Message from the Program Director
Advanced Endoscopy Fellowship
The West Virginia University Advanced Endoscopy Fellowship (WVU AEF) is a 1-year training program located at WVU Medicine J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital (Morgantown, WV), the 840-bed flagship hospital of the WVU Medicine Health System (21+ member system hospitals). Virtually all patients requiring complex advanced endoscopy procedures are transferred to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital from all reaches of West Virginia and surrounding states. Because of this huge catchment area, over 1,000 ERCP and 1,000 EUS are performed annually at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital. Other procedures regularly performed include peroral endoscopic myotomy (E/Z/G-POEM), bariatric endoscopy (endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty [ESG], transoral outlet reduction [TORe], EUS-directed transgastric ERCP [EDGE]), transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF), and advanced polyp resection (endoscopic mucosal resection [EMR], endoscopic submucosal dissection [ESD], endoscopic full thickness resection [EFTR]).
The WVU AEF was founded in 2022 because the high procedural volume at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital is ideal for trainee mentorship. Program faculty include Drs. Shyam Thakkar, Shailendra Singh, and Matthew Krafft, all of whom were formally trained in advanced endoscopy fellowships. The program faculty are full-time advanced endoscopists who work out of three dedicated advanced endoscopy rooms, each with built-in fluoroscopy (Omega Medical Imaging). The 1-to-1 room-to-staff ratio allows the advanced endoscopy team to efficiently complete the high annual procedural (referral) volume.
The current (and future) advanced endoscopy fellow works with each of the faculty members. The three faculty members have unique training backgrounds and clinical interests, which helps the WVU advanced endoscopy fellow grow into a well-rounded endoscopist, clinician, and researcher. The advanced endoscopy fellow is 100% dedicated to advanced endoscopy during his or her training year. General GI procedures and general GI consults are not included in the WVU AEF curriculum. In addition to 4.5-days of advanced endoscopy procedures per week (~8-12 advanced procedures daily), the advanced endoscopy fellow may dedicate a half-day to either advanced endoscopy clinic and/or research. All three faculty members are engaged in clinical research projects; thus, the advanced endoscopy fellow will be mentored in a scholarly project aimed at presentation and publication.
The WVU advanced endoscopy fellow for academic year 2024-2025 will be selected through the ASGE's Advanced Endoscopy Fellowship Matching Program (asgematch.com).
Sincerely,
Matthew “Skip” Krafft, MD, MS
Program Director, WVU Advanced Endoscopy Fellowship