TRAINING LEADERS
Pediatric cardiology fellowship training program

As a leader in pediatric cardiology treatment and research, Texas Children’s Heart Center trains physicians who will become leaders in the field worldwide. 

Since the first fellowship in 1955, hundreds of fellows from around the globe have gained pediatric cardiology expertise through the Lillie Frank Abercrombie Section of Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Training Program at Baylor College of Medicine. 

Annually, the new fellows class of about 20 physicians represents countries such as Great Britain, Canada, Egypt, Ireland, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Preparing cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons to practice worldwide

Cardiology and cardiovascular surgery  fellows enter the training program as some of the nation’s most noted pediatricians. Many, having finished at the top of their classes in medical school three to 10 years earlier, come to Texas Children’s training program to further their expertise. The program is one of the most competitive in the country.

Because Texas Children’s Heart Center is one of the largest in the world, cardiology and congenital heart surgery fellows can train here with experts who practice the entire spectrum of care for patients with congenital heart problems – from pacemaker implantation, neonatal heart surgery and mechanical assistance for the failing heart, to intensive care, diagnostic and therapeutic cardiac catheterization and outpatient wellness services. 

More than 30 chiefs of pediatric cardiology have trained in the fellowship program. Many of the world’s most renowned leaders in pediatric cardiology were fellows at Texas Children’s Heart Center.

Emmett Augustus Jones Foundation
The mission of the Emmett Augustus Jones Foundation, founded by Mary and Hank Jones and named after their son Emmett, is to advance the field of pediatric congenital heart care through research, education and family assistance.  

Dr. Charles Fraser, surgeon-in-chief, Donovan Chair and chief of congenital heart surgery at Texas Children’s Heart Center, is the inaugural holder of The Donovan Chair of the Emmett Augustus Jones Foundation.

The endowment helps sponsor research conducted by Dr. Fraser and his colleagues to determine the cause of congenital heart defects and what might be done to prevent or repair it.  The Jones Fellowship allows an outstanding cardiovascular surgeon to study with Dr. Fraser in the highly specialized field of pediatric congenital heart surgery.  The fellows use that knowledge to improve pediatric heart surgery outcomes all over the world.

According to Dr. Fraser, and in keeping with the mission of the foundation, fellowships are awarded to physicians from anywhere in the world who show a dedication to the field of pediatric cardiovascular surgery and who also have the opportunity to make a significant impact with their practice, wherever that may be.