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Adult Congenital Heart Disease Fellowship

European Association for Cardio Thoracic Surgery

This fellowship will take place within the Centrum voor Aangeboren Hartafwijkingen Amsterdam – Leiden (CAHAL) which is a renowned high volume centre that grew from a successful 25-year partnership between two university hospitals in Leiden and Amsterdam.

As part of this 6-month Fellowship Programme, the successful Fellow will:

Get full exposure to 3-4 surgical ACHD cases per week and 1-2 multidisciplinary heart team meetings per week. Regularly, ACHD percutaneous and/or hybrid interventions are performed.

Amongst many other diagnoses, state-of-the-art treatment strategies will be discussed and demonstrated for:

Tetralogy of Fallot, including interventional and hybrid procedures for the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias.
Aberrant coronary artery origin from aorta and pulmonary artery.
(Neo-) aortic root aneurysm, including valve sparing root replacement and personalised external aortic root support applied for several congenital diagnosis and inheritable thoracic aortic disease (HTAD).
Valve repair for bicuspid aortic valve and AV-valves in atrioventricular canal defect.
Treatment of LVOTO/congenital aortic stenosis with all modalities for aortic root replacement including supported Ross and Ross PEARS.

Funding

We offer a bursary of €10,000 to help with the living and travel costs associated with this Fellowship. EACTS will also contribute towards the cost of your attendance at the 2027 EACTS Annual Meeting.

How the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Fellowship will advance your surgical education

Obtain the knowledge and clinical judgment necessary to select patients for the full spectrum of ACHD procedures according to international guidelines.
Obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to perform a selection of ACHD surgical procedures.
Understand the organisational requirements to run a state-of-the-art ACHD programme.
Insight into innovative treatment modalities and strategies for a selection of frequent ACHD diagnosis.
Be involved in a specific research programme (optional).
Submit a paper on the topic of ACHD surgery to the EACTS Annual Meeting

Applicants who possess the following desirable criteria would be of particular interest:

Possibility of applying the knowledge and abilities acquired during the fellowship in home practice

In order to complete your application, you must submit the following documents*:

Letter of interest detailing the way in which you meet the above application criteria, along with your career aspirations, as well as how you believe the Fellowship will impact your career.
Curriculum Vitae, including a list of publications.
Summary of operative experience in congenital heart disease and ACHD in particular
Letter of support from a current supervisor

AI Based Application Success Predictor

❤️‍🩹 1. Strong Focus on Cardiothoracic Surgery (Non-Negotiable)

Projects must directly address:
- Cardiac and thoracic surgical diseases
Includes:
- Valve surgery
- Coronary artery disease
- Aortic disease
- Lung and thoracic conditions

👉 Weak surgical relevance → low success probability

🎯 2. Clear Clinical & Surgical Impact (Top Predictor)

Successful proposals:

Demonstrate:
- Improvement in surgical techniques or patient outcomes
Aim to:
- Reduce complications
- Improve survival or recovery

👉 Key question:
“Will this improve cardiothoracic surgical care?”

🔄 3. Translational & Practice-Oriented Research (Critical)

Preference for:
- Clinical or translational studies
Includes:
- Surgical innovations
- Device development
- Outcomes research

👉 Pure basic science is less competitive unless clinically linked

👩‍⚕️ 4. Early-Career Surgeon Development (Major Priority)

Many EACTS programs target:
- Trainees, residents, and early-career surgeons

Evaluation includes:

Career trajectory
Leadership potential

👉 Strong advantage for early-stage applicants

🏥 5. High-Quality Host Institution (Key Differentiator)

For fellowships:

Host center must:
- Offer advanced surgical expertise
- Provide high surgical volume

👉 Strong host justification significantly improves success

🌍 6. International Mobility & Collaboration

Preference for:
- Cross-country training
Encourages:
- Knowledge exchange within Europe

👉 Mobility is a core evaluation factor

🧪 7. Feasible, Well-Structured Study Plan

Must include:
- Clear aims
- Methodology
- Timeline

👉 Realistic scope is critical (often 1–2 year programs)

🧠 8. Innovation in Surgical Techniques & Technology

High success rates in:

Minimally invasive surgery
Robotic surgery
New devices or imaging

👉 Innovation must be clinically applicable

🤝 9. Mentorship & Training Quality

Strong mentor:
- Established surgeon-researcher
Clear training objectives

👉 Training value is as important as research

📊 10. Alignment with EACTS Educational Mission

EACTS prioritizes:
- Education and skill development
Projects with:
- Training outcomes
- Skill acquisition

👉 Education-focused proposals are favored

📊 Summary: Key Predictors (Ranked)

Highest impact factors:

Cardiothoracic surgery focus
Clinical/surgical impact
Translational relevance

Moderate predictors:
4. Early-career development
5. Host institution quality
6. Feasibility

Supporting factors:
7. Mobility/collaboration
8. Innovation
9. Mentorship

💡 Insider Insight

Compared to NIH or large research funders:

European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery is:
👉 clinically driven + training-focused
👉 emphasizes surgeon skill development

👉 Key evaluation question:
“Will this improve surgical practice and help train a better cardiothoracic surgeon?”

✔️ What wins:

Practical surgical research
Strong training benefit
High-quality host institution

❌ What struggles:

Pure lab research
Weak clinical relevance
Poor training justification

Specialties

Cardiothoracic Surgery

Genetics & Genomics

Eligibility Requirements

In order to apply for this fellowship there are some essential criteria you must meet:

Be an EACTS member
Be a registered cardiac/ cardiothoracic/ cardiovascular surgeon with an interest in congenital heart disease.
Be Fluent in English.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: European Association for Cardio Thoracic Surgery

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: EACTS House Madeira Walk Windsor SL4 1EU

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