Jovin, Dr. Abouzaki, Dr. Ahmed
Attention: In support of our applicants, we will be flexible in providing virtual and on-site fellowship interview opportunities. We understand that applicants may have restrictions on travel during this time. Our interview schedule may change as we approach the late summer and fall. We appreciate your patience and understanding; we will absolutely work to accommodate all applicants as best possible during the COVID pandemic.
Contacts
Interventional Cardiology Fellowship
Program Director
Barbara D. Lawson, MD
VCU School of Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
Box 980036
Richmond, VA 23298-0036
Email: barbara.lawson@vcuhealth.org
Fellowship Coordinator
Jeanette Wood
VCU School of Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
Box 980509
Richmond, VA 23298-0509
Phone: (804) 828-9726
Email: imfellowships@vcuhealth.org