Member 2018-2021

Francesco Onorati is a cardiac surgeon working at Verona University Hospital, Italy. He was trained at the Second University of Naples, Italy, were he focused his researches on myocardial protection strategies, cardiopulmonary bypass, and heart transplantation. Afterwards, he moved to University Magna Graecia, Italy, as a staff surgeon, where he specialized in heart failure surgery, left ventricular assisting devices, arterial grafting, pulsatile cardiopulmonary bypass, heart failure surgery and atrial fibrillation surgery. During the last 10 years he specialized in aortic surgery, endocarditis, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, transcatheter procedures, mechanical assisting devices and transplantation. He gained his PhD at the Second University of Naples, Italy, working on cardiopulmonary bypass biocompatibility. He served as a lecturer in both Medical School and Cardiovascular Perfusion School of Medicine at Magna Graecia University and at University of Verona. He currently serves as President of the Cardiovascular Perfusion School of Medicine at the University of Verona Medical School. He is also Responsible for the Heart Transplant program, the Minimally Invasive Valve program and the Arrhythmia Surgery program at the Division of Cardiac Surgery of Verona University Hospital. He is involved in all areas of adult cardiac surgery, but his principal areas of interest are cardiopulmonary bypass biocompatibility, aortic surgery, endocarditis, minimally invasive valve therapy, heart transplant and mechanical assisting devices.

Member 2018-2021

Member 2018-2021

Member 2018-2021

After graduating from medical school in 1998, Qingguo Li finished his residency and worked as a general surgeon for four years. With a strong interest in cardiac surgery, Qingguo subsequently completed both his masters and doctoral training in adult cardiac surgery at the Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital. His training focused on aortic valve repair and aortic surgeries. Currently, he is the vice president and chief cardiac surgeon of the 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University and an associate professor in surgery at the Nanjing Medical University. His is specialized in the surgical treatment of heart valves, aortic dissections, and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms.

Member 2020-2023

Alessandro Leone graduated in 2005 as a medical doctor at the Bologna University. In 2010 he graduated as a Cardiac surgeon. After finishing his residency in cardiac surgery, Alessandro completed his training focused on thoracic aortic surgery, aortic arch procedure and minimally invasive surgery at the Hannover University Hospital. Currently, he is a staff member of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at the Bologna University Hospital. His areas of interest are trans-catheter valve replacement, complex aortic arch surgery, aortic reconstructive surgery.

Member 2020-2023

Julia Dumfarth graduated in 2008 as a medical doctor at the Medical University Vienna. In parallel to residency in cardiac surgery at the Medical University in Vienna and later on Medical University Innsbruck, she obtained a PhD in cardiovascular medicine and spent a research year at the Yale New Haven Aortic Institute. Currently she works as academic staff surgeon at the Medical University Innsbruck and is specializing in aortic disease as well as heart transplantation. Her scientific focus lies in aortic disease, especially aortic dissection. As a member of VASCERN genetic aortopathies are another area of scientific interest.

Member 2020-2023

Prof. Andreas Martens, born 1975, studied medicine at Hannover Medical School and graduated in 2002. He finished his cardiovascular residency at the Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery at Hannover Medical School in 2011. He undertook a research fellowship at the Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO) between 2008 and 2010 with a focus on cardiac stem cell therapy. He is currently a senior consultant at the Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery with a focus on adult cardiac surgery and thoracic aortic surgery. He is associate professor at Hannover Medical School. His main scientific interests are aortic root repair, aortic arch surgery, cardiovascular stem cell research and surgical training.