New Pulmonary Hypertension fellowship program begins accepting applications

In 2025, the University of Minnesota Medical School announced the formation of a Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) fellowship program. Under the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, the fellowship is a year long, non-accredited program training one fellow per year to diagnose, treat, and research pulmonary hypertension, a serious pulmonary/cardiac condition that can contribute to many debilitating illnesses and eventually death.

Pulmonary hypertension was identified more than 100 years ago, but researchers today have yet to identify a definitive cause or cure for the disease. Significant recent effort has led to the development of the first effective treatments, improving the prognosis for those recently diagnosed. The death rate, however, remains high. Those at high-risk have a 3-year survival rate as low as 45%, and treatments for these complex patients remain limited.

With three core faculty and a staff dedicated to patient care and cutting edge research, the Pulmonary Hypertension Section at the University of Minnesota has distinguished itself in the diagnosis and treatment of the full spectrum of pulmonary hypertension. The work has led to a designation as an Accredited Center of Comprehensive Care by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, one of the few centers in the midwest. Adding to this core medical group, the University of Minnesota will now have a dedicated training program for young physicians to treat patients and study this disease.

“Pulmonary hypertension (PH) has become a global epidemic, now affecting nearly 1% of the world’s population,” describes Thenappan Thenappan, MD, “Despite its prevalence, traditional cardiovascular and pulmonary critical care training often lacks the specialized depth required to manage its diverse etiologies and complex natural histories. The PH Fellowship at UMN bridges this gap, offering a unique, immersive opportunity to master the skills necessary to treat these high-acuity patients. Our program provides the comprehensive clinical training and research foundation required to lead and advance the field of pulmonary vascular medicine.”

The Pulmonary Hypertension fellowship program will train one fellow each year in all aspects of pulmonary hypertension care. The fellow will see patients in a clinic outpatient setting as well as patients in the University of Minnesota Medical Center. They will perform diagnostic procedures in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab and have dedicated time for research into the disease. “Pulmonary hypertension is an underrecognized condition that requires specialized expertise,” notes PH faculty member Sasha Prisco, MD, PhD, “Focused training in pulmonary hypertension is essential to support patients living with this serious, chronic disease.”

The PH program was designed by Dr. Thenappan, who has been appointed as Program Director by the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. The program is now accepting applications by email and is planning to recruit the first PH fellow for the 2027-2028 academic year. Applications are encouraged from both Cardiovascular Disease and Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine fellowship backgrounds.