Current Fellows

Hobbies: Outside of work, I enjoy hanging out with my wife and son. We like going on walks, visiting wineries and spending time with the rest of our family. I also enjoy cycling and just about anything outdoors.

Research/QI Interests: My prior research looked at the presence of fasciculoventricular pathways in patients of Danon disease. More recently, I have been researching B-blocker usage in pregnant women with long QT syndrome and the effects of this treatment on the mother and the newborn.

Why Pediatric Cardiology?
I love the logic and physiology of the heart. Congenital heart disease is fascinating and the field has been rapidly evolving with new discoveries on how to best treat it. I enjoy the variety of experiences the field provides with procedures, critical care, inpatient service, outpatient clinic, etc. Most importantly, the kids we work with are incredible! They are so resilient and I love being able to build relationships and have the continuity of care that we have with our patients and our families.

Why IU/Riley?
I went to medical school at Indiana University and loved Riley. It is a large children’s hospital that is very invested in its kids. The people here are wonderful to work with and I enjoy being closer to my own family. Indianapolis is a great city to live in with plenty to do and a low cost of living. From a fellowship standpoint, they have a very wide variety of pediatric cardiology specialists and cardiothoracic surgeons. Additionally, they have a pediatric cardiac ICU and a cardiac step-down unit. These resources combined with those of a large academic center allow for a number of outstanding educational experiences and provide an infrastructure to build a career upon.

Hobbies: I’m a big fan of watching/playing hockey, getting my heart broken by Notre Dame Football, and spending time with my two greyhounds.

Research/QI Interests: I am interested in general pediatric cardiology with emphasis on fetal echocardiography and exercise physiology in children with congenital heart disease.

Why Pediatric Cardiology?
I was born with double outlet right ventricle and have always known I wanted to do pediatric cardiology.

Why IU/Riley?
I chose Riley after I did an audition rotation here; I found that the fellows had a beautiful balance of knowledge of the field, a plethora of exposure, and genuinely loved what they were doing. Over the entire month, I never saw one of the fellows feeling like they were overworked.

Hobbies: My husband and I love trying new restaurants or cocktail bars in the Indy area. We also love taking our dog on hikes in nearby parks or a short drive away. We have recently gotten into various outdoor cooking methods as well, including smoking meats or making pizzas in our pizza oven!

Research/QI Interests: Having just started my fellowship, I still am figuring out exactly where my interests lie. I previously did work with mouse models of muscular dystrophy and heart failure. My current interests are related to the psychosocial aspects of congenital heart disease, including early parental counseling, palliative care involvement after birth, all the way to adolescents understanding and coping with their disease.

Why Pediatric Cardiology?
The field of pediatric cardiology is such a unique field of medicine, with so many different career opportunities. I knew I wanted to be in a field that mixed inpatient and outpatient, saw a wide range of severity of illness, and also involved a multidisciplinary approach to patient-care. Congenital heart disease was something that sparked my interest all the way back in my second year of medical school, and my training since then only cemented that.

Why IU/Riley?
I completed my residency at Riley, but I like to say I chose IU for its cardiology program back when applying for residency. I was fortunate enough to know what fellowship I was interested in when applying for residency and couples matching with my husband who was entering into a 7-year residency program. IU provided us both incredible opportunities, including a wide patient population, no shortage of pathology, and a friendly environment for training.

Hobbies: My partner and I love hiking with our puppy around Indy, especially at Eagle Creek. He and I love exploring breweries and restaurants around town and cooking at home. I also love to bake and craft when I get the chance.

Research/QI Interests: I’m currently doing research focused on our patient population with Fontan physiology. My research focuses on trying to understand if different factors at the time of surgery correlate to long term morbidity and complications.

Why Pediatric Cardiology?
I’ve worked with children my entire life and always wanted to work in a field where I could combine my love for complex physiology with the desire to help children. Pediatric cardiology was the perfect match of complex physiology, a range of acuity from clinic to ICU, long lasting patient relationships, and working with children.

Why IU/Riley?
I was lucky enough to complete my pediatric residency at IU/Riley, and over those three years I had the opportunity to interact with many members of our heart center team and faculty. Everyone was always so welcoming and excited to have me around and teach. I knew I would get a great education and felt like I would be supported throughout my training by the faculty and fellows.

Research/QI Interests: My research interests lie at the intersection of pediatric cardiology and palliative care. We're currently developing a needs assessment at key timepoints for families presenting for cardiac evaluation through Riley's multidisciplinary Fetal Center. The goal is to identify gaps where we can better serve our patients and their families and develop/report best practices.

Why Pediatric Cardiology?
I've known I wanted to be a pediatric cardiologist since very early in my training. To me the specialty offers everything: acute/critical care, longitudinal care, inpatient settings, outpatient clinics, diagnostic/interventional procedures, lots of interdisciplinary work, and most importantly, a wonderful patient population that ranges from the prenatal period even into adulthood. In residency I learned I could get double boarded in cardiology and palliative care and serve our population even more. So, that's the plan!

Why IU/Riley?
I completed medical school at IU but went away for residency. Because of the perfect mix of culture, patient volume/pathology/acuity, and proximity to family, I dreamed of coming back to Riley one day as a faculty member. I'm ecstatic that to be back a little earlier than I hoped to continue my training. Even though I've only been here a couple months, I feel incredibly affirmed in my decision to pursue fellowship at Riley. Everyone within the division is so supportive, from my co-fellows to the faculty, floor staff, administrative staff, and beyond. If you're looking for a place where all questions are welcomed, fellow education is prioritized, and the faculty care about you holistically the way they do their patients, look no further

Research/QI interests: During residency I completed a project related to appropriate use criteria for pediatric transthoracic echocardiograms.  I would like to pursue further research in this area and/or investigate how artificial intelligence will affect pediatric cardiology imaging modalities.  

Why Pediatric Cardiology?
Cardiology has fascinated me as early as undergraduate anatomy and physiology.  Prior to medical school I worked as an adult cardiac nurse and figured my path would result in becoming an adult cardiologist.  However, during medical school my pediatrics rotation assured me that my career needed to involve caring for children.  The problem solving, individualized approach, involvement of longitudinal care and intellectual stimulation found within the field of pediatric cardiology is the perfect fit for my interests and strengths.  

Why Riley?
During my interview day I felt very comfortable with the faculty and fellows.  A medium sized program with high clinical volume was what I was looking for in a fellowship program.  This learning environment provides close mentoring without losing the clinical exposure necessary to become an excellent pediatric cardiologist.  The clinical volume and wide range of pathology has already become apparent early on in my training here, and I'm looking forward to what the next 3 years has to offer.  Additionally, Indy is a wonderful city for my wife and 2 boys with low cost of living and plenty of family friendly activities.