Our Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program, launched in 1971 and certified in 1988, is a three-year ACGME-accredited program that provides training across all disciplines recommended by the American College of Cardiology COCATS. The program is affiliated with the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center, a center of excellence with more than 165 members, including cardiologists, cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons, neurologists, research scientists, and other medical specialists.
Fellows rotate in all cardiology subspecialties at three Tucson hospitals: Banner – University Medical Center Tucson, Banner – University Medical Center South, and the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System. Fellows receive training in all aspects of cardiology, including advanced imaging, heart failure, transplantation, electrophysiology, congenital heart disease, and interventional cardiology. Our program allows fellows to fulfill the requirements of Level II COCATS training in the areas they wish to emphasize.
Mission Statement
The goal of the cardiology program is to provide a culturally humble, inclusive, and respectful environment in which a motivated physician, well-trained in internal medicine, can develop into a cardiologist who values equity and inclusion and will make significant contributions to medical science and society. The program will further encourage excellence and innovation to train a knowledgeable, skillful physician who provides compassionate care, meets the needs of our community, and realizes their own distinctive capabilities. By making health care easier, so life can be better, we are aligned with the mission statement of Banner University Medicine.
Why Fellows Choose Our Program
We asked current fellows what they were looking for in a fellowship program and what they found here. Common themes include:
- Friendly colleagues who work hard and enjoy working together
- Accessible faculty who are national leaders and committed educators
- Strong research opportunities, from clinical and population-based studies to bench research in NIH-funded laboratories
- Diversity among fellows, faculty, patients, and cardiovascular conditions
- A high quality of life in Tucson, with affordability, outdoor recreation, and a vibrant local community
Program Leadership
Madhan Shanmugasundaram, MD
Associate Professor, Medicine
Program Director, Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship
Tushar Acharya, MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Medicine
Associate Program Director, Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship
Julia Indik, MD, PhD
Professor, Medicine
Flinn Foundation and American Heart Association Endowed Chair in Electrophysiology
Associate Program Director, Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship
Learn more about the physicians and specialists who contribute to training within our cardiology program.
Curriculum and Training Structure
Didactic Conferences
Cardiology fellows participate in structured morning conferences each weekday from 7 – 8 a.m. Sessions cover core cardiology topics, case-based learning, and advanced subspecialty discussions.
Monday
- Imaging Conference
Tuesday
- Sarver Heart Center Grand Rounds
Wednesday
- Cath Conference
Thursday
- Core Conference
- ECG / Echo / Angiogram Practicums
Friday
- Self-Directed Learning
Self-Directed Learning is a structured study period where fellows explore specialized topics such as Cardio-Oncology, Cardio-Obstetrics, and Vascular Medicine, culminating in a Jeopardy-style review session.
Tuesday sessions also provide an opportunity for fellows to meet visiting Grand Rounds speakers for informal mentorship and networking.
Continuity Clinics
Fellows participate in weekly outpatient continuity clinics to develop long-term patient management skills. Fellows attend clinic one afternoon per week and are excused from their clinical rotation during that time.
- Banner University Medical Center – North Campus: Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday
- Southern Arizona VA Health Care System: Tuesday
Training Sites
Fellows train across four clinical sites that provide experience in tertiary referral care, veterans' health, community cardiology and multidisciplinary outpatient subspecialty clinics.
Banner University Medical Center – Tucson Campus
Banner – University Medical Center Tucson is a 649-bed academic medical center and Level I trauma center serving as the primary teaching hospital for the fellowship. Fellows train in a high-acuity environment with broad exposure to advanced cardiovascular care, multidisciplinary teams and leading-edge technologies.
- Cardiovascular ICU: Manage complex cardiovascular disease and advanced mechanical circulatory support, including ECMO, IABP, Impella, Impella RP, TandemHeart and CentriMag.
- Cardiology Consult Service: Provide inpatient consultations alongside faculty and residents across emergency medicine, intensive care, internal medicine, neurology, oncology and obstetrics-gynecology.
- Night Float: Manage overnight admissions, consultations and critical cardiac patients while coordinating care across multiple training sites.
- Cardiac Catheterization: Perform diagnostic catheterizations and gain experience with interventional, peripheral and structural heart procedures.
- Electrophysiology: Evaluate and manage arrhythmias, perform cardioversions, interpret ambulatory monitoring and interrogate cardiac devices.
- Echocardiography: Perform and interpret transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiograms, stress echocardiography and imaging that supports structural heart interventions.
- Nuclear Cardiology: Interpret nuclear imaging studies and develop expertise in physiologic and imaging-based stress testing.
- Advanced Cardiac Imaging (Elective): Receive focused training in cardiac CT and MRI, with opportunities to pursue advanced imaging fellowship training.
Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System
The Southern Arizona VA Health Care System provides comprehensive cardiovascular care for veterans across Southern Arizona and western New Mexico. As a regional referral center for veterans with complex medical needs, the VA offers fellows experience caring for patients with cardiovascular disease shaped by military service, aging and chronic illness—including veterans from Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
The VA's integrated care model emphasizes continuity, multidisciplinary collaboration and progressive clinical responsibility, making it an exceptional environment for developing independent clinical judgment.
- Continuity Clinic: Many fellows maintain a weekly continuity clinic at the VA.
- Consult Service: Evaluate and manage hospitalized patients while participating in bedside procedures.
- Cardiac Catheterization: Perform diagnostic catheterizations and peri-procedural patient care alongside interventional cardiologists.
- Echocardiography: Perform and interpret transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiograms and stress testing.
- Nuclear Cardiology: Interpret nuclear cardiology studies through multidisciplinary reading sessions with radiology faculty.
Banner University Medical Center – South Campus (elective)
Banner – University Medical Center South offers elective training in a community-based setting, allowing fellows to experience the workflow of a practicing cardiologist. Working alongside experienced faculty, fellows gain greater autonomy while managing a broad spectrum of cardiovascular disease in both inpatient and procedural settings.
The rotation complements training at the tertiary referral center by providing exposure to community cardiology, emphasizing efficient clinical decision-making, continuity of care and patient-centered practice. Fellows develop confidence balancing consultative care with diagnostic testing and procedural management in a high-volume clinical environment.
- Consult Service: Integrate inpatient consultations with diagnostic testing, including stress testing, echocardiography and coronary angiography.
- Cardiac Catheterization: Participate in diagnostic catheterizations and peri-procedural patient care with interventional faculty.
Banner University Medical Center – North Campus
Banner – University Medical Center North serves as the program's primary outpatient clinical site, offering exposure to a wide range of cardiovascular subspecialties.
Fellows care for patients in specialty clinics spanning the continuum of cardiovascular medicine, from preventive cardiology to highly specialized programs. The ambulatory experience reinforces longitudinal patient management while providing close mentorship from faculty across multiple disciplines.
- Continuity Clinic: Many fellows maintain a weekly outpatient continuity clinic.
- Ambulatory Cardiology: Rotate through specialty clinics including electrophysiology, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, heart transplant, LVAD, pulmonary hypertension, cardio-obstetrics, cardio-oncology, adult congenital heart disease, structural heart disease and cardiac rehabilitation.
Sample Rotation Schedule
The fellowship curriculum is designed to provide comprehensive clinical exposure while allowing fellows to pursue subspecialty interests and research opportunities. Most fellows achieve COCATS Level II training in echocardiography and other subspecialty areas depending on career goals.
| Rotation | Third Year | Second Year | First Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inpatient Consults | 6 weeks | 8 weeks | 10 weeks |
| CCU | 4 weeks | 4 weeks | 4 weeks |
| Night Float | None | 4 weeks | 4 weeks |
| Electrophysiology | 2 weeks | 4 weeks | 4 weeks |
| Cardiac Catheterization | None | 4 weeks | 8 weeks |
| Echocardiography | 8 weeks | 8 weeks | 8 weeks |
| Nuclear Cardiology | 4 weeks | 4 weeks | None |
| Ambulatory | 4 weeks | 4 weeks | None |
| Research / Electives | 20 weeks | 12 weeks | 8 weeks |
Research Pathway Program
Research is a central component of cardiovascular training at the University of Arizona. Fellows in the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program have opportunities to pursue clinical, translational, and basic science research through structured training pathways and mentorship from Sarver Heart Center investigators.
In addition to a minimum of three months of protected research time during fellowship, highly motivated fellows may pursue expanded research training, including an additional year of dedicated investigation supported through NIH-funded programs and faculty mentorship.
The program also supports trainees interested in physician-scientist careers through pathways such as the American Board of Internal Medicine Research Pathway, which combines clinical training with extended research experience.
For more information on the research pathways available to cardiology fellows, including dedicated research training and the American Board of Internal Medicine Research Pathway, explore the program details below.
How to apply
Applications are accepted only through the AAMC Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS).
The deadline for completed applications is July 31.
The documents that are required in ERAS: 3 (or more) letters of recommendation, letter from program director, CV, ERAS application, a photograph, USMLE, MSPE transcripts and personal statement. We support J1 visas. We do not support H1B visas.
Candidates looking to match to the University of Arizona, College of Medicine, Tucson Cardiovascular Fellowship Program must also participate in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).
- AAMC Information:
- Institution: University of Arizona COM
- Program: University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson Program
- Specialty: Cardiovascular Disease (Internal Medicine)
- NRMP Information:
- Institution: U Arizona COM-Tucson - Tucson, AZ
- Program Code: 1015141F0
- Program Name: Cardiovascular Disease/3 yr
For more information about the program, please contact Christeana Castro, Program Coordinator, at christeanacastro@arizona.edu or 520-626-1232.
Program Signaling
We participate in the ERAS signaling process and value signals as an expression of genuine interest in our program. Signals will be considered as part of our holistic review and may be used to help select applicants for interviews. However, receiving a signal does not guarantee an interview offer, and all applications will receive a fair consideration regardless of signaling status.
Application Information
Applicants must have completed an ACGME-accredited internal medicine residency program. Applications are processed through the AAMC ERAS system.
As required by the National Resident Matching Program and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, the following information is available through the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson Graduate Medical Education Office and applies to all ACGME-accredited residencies and fellowships:
- Example of Employment Agreement
- Stipends
- Benefits
- Professional Liability Coverage
- Disability Insurance
- Health Insurance
- Vacation and Leaves of Absence Policy
- Eligibility and Appointment Policy
- Expected or required academic, educational, or prior training credentials
- Pre-employment drug testing and background check
- Information relevant to licensure status or visa status
By continuing your candidacy in our selection process, you confirm that you have reviewed these materials and acknowledge that you meet all requirements for participation in the fellowship program.
For details about stipends, benefits, employment agreements, and eligibility requirements for residents and fellows at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, please review the Graduate Medical Education information for prospective residents and fellows.