Benderson Family Heart Center | Cardiac Registry Fellowship in Pathology of Childhood Heart Disease

The Cardiac Registry at Boston Children’s Hospital was created in 1965 by Dr. Richard Van Praagh, as a joint project sponsored by the Departments of Cardiology, Pathology, and Cardiac Surgery, to further the understanding of congenital heart disease. The registry now houses more than 3,700 heart specimens — all with complete clinical and anatomic descriptions. The registry provides cardiac autopsy services for Boston Children’s Hospital, as well as some referring hospitals. Since its inception, the registry has produced more than 300 peer-reviewed publications, described 13 new congenital heart defects, suggested five cardiac operations, and trained countless fellows, residents, and other medical specialists.

The Cardiac Registry Fellowship in Pathology of Childhood Heart Disease is a one-year fellowship program. Recommended prior training includes the following: a) residency training in a related medical specialty (e.g. Pediatrics, Pathology, etc.) or b) two years of post-graduate training in a related basic science (e.g. Genetics, Molecular Biology, Embryology, etc.). However, interested and motivated individuals with an advanced degree in biological or health sciences will be considered. Selection criteria include strength of prior training, likelihood of future application of knowledge gained, and research potential.

The goal of the program is to train young scientists in the anatomy, histology, and embryology of congenital and acquired childhood heart disease. Specific objectives include thorough knowledge of normal and abnormal cardiac anatomy; competence at use of segmental analysis of the heart; knowledge of the anatomy and histology of acquired childhood heart disease; knowledge of normal and abnormal embryological development of the heart; and completion of a research project and submission of a manuscript reporting the results to a peer-review journal.