Matthew Gerdisch Fellowship in Arrhythmia Surgery

Program Overview

The Matthew Gerdisch Memorial Fellowship in Arrhythmia Surgery is offered to graduating cardiothoracic fellows or junior surgeons who seek to develop exceptional skills and knowledge in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and become future leaders in the field.

This fellowship will be awarded to one fellow annually and will have a significant impact on the careers of future leaders in arrhythmia surgery. The fellow will spend time at the University Hospital Vienna. The fellowship provides up to $50,000 USD in funding for a six-month training period.

This program is established in honor of Matthew Gerdisch, a pre-medical student at Northwestern University who aspired to become a cardiac surgeon specializing in arrhythmia surgery. Matthew passed away in 2019 due to his own heart rhythm disorder, but his curiosity, compassion, and commitment to advancing the understanding of arrhythmias continue to inspire this initiative.

Host Site

Professor Daniel Zimpfer
University of Vienna, Department of Cardiac Surgery

Program Goals

EP Lab – Fellows will learn technology and techniques used in the lab for lesion creation and form an understanding of their strengths and limitations. Percutaneous LAA management will likely be addressed as well.

Minimally invasive and hybrid techniques – Fellows will gain insight and hopefully hands-on experience to address atrial fibrillation and other challenging arrhythmias, as well as LAA management. Hybrid approaches, both staged and joint procedures, are rapidly developing and provide options for the aggressive treatment of atrial fibrillation, inappropriate sinus tachycardia, and ventricular tachycardia.

Program development and team building – Fellows will observe integrated program development fostering surgical quality, integrated service line, multidisciplinary practice, data acquisition and defined patient pathways at programs creating uniquely capable centers of excellence.

Application Process

In addition to a formal online application, candidates will also be required to upload the following materials:

• Applicants should provide a curriculum vitae with a full description of their surgical experience.
• Letter of support from the chief/chair of their current institution or their training program.*
• One to two-page narrative to include:
  • What they hope to accomplish during their fellowship.
  • How they will utilize the skills they have learned at their home institution, if applicable.
  • Relationship of the planned study to the applicant’s prior experience, preparation and professional goals.
  • A statement of future career goals.
  • Identify the number of arrhythmia cases observed during training or in current practice.

• Candidate is required to work with institution to develop curriculum for the duration. Within the application, the following information must be received from the institution to be input by the applicant:
  • An outline of the institution’s current practice as it relates to arrhythmia surgery (Examples of information that should be included are as follows:# of CABGs, # of surgical valve procedures, how many are ablated, what clinical trials is the department currently involved in, etc…)
  • An educational plan for the year-long fellowship including the expected competencies achieved upon completion of the fellowship
  • Identify the number of arrhythmia cases completed annually
  • A letter describing why the institution should be selected to host this fellowship, how it will be beneficial to the program, and the anticipated career development provided to the fellow
  • A budget of how the funds will be utilized**
  • Institution must agree to hosting the fellow for a full year and providing supplemental salary as needed

*For those looking to send letters of support for the candidate directly to the AATS Foundation, please email foundation@aats.org.

Review Process

Applications will be reviewed by the AATS Foundation’s North American Early-Career Scholarship Review Committee and graded on all aspects of the award criteria. All applicants will be notified of committee’s decision upon final review.

All applicants will be notified with an official letter from the AATS Foundation within 2-3 months of the program deadline. Should you have any questions regarding your status prior to receiving this notification, please contact foundation@aats.org.

A quarterly progress report is due to AATS Foundation Board of Directors and Sponsor of program highlighting what has been accomplished to date during fellowship. At the conclusion of the training a final report from both the host and the selected fellow describing the fellowship experience and its application to clinical practice will be required for submission to the AATS Foundation and the fellowship’s sponsor.

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