Fellowship Program Information

The goal of the Emory Interventional Pulmonary (IP) Fellowship is to prepare and equip trainees with the advanced skills and knowledge necessary to diagnose and treat complex airway, lung, and pleural disease using minimally invasive techniques. The IP Fellowship program at Emory will provide training beyond the knowledge and skills learned in a general pulmonary fellowship. Upon successful completion of an IP fellowship, the fellow will have acquired proficiency in advanced diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopic procedures as well as be proficient in advanced pleural procedures. Training will include the background knowledge to assess, investigate, diagnose, and treat patients with central airway obstruction, pleural disease, and pulmonary parenchymal lesions, all of which can arise from benign and malignant etiologies.

Clinical training takes place at sites across multiple hospital settings, including:

• Emory University Hospital
• Emory University Hospital Midtown
• Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital
• Grady Memorial Hospital
• Outpatient Interventional Pulmonary (IP) Medicine Clinics at the same sites
• Consultation services at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VA) and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA)

For each outpatient clinic, the fellow is expected to actively participate and perform all procedures scheduled for that day with the IP attending under direct supervision.

The research experience at Emory University's Interventional Pulmonary program is designed to provide fellows with the skills necessary to conduct high-quality scholarly research. Fellows are expected to become knowledgeable about ongoing IP-related studies and contribute where necessary. This includes performing literature reviews, assisting with IRB submissions, and analyzing clinical data. They will also have the opportunity to design and implement their own research projects under the mentorship of Emory faculty members.

Throughout the fellowship, fellows are expected to complete at least one original research project, which they will present at a national or international conference or submit for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Research topics often focus on clinical indications, patient outcomes, and the integration of new technologies and medical devices in interventional pulmonology.

Fellows are encouraged to collaborate with a range of mentors, with the option to work with both Emory faculty and external experts who have established relationships with the program. They will also present their research at major conferences, including those hosted by the American College of Chest Physicians, American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology, and the American Thoracic Society. Through this experience, fellows will gain invaluable exposure to the full spectrum of clinical research in interventional pulmonology, preparing them to contribute to the field's advancement.

Although the Emory Interventional Pulmonary fellow trains at multiple sites, our faculty and trainee maintain close communication and collaboration with each other through a number of conferences throughout the year.    

These include:

• Weekly multidisciplinary thoracic oncology tumor board attended by physicians and colleagues from Thoracic Surgery, Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, and Pathology.
• Monthly Complex Airway Conference
• Biweekly Interventional Pulmonary Education conference/didactic lecture series
• Biweekly Interstitial Lung Disease Conference

The Interventional Pulmonary fellow will also be responsible for participating in weekly tracheostomy multidisciplinary rounds and implementing the Emory-designed decannulation protocol.