Training & Education

Los Angeles General Medical Center

Los Angeles General Medical Center is one of the largest public hospital and medical training centers in the United States and the largest single provider of healthcare in Los Angeles County. Los Angeles General Medical Center is one of the busiest public hospitals in the Western United States, with over 39,000 inpatient discharges and one million ambulatory patients visits, annually. The affiliation between the Los Angeles County medical center and the University of Southern California, dates back to 1885, five years after USC was founded.   LAC+USC Medical Center’s state-of-the-art 600 bed facility is a Level I trauma center and provides healthcare services for the region’s medically underserved. It is the residency training center for approximately 1000 post graduate medical trainees (in all fields of medicine and surgery).

Keck Medical Center

Keck Medical Center of USC is a tertiary academic health care system with 401 acute care and ICU beds. The hospital system includes the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, one of the eight original comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute. The medical center is a referral hub for complex cardiac care including percutaneous coronary and structural intervention, advanced cardiac surgery, heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support, and complex electrophysiologic ablation techniques. Keck Medical Center has been ranked #16 by U.S. News and World Report in the 2019-2020 Best Hospitals Honor Roll and the Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery division has been ranked #11 nationally in 2019-2020. Its internationally renowned faculty care for patients, teach and conduct research at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the region’s first medical school.

The fellows’ core didactic curriculum is a longitudinal lecture series that takes place every Thursday morning during a 3-hour time slot. This time is protected in effort to ensure fellow attendance – during this time clinical duties are entrusted to residents and attendings. Over the span of three years lecture topics span the full breadth of core competencies as outlined by the ACGME and defined by the American College of Cardiology. The core curriculum is thoughtfully organized in blocks which span several weeks. Lectures are presented by the Cardiovascular Medicine Division’s core clinical faculty.

Each session begins with one of two high yield presentations: (1) a fellow-led focused board review presentation followed by a selection of corresponding board review questions from the Braunwald’s Heart Disease Review and Assessment or (2) an ECG reading session during which fellows practice ECG interpretation and coding in a ABIM Cardiovascular Disease Examination format.

The core curriculum is thoughtfully organized in blocks which span several weeks. Lectures are presented by the Cardiovascular Medicine Division’s core clinical faculty.

Cardiac Catheterization Conference

A weekly conference held Tuesday mornings during which faculty and fellows present teaching cases and review angiographic and hemodynamic findings, discuss diagnostic and management issues, review complications, and promote discussion of specific cardiology topics pertaining to invasive cardiology.

Morbidity & Mortality

A monthly Conference series presented by fellows with the guidance of a faculty mentors. Root cause analysis evaluations are performed and discussed as well as the development of measures or processes to improve patient safety, staff skills and overall quality of care.

Cardiac Electrophysiology Conference

A weekly conference held Wednesday mornings that is led by our electrophysiology faculty. A joint, virtual conference is held once a month with the UC Irvine Cardiology fellows and electrophysiology faculty during which fellows rotating through the service will present a case.

Journal Club

A monthly series focused on interpreting and critiquing both current and landmark medical literature. Presentations are moderated by our own expert academic clinicians and discussions are regarding how the findings can affect our clinical practice.

Case Conference

A fellow-run, monthly series with faculty discussant during which fellows present an interesting case. Salient learning points involving the critical elements for diagnosis and management are highlighted.

CHLA ACHD Lecture Series

A lectures series in partnership with CHLA (Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles) pediatric cardiology fellows with lectures focused on pertinent topics in adult congenital heart disease.

Friday Case Conference

A weekly conference held on Friday mornings during which Interventional faculty and fellows present on a variety of emerging and landmark topics within the field.

Visiting Professor Grand Rounds

Once every 1-2 months, nationally-renowned experts in different fields of clinical as well as basic science cardiology are invited to give seminars to the division of Cardiology. Time is set aside during the day for the invited professor to meet with fellows in a group setting for case presentations, Q&A, and other educational opportunities.

Advanced Imaging Rounds

A weekly case-based conference held on Monday mornings led by our own cardiac MRI and cardiac CT expert, Dr. Jerold Shinbane. Presentations allow fellows to gain a deep appreciation for cardiac anatomy and 3-dimensional spatial orientation of cardiac structures. Additionally, fellows learn the applications and practical interpretation of these imaging modalities.

Fellowship Grand Rounds 2023 – 2024

Los Angeles General Medical Center

• Coronary Care Unit
• Cardiology Consultative Services
• Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory (Level 1)
• Cardiac Electrophysiology
• Cardiac Rehab
• Echocardiography
• Advanced Imaging
• Nuclear Cardiology

Keck Medical Center

• Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Service
• Mechanical Circulatory Support Service
• Cardiology Consultative Services
• Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory (Level 2)
• Cardiac Electrophysiology
• Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Non-Invasive Imaging
• Nuclear Cardiology

2025

Cameron Incognito, MD

Matthew Pulaski, MD

Mateen Saffarian, MD (Chief Fellow)

Nare Torosyan, MD (Chief Fellow)

Joshua Zuniga, MD

2026

Khalida Arif, MD

John Burton, MD

Kenneth Guber, MD

Nikita Jejurikar, MD

Hunter Launer, MD

2027

Phillip Abarca, MD

Ahamad Allaw, MD

Jack Goergen, MD

Pardeep Nadeswaran, MD

Nathan Steele, MD

The outpatient cardiology clinic experience takes place at LA General Medical Center.  Fellows are assigned to one half-day of general cardiology continuity clinic per week throughout the academic year which takes place on either a Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday afternoon.  Fellows are grouped into teams composed of five fellows across different training levels, all primarily staffed with one continuity attending for each team.

New fellows will take over a patient panel from a graduating fellow and follow these patients over the course of their training.  In the ambulatory setting, fellows will hone skills in new consultation, appropriate referral for cardiac diagnosis, primary prevention, managing chronic cardiac disease, and triaging acutely decompensated cardiac conditions.  Point of care ultrasound will be available and encouraged when appropriate.  Fellows have support from a general clinic coordinator, heart failure clinic coordinator, cardiology pharmacist, and several nurse practitioners.

In addition to general continuity clinic, fellows will have exposure to multiple subspecialty clinics including Advanced Heart Failure, Adult Congenital Heart Disease, and Electrophysiology.

Clinic time will be scheduled with consideration for fellow well-being.  Clinics are not assigned when rotating on the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Keck Heart Failure service, or when post-call.

Application Process:

Applicants to the USC Cardiovascular Fellowship Program must apply through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). All fellowship positions will be offered through the National Residency Match Program (NRMP) and only accept applicants through the NRMP Match. To apply to our accredited program please search the ACGME ID number in MYERAS. ACGME program number is 1410514292.

For further information, please contact us:

Helga.vanherle@med.usc.edu
Dr. Helga Van Herle, Program Director

Sarahlun@usc.edu
Sarah Luna, Program Coordinator

Program Requirements:

A completed application must include:

• ERAS common application form
• Curriculum Vitae
• Medical School Transcript
• Personal Statement
• Board Exam Transcript/s: USMLE and/or COMLEX
• 3 Letters of Recommendation, including one from current program director

International Graduates must possess valid ECFMG certificates. We only accept J-1 visas. US clinical experience is required.

Applications submitted through ERAS will be reviewed. If your application is selected for an invitation to interview, you will be contacted via email.

Interview Day:

The interview day gives applicants the opportunity to learn more about our fellowship program and a chance to discover what it is like to be a Cardiology Fellow at USC. The day starts with a brief welcome from our division chief and an overview of the fellowship from our Program Director. It will include a delineation of our curriculum and mentorship programs. Applicants then go to their individual interviews with faculty members. Interviews will be held virtually via Zoom.

You will also have the opportunity to meet current fellows throughout the day virtually via Zoom. Applicants are encouraged to ask any questions they have regarding the fellowship program to faculty, staff and fellows.

A typical interview day will conclude with a virtual tour of the state-of the art LA General/USC Medical Center, Keck Medical Center, and the USC Keck School of Medicine Health Sciences Campus.

Helga Van Herle, MD

• Director, Cardiology Fellowship Program
• Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine

Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
Keck School of Medicine
Email: Helga.VanHerle@med.usc.edu

Ajay Vaidya, MD

• Associate Program Director, Cardiology Fellowship Program
• Director of Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant
• Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine

Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
Keck School of Medicine
Email: Ajay.Vaidya@med.usc.edu

Sarah Luna
Fellowship Coordinator

Phone: (323) 442-7419
Email: sarahlun@usc.edu

Gretchen Heintze
Assistant to the Fellowship Coordinator

Phone: (323) 442-7419
Email: gretchen.heintze@med.usc.edu

• GME Policy Manual (PDF)
• Los Angeles General Medical Center Workplace Equity (Reporting Harassment Complaints)
• Patient Safety – Safety Intelligence Network
• USC Policies: Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault
• USC Policies & Contact Info for Reporting Wrongdoing (Sexual Assault, Violence & Discrimination)