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Francis Fontan Fund--Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) Fellowship

European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS)

The transcatheter fellowship is designed for cardiac surgery trainees who want to learn how to differently approach the treatment of all heart valves diseases percutaneously.

The fellow will learn to thoroughly examine preoperative CT scan and TEE echocardiogram in order to correctly plan the best treatment option for each patient, also in relation to the patient’s general conditions. A crucial step will be to become familiar with the vast range of available devices, wires and catheters.

Naturally, great exposure and active participation will be guaranteed in all kinds of transcatheter procedures. The fellow will receive one-to-one support throughout the training, receiving a unique insight from a true expert surgical team in the field.

Learning Objectives

To learn how to choose the best transcatheter treatment option for each patient, especially the most complex ones (double and triple valve diseases)
To adequately plan the procedure based on correct interpretation of pre-operative patient’s examination and multimodality imaging
To become familiar with both of most of the percutaneous transcatheter procedures for aortic, mitral and tricuspid diseases and different delivery systems and devices used for their treatment
To learn how to perform all transcatheter approaches including TF, TA, Tao, trans-axillary, trans-carotid, transaortic and trans-septal
To learn all bailout procedures in case of complications

Specific Learning Objectives

To discuss each patient with other team members, providing their personal opinion on the best treatment option
To learn how to interpret CT scan and echocardiogram, up-front planning the procedure: choose the best device for the specific patient anatomy, choose the correct device size, foresee any possible vascular complication and therefore choose the best access site
To know the pros and cons of different guidewires and catheters, and more broadly of all available devices
To get to know different transcatheter approaches: trans-femoral, trans-septal, trans-apical, trans-axillary, trans-aortic
To discuss available transcatheter treatments of complications arose during the index procedure

Funding

To help with living and travel costs associated with this Fellowship, we offer a grant of €6,600. EACTS will also provide a bursary towards the cost of your attendance at the 2027 EACTS Annual Meeting.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

Based on EACTS programs and funded research trends:

🥇 1. Strong Cardiothoracic Relevance (Top Predictor)

Must focus on:
- Cardiac surgery
- Thoracic surgery
- Cardiovascular disease

✔ Direct impact on surgical outcomes is essential

🥈 2. Clinical & Surgical Impact

Preference for:
- Studies improving:
  - Surgical techniques
  - Patient outcomes
  - Postoperative care

✔ High success:

Procedure optimization studies

🥉 3. Innovation in Surgical Techniques or Technology

Competitive proposals include:
- Minimally invasive surgery
- Robotic surgery
- Advanced imaging integration

4. Feasibility & Practical Application

Many grants are:
- Pilot or short-term

✔ Winning proposals:

Achievable within clinical settings

5. Early Career Surgeon Support

Many opportunities target:
- Trainees
- Junior surgeons

✔ Predictor:

Strong mentorship and institutional backing

6. Use of Clinical Data / Registries

Preferred:
- Patient cohorts
- Surgical registries

✔ Real-world evidence strengthens proposals

7. Collaboration & Multicenter Studies

Strong proposals often involve:
- Multiple centers

✔ Improves generalizability and impact

8. Clear Outcomes & Measurable Endpoints

Must include:
- Mortality/morbidity
- Complication rates
- Functional outcomes

🧪 Common Funded Research Areas

Valve surgery
Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)
Aortic surgery
Lung cancer surgery
Minimally invasive and robotic surgery
Postoperative outcomes and recovery

⚠️ Common Reasons for Rejection

Weak surgical relevance
Lack of clinical impact
Poor study design
Overly ambitious scope
No measurable outcomes

🧠 Bottom Line (Key Predictors Ranked)

Direct relevance to cardiothoracic surgery
Clinical/surgical impact
Innovation in surgical techniques
Feasible and practical design
Use of clinical data
Strong mentorship (early-career grants)

Specialties

Cardiothoracic Surgery

Eligibility Requirements

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

Be a Resident, Fellow or Surgeon within the first four years after training (specialty degree)
Be an EACTS member with up-to-date membership payment
Be fluent in English

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

Previous experience in transcatheter procedures.
Currently working in a department with a transcatheter unit, in order to apply the knowledge and skills acquired during the fellowship

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

Letter of support from current Head of Department/Training director (if in last year of training)
Letter of interest (detailing the way in which you meet the application criteria, your career aspirations along with how you are in a position to apply the skills and knowledge obtained during the Fellowship in your own centre and how it will impact your career)
CV detailing publications
Operative experience

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS)

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: EACTS House Madeira Walk Windsor SL4 1EU United Kingdom

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