The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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UNC School of Medicine | Department of Pediatrics

Pediatric Pulmonology Fellowship

The UNC Pediatric Pulmonary Training Program is an ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) accredited program designed to train the next generation of pediatric pulmonologists to be skilled clinicians and productive investigators. The program provides an intensive three-year experience in pediatric pulmonology and lung biology that includes training in the clinical, research, and educational skills necessary to be a successful academic pediatric pulmonologist. Fellows practice in state of the art facilities and receive exposure to children with a broad range of lung diseases including asthma, cystic fibrosis (CF), primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), and others.

Fellowship training at UNC enhanced by the presence of multiple specialty centers including:

  • A busy Pediatric Bronchoscopy program that performs 400-600 procedures annually including bronchoscopic intubations, brush biopsies, and interventional bronchoscopy procedures.
  • One of the largest Cystic Fibrosis Care Centers in the Southeast, following ~300 children with CF.
  • The PCD Clinical and Research Center, one of the leading PCD centers and part of the Genetic Disorders of Mucociliary Clearance Consortium that serves to diagnose, treat, and study rare lung diseases such as PCD.
  • The NC Children’s Airway Center, a multidisciplinary Patient-Centered Specialty Practice center that includes specialists from ENT, pulmonary, sleep medicine, speech therapy, and more to diagnose and treat children with complex airway diseases.
  • The UNC Children’s Allergy & Asthma Center, North Carolina’s only comprehensive pediatric allergy and asthma center that aligns pediatric specialists from allergy and immunology, pulmonology, respiratory therapy, and more to provide expert diagnosis, personalized care plans, and comprehensive education for patients with asthma
  • The Marsico Lung Institute, one of the most academically productive basic and translational science institutes for pulmonary diseases in the nation.
  •  ILD – Rare and Genetic Lung Disease Program. Drs. Hagood, Vece, and Gower are active clinicians and researchers in rare and genetic lung diseases, including children’s interstitial lung disease (ChILD) Patients with these diagnoses are seen in regular clinics as well as a monthly combined clinic with Immunology/Rheumatology. Our center actively participates in United States National Registry for ChILD and the ChILD Research Network (ChILDRN). Residents and fellows have completed projects in ChILD leading to presentation at scientific meting and peer-reviewed publications.
  •  BPD Program
    o Fellows gain comprehensive experience in bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) through a dedicated inpatient consult service for BPD patients in the NICU, as well as a longitudinal outpatient BPD clinic, providing continuity from the NICU through early childhood. This experience highlights multidisciplinary care, chronic ventilator management, long-term outcomes, and evolving approaches to complex neonatal lung disease.
  •  Dysphagia clinic
  •  Home Ventilator Program
    o The UNC Pediatric Home Ventilator program, which includes a dedicated nurse practitioner, provides coordinated, family‑centered care for children requiring invasive and non-invasive ventilation. As an active member of the Pediatric Mechanical Ventilation Society, the program incorporates national best practices and research opportunities into fellows’ training in long‑term ventilator management.

Our program is structured to fulfill American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) eligibility criteria for certification in Pediatric Pulmonology. In accordance with the Program Requirements for Residency Education in Pediatric Pulmonology published by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the fellow’s time will be structured such that roughly one-third of the total time is devoted to clinical training, and two-thirds to training in research and teaching skills.