Marc R. de Leval Fellowship

An Honoring Our Mentors Fellowship Program

Program Overview

The AATS Foundation's Marc R. de Leval Fellowship is for North American cardiothoracic and thoracic surgeons who have recently completed a congenital heart surgery fellowship. This fellowship allows recipients to spend four to six weeks studying congenital heart surgery clinical techniques at an institution in UK/Europe while developing relationships with international congenital heart surgeons. Applicants must have secured an institutional assignment and note the training period within their application. Funded and administered by the AATS Foundation, this program provides an award of $10,000 to one recipient each year to defray travel and living expenses while abroad. Additionally, recipients are strongly encouraged to attend the AATS Annual Meeting.

A number of AATS host surgeons/institutions have partnered with the Foundation on this initiative:

Massimo Caputo, MD, Bristol Heart Institute (United Kingdom)
Lorenzo Galletti, MD, Hospital Bambino Gesù (Italy)
Martin Kostolny, MD, Great Ormond Street Hospital (United Kingdom)
Giovanni Battista Luciani, MD, University Hospital Verona (Italy)
Bohdan J. Maruszewski, MD, Children's Memorial Health Institute (Poland)
Daniel Zimpfer, MD, MUW/AKH Vienna (Austria)

Please note, applicants are still able to identify a different host of their choosing, if preferred, within the application.

View previous Marc R. de Leval Fellowship recipients

Eligibility

To be eligible for an award, applicants must meet the following minimum requirements for consideration:

Have completed his/her formal congenital heart surgery fellowship and be within the first five (5) years of his/her congenital heart surgery training;
Secured a UK/European institutional assignment and set a date for his/her training;
Meet all necessary criteria (license, visa, etc…) for travel to and from host training site.

Application Process

Candidates are required to upload the following items with their formal online application:

Curriculum Vitae;
Letters of support from his/her current attending surgeon and future department chair/division chief;
Letter of support from the chief at the institution they plan to visit which concurs with the plan of study;
Travel itinerary and lodging arrangements while at host training site;
One to two page narrative to include:
(1) what you hope to accomplish during your fellowship at the host institution;
(2) how you plan to utilize the skills you have learned upon returning to your home institution;
(3) how this fellowship relates to the your prior experience, preparation, and professional goals;
(4) statement of future career goals.

Review Process

The AATS Foundation's review committee will evaluate applications and notify candidates of a final decision. Applications will be graded on all aspects of the award criteria. At the conclusion of the fellowship, a final report is required to be submitted to the Foundation Board of Directors and the Marc R. de Leval Fellowship program founders.