James L. Cox Fellowship in Atrial Fibrillation Surgery
James L. Cox Fellowship in Atrial Fibrillation Surgery supports early-career cardiac surgeons with training and mentorship to build surgical treatment skills and prepare for leadership in the field.
Funder: American Association for Thoracic Surgery Foundation
Due Dates: September 1, 2026 (Opens) | December 1, 2026 (Applicant requirements, 11:59 p.m. Eastern) | December 2, 2026 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: Up to $3,750–$10,000 for two or four weeks of study, plus up to $1,500 in Annual Meeting travel reimbursement
Summary: Provides early-career cardiac surgeons with training and mentorship in surgical atrial fibrillation treatment.
Key Information: Applicants must be in their final year of training or have been in practice less than three years.
Description
The James L. Cox Fellowship in Atrial Fibrillation Surgery, administered by the AATS Foundation, provides foundational training and mentorship for early-career cardiac surgeons. Its objectives are to deepen understanding of atrial fibrillation pathophysiology, explain the rationale for surgical treatment, and develop the ability to perform correction procedures through different surgical approaches. The program aims to prepare fellows for leadership in surgical atrial fibrillation treatment.
Host surgeons lead instruction in electrophysiologic mechanisms, cardiac anatomy, treatment literature, consensus guidelines, diagnosis, screening, and associated co-morbidities. Training also covers lesion sets and energy sources, concomitant and sole therapy procedures, left atrial appendage management, postoperative rhythm assessment, and collaboration with cardiologists and electrophysiologists. Fellows may scrub in with host surgeons where credentialing permits; certain host sites offer observation only.
