Thoracic Imaging Fellowship

Overview

Cleveland Clinic's Thoracic Imaging Fellowship offers comprehensive training in thoracic CT, MR, and radiography, with chest intervention and biopsy rotations built into the curriculum. Fellows have protected time for research, manuscript preparation, and national presentations, with mentor support and GME funding for first-author conference presentations. Fellows also have access to the Center for Medical Art and Photography for academic support.

Applications now open for the 2027-2028 Thoracic Fellowship Program!

Program structure

• 12-month, non-ACGME fellowship (July 1–June 30), two positions each year. Fellows have the option to participate in a traditional fellowship pathway or in a clinical pathway:
• Traditional pathway: Fellows spend 5 days/week at CCF main campus focusing on advanced fellowship training.
  For those interested in a combined Cardiothoracic Fellowship, several training pathways are available:

• 9 months thoracic; 3 months cardiac
• 6 months (thoracic); 6 months (cardiac)

• Clinical practitioner pathway: Couples advanced fellowship training with real-world practice experience and supplemental income; fellows spend 1 day/week at one of the regional CCF hospitals independently interpreting routine radiology examinations, and 4 days/week as fellows at the main campus.
• An informatics/quality track (1 day/week) can run concurrently.

Clinical volume & technology

Over 170,000 thoracic exams/year (65,000 CT) and 300+ interventional procedures. State-of-the-art Siemens equipment supports quantitative imaging, DECT, photon-counting CT, CTVQ, and 3D printing, across a wide range of pathology — from ILD to transplant to rare lung disease.

Conferences

ILD, Rad-Path, Lung Cancer Tumor Board, Lung Cancer Screening/Nodule Management, Lung Transplant, Infectious Disease, Bronchial Asthma, DIPNECH , and CTEPH/PERT conferences, plus interesting case conferences, resident/medical student teaching, and journal club.

Graduates are well-prepared for both academic and private practice careers.

• About Living in Cleveland

Leadership

Ruchi Yadav, MD
Program Director
9500 Euclid Ave, L10
Cleveland, Ohio 44195
Phone: 216.445.3908
Email: yadavr@ccf.org

Zachary Muetzel
Fellowship Coordinator
Cleveland Clinic
9500 Euclid Ave., L10
Cleveland, Ohio 44195
Phone: 216.445.4900
Email: muetzez@ccf.org

If you have any questions or inquiries, please reach out via email to imagingfellowship@ccf.org.

Curriculum

• Typical workday: 7:30 a.m.– 5 p.m.
• Interpretation of all cardiothoracic imaging studies — radiographs, CT, and MRI
• High-volume procedural exposure to:
  • CT- and ultrasound-guided biopsies
  • Preoperative nodule localizations
  • Chest tube placements
  • Radiofrequency tumor ablation
  • Multidisciplinary exposure via second-opinion consultations with pulmonary, infectious disease, surgery, oncology, and rheumatology colleagues
• Weekend call once a month
• Conferences:
  • Weekly: ILD, Lung Cancer Tumor Board, Lung Cancer Screening/Nodule Management, CTEPH/PERT, Asthma
  • Bimonthly: Rad-Path Correlation
  • Monthly: Lung Transplant, Fellows interesting Case Conference
  • Quarterly: Infectious Disease, Journal Club
  • Grand Rounds
  • Residency Interesting Case Conference

Benefits

*Reflect 2026-2027 salary and is subject to change.

Academic funding

• Up to 5 days for meetings per year
• Up to $4,000 for oral presentations
• Up to $1,000 for attendance only meetings
• $1000 discretionary fund
• $850 book fund

Vacation and time away

• 15 vacation days per year
• 5 personal/interview days per year

Additional benefits

• At least 8 weeks of elective rotations in traditional thoracic fellowship
• Cleveland Clinic iPhone for the year
• Comprehensive medical/dental/vision insurance
• Maternity leave (8 weeks paid) and parental leave (4 weeks paid)
• Employee assistance program
• Employee wellness program including free gym membership

Faculty

The section includes about 11 thoracic imaging-trained faculty members dedicated to teaching, with clinical and research expertise in different aspects of thoracic imaging, and active involvement in major national radiologic societies.

Faculty	Clinical/Research Interests
Ruchi Yadav, MD Thoracic Imaging Fellowship Program Director	Interstitial lung disease, sarcoidosis, quantitative imaging and teaching See Publications for Dr. Yadav
Jason Lempel, MD Section Head	Procedures, lung nodule localization and teaching See Publications for Dr. Lempel
Joseph Azok, MD	Lung nodule and lung cancer screening See Publications for Dr. Azok
Aamer Chughtai, MD	Procedures and interstitial lung disease See Publications for Dr. Chughtai
Ruffin Graham, MD	See Publications for Dr. Graham
Omar Lababede, MD	See Publications for Dr. Lababede
Rahul Renapurkar, MD	Pulmonary hypertension and teaching See Publications for Dr. Renapurkar
Gabin Yun, MD	See Publications for Dr. Yun
Shaoxiong Zhang, MD	See Publications for Dr. Zhang

Current Fellows

Veena Damarla, MD

Navdeep Kaur, MD

Alumni

How to Apply

To apply, please print out and complete the Thoracic and Cardiac Imaging Fellowship Application and submit it along with a personal statement, curriculum vitae, and three letters of reference to the Fellowship Program Director and Coordinator. Applicants are encouraged to obtain an Ohio medical license, DEA number, and be ABR (American Board of Radiology) eligible prior to the beginning of the fellowship.

• Download the fellowship application.

Contact us

Ruchi Yadav, MD
Program Director
Section of Thoracic & Cardiac Imaging
Cleveland Clinic Imaging Institute
9500 Euclid Ave. – L10
Cleveland, Ohio 44195
Phone: 216.445.0573
Email: yadavr@ccf.org

Zachary Muetzel
Fellowship Coordinator
Cleveland Clinic
9500 Euclid Ave., L10
Cleveland, Ohio 44195
Email: muetzez@ccf.org

Subsequent required interviews will be granted on a first come, first serve basis.

Please take a moment to review a listing of all the requirements that must be met to train at Cleveland Clinic as well as the non-smoking policy.