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Dr. Keira Nassetta is in her third year of cardiology fellowship at Lurie Children’s, following completion of her residency here. She was drawn to Lurie Children’s for cardiology fellowship training, she said, because of its range of experts in niche fields, including those in her primary clinical areas of interest: pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary vein stenosis (PVS).
Her mentors here, particularly Drs. Amanda Hauck and Paul Tannous, are experts in the field. In addition to gaining a range clinical experience, Dr. Nassetta is on track to publish outcomes for premature infants with pulmonary vein stenosis, which are on par with the largest and busiest pediatric heart centers in the U.S., she said.
“From the beginning of fellowship, my mentors have helped me develop projects that are both interesting from a clinical standpoint and feasible on a three-year timeline,” Dr. Nassetta said.
Finally, the camaraderie of the Lurie Children’s Cardiology and CV surgery team has been a remarkable part of her experience.
“Every cardiologist at Lurie Children’s knows me personally, and cares about my wellbeing,” she said. “They are a group of kind and caring people who also happen to be brilliant.”
Dr. Lajja Desai was able to curate a unique fellowship experience when she came to Lurie Children’s in 2015. With an undergraduate engineering degree and interest in devices and tech, she sought to explore the power of new technology in cardiology. Between the supportive faculty at Lurie Children’s, and interest from Northwestern University’s biomedical engineering program, Dr. Desai found a place where her ideas were nurtured.
“As long as I was willing to put in the work, I had people supporting and mentoring me,” Dr. Desai recalls.
Dr. Desai pursued electrophysiology as her fellowship focus with mentors in both cardiology and engineering. With their encouragement and guidance, Dr. Desai secured research funding, and was able to launch a study during her fellowship, Novel Non-invasive Cardiac MRI Techniques to Estimate Oxygen Saturations in Pediatric Heart Disease.
She, along with Michael Markl, PhD, and the Cardiovascular MRI Group at Northwestern Medicine, worked with Ohio State University to refine a protocol to measure oxygen saturations via MRI and potentially reduce the need for invasive procedures. Data thus far has shown that MRI saturation values correlate with the current gold standard of invasive catheterization measurements. She and the team are working on manuscripts and publications about their work.
Dr. Desai said when she was offered a faculty position at Lurie Children’s following her fellowship, there was little hesitation.
“I was trying to do something unique, and they recognized that and there was value in that,” she said. “And they provided the mentorship and the time to do it.”
