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The Division of Pulmonary Diseases & Critical Care Medicine offers a one-year fellowship in Interventional Pulmonary Medicine. Our program is designed to develop and train technically skilled and academic minded interventional pulmonologists in advanced diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopy, percutaneous tracheostomy, and advanced minimally invasive pleural procedures.

Program Overview

Trainees in our fellowship program will gain experience and become proficient in the performance of advanced diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopic, pleural procedures and percutaneous tracheostomy tube placement. The trainee will acquire the knowledge and skills required to recognize, investigate, and manage large airway obstructions, malignant and non-malignant intrathoracic and pleural diseases. The fellow will develop advanced expertise in all aspects of diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopy, thoracoscopy and Thoracic Oncology.

The Interventional Pulmonology fellow will actively participate in the weekly multidisciplinary thoracic oncology conference.

The fellow will be required to complete at least one original research project and is encouraged to present at a national meeting during his or her fellowship year.

Typical Weekly Fellow Schedule:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
7-8 am: Follow up rounds 7-7:30am: Follow up Rounds 7-7:30am: Follow up Rounds/Consent 7am-8am: Follow up Rounds/Consent 7-8am: Follow up Rounds
8-10 am: Tracheostomy/PEG or Pleural/Academic 7:30-8:30am:  Multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Conference (MTOP) 7:30-8am:  IP Didactics (20-30 minute presentation by IP fellow, Gen Pulm Fellow, or Attending) 8am-5pm:

EBUS/Navigation Bronchoscopy scheduled at 8, 10, 12, 2pm.

8-10am: Tracheostomy/PEG or Pleural/Academic
10am-6pm:  Rigid Bronchoscopy/Other 8:30am-5pm:  IP Outpatient Clinic 8:30am-5pm:  EBUS/Navigation Bronchoscopy scheduled at 8:30, 10, 12, 2 10am-6pm:  Rigid Bronchoscopy/Other

Pleural disease interspersed

Pleural disease interspersed Plueral disease interspersed Pleural disease interspersed

 

To read more about Interventional Pulmonology at UNC, and the scope of services and procedures offered and taught, please visit our page here.

Eligibility

Candidates must have completed an ACGME-accredited fellowship in Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care Medicine. Applicants must be board certified in Pulmonary Medicine and board eligible in Critical Care Medicine. Applications are accepted through the Interventional Pulmonary Fellowship Application Service (IPFAS).

Applicants are selected exclusively through the National Residency Matching Program. All candidates must register through Specialties Matching Service (SMS). To register go to: National Resident Matching Program. It is anticipated that one fellow will complete the program annually.

Program Director

Jason Akulian, MD, MPH

Faculty

A. Cole Burks, MD

Contact

Melissa Lawrence, Program Coordinator
CB# 7020, 130 Mason Farm Road
4th Floor Bioinformatics Building
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
919-966-2533 (Phone)
919-966-7013 (Fax)
melissa_lawrence@med.unc.edu

Recent Graduates and Post-fellowship Positions

Toribiong Uchel, MD, 2023 – University of Virginia

Gregory Grandio, MD, 2022 – Intermountain Health Care

Shalini Mehta, MD, 2021 – Oklahoma University

Christina R. MacRosty, 2020 – Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Sohini Ghosh, 2019 – Interventional Pulmonary Medical Director, Allegheny General Hospital at Pittsburgh, PA

David Chambers, 2018 – Assistant Professor of Medicine, Louisiana State University (LSU) at Shreveport, LA

Adam Belanger, 2017 – Interventional Pulmonary/Critical Care – FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital at Pinehurst, NC