Anna Seale was awarded the fellowship in 2007. These are her letters.

To the Steel family,

I want to wish your family a very Merry Christmas and New Year!

My time at Boston has now come to an end and I am flying back to the UK tomorrow and starting at the Brompton mid-January.

I have had a fantastic year and greatly appreciate the support you have given me. I am sure the things I have learnt will help me greatly in my future career.

During my time in Boston I have concentrated on Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI) and echo.
I did not have MRI experience before coming to the Children’s hospital and I have had a great introduction to this imaging modality. It is clear that MRI gives extremely good imaging as well as quantative data for measuring ventricular function and chamber size. This can help determine timing of surgery and lets the surgeon get a very good idea of the cardiac anatomy. There are still difficulties in scanning small babies, but the technology is improving all the time.

I have also had a chance to learn 3 dimensional echocardiography. We have often used this in the operating room, imaging valves before repair to give the surgeon as much information as possible about the mechanism of narrowing/ leakiness.
Again, the technology is improving all the time.

I am particularly interested in fetal echocardiography and have had the opportunity to see some fetal interventions, which is a very new field.

However, one of the most useful things has been seeing how a large paediatric “non-invasive imaging” department is run. Particularly how findings are documented, data is stored and staff is taught. The team here is really fantastic and it has been an honor to work with them.

So altogether a fantastic year- Not to mention the added bonus of living in Boston and seeing New England.

Thank you so much for your support to me and the BCCA.

Have a fantastic holiday period and 2008.

Yours sincerely,
Anna Seale


To the Steel family,

I am writing to thank you and tell you how delighted I am to hear that I have been awarded the Madeleine-Steele Fellowship award. I am very grateful for all your hard work in fund raising and your support of the British Congenital Cardiac Association.

I have recently come to the end of my registrar training in Paediatric Cardiology in the UK. During this time, I rotated between Great Ormond Street Hospital and The Royal Brompton Hospital. Before this I trained in Paediatrics and worked in many hospitals in the UK – from Edinburgh to Truro!

I have secured a Consultant post in Paediatric and Fetal Cardiology which will begin mid- January 2008 at the Royal Brompton and Hammersmith Hospitals, London. Before taking up this post, I was keen to gain more experience in non-invasive imaging, preferably in a North American Centre. I applied for the post of Senior Fellow in Non-invasive Imaging at Boston Children’s Hospital and luckily got the position. I started the job in February 2007 and have found it an extremely enjoyable and educational experience. I am here until the end of December 2007.

Boston Children’s hospital has a very large non-invasive cardiac imaging department active in research and is at the cutting edge for newer imaging techniques. I am gaining further skills by being exposed to all aspects of echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging. In addition, it is interesting to see the organizational structure of such a large imaging department. I’m sure this experience will be extremely helpful, in my consultant job in the UK.

Once again, I am extremely grateful for your support.
Yours sincerely,
Anna Seale