Chair 2021-2023

Professor Volkmar Falk is medical director and director of the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery of the German Heart Center Berlin, Chair of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Charité Berlin and Professor for Translational Cardiovascular Technologies at the ETH, Zurich. After successfully completing Medical School and his doctorate at the University of Bonn he began his basic surgical training at the University in Göttingen and completed his residency at the Department of Cardiac Surgery of the Heart Center Leipzig. From 1998 to 2003 he held the position of a senior surgeon there, with an interruption of his clinical work for a one year research fellowship at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. In 2001 he completed his “Habilitation” (German post-doctoral university teaching qualification) and in 2003 he became a senior consultant. From 2009-2014 Falk was appointed professor and director of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at the University Hospital in Zurich. In 2014 he was appointed Professor and Chair of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Charite Berlin and became the medical director and director of the DHZB Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery of the Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin. Since 12 2018 he was appointed professor for Translational Cardiovascular Technologies at the ETH, Zurich. His main areas of current clinical and academic research are in the field of endoscopic and minimally invasive cardiac surgery and image guided transcatheter therapies. He was co-founder of the Innovation Center for Computer Assisted Surgery (ICCAS) at the University of Leipzig funded by the German Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF). In Zürich he established numerous research collaborations with the ETH, among them “Zurich Heart” Project, an interdisciplinary project at the interface of medical engineering and surgery for the development of new components for mechanical circulatory assist systems. He is currently PI of the project, which received intense funding over the last 5 years. Falk is the author or coauthor of over 566 scientific publications (listed in Pubmed, Hirsch-Index 63) and serves in various functions (Board member, President, Committees) in numerous international professional societies (EACTS, ESC, DGTHG, SGHC, ISMICS and others). He serves on the editorial board of a number of journals in the field and on a number of International Guideline-Committees. He is Coauthour or Chairman of the current ESC ESC

Member 2021-2023

Dr. Balkhy is Professor of Surgery and Director of Robotic and Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery at the University of Chicago Medicine. He received his Cardiothoracic and Vascular surgery training at Tufts New England Medical Center and the Lahey Clinic in Boston, MA. He was Chairman of Cardiac Surgery at the Wisconsin Heart Hospital in Milwaukee, WI prior to moving to the University of Chicago in July 2013. Dr. Balkhy has been well known for his strong advocacy of less invasive cardiac surgery. Since adapting robotic surgery into his practice in 2007, Dr Balkhy quickly became a leader in beating heart totally endoscopic single and multi-vessel, robotic coronary bypass and has one of the largest series of these procedures in the world. He pioneered the robotic connector coronary bypass procedure (Connector TECAB) and lectures widely on this topic and proctors surgeons all over the world. Dr Balkhy has published numerous peer-reviewed articles as well as several textbook chapters on robotic cardiac surgery. He is a frequent invited speaker and presents at national and international professional conferences and scientific meetings. He has trained and proctored numerous surgeons on robotic techniques in cardiac surgery both in the US and internationally and is a strong advocate in helping to increase the adoption of cardiac robotic surgery worldwide.

Member 2021-2023

Dr Dan Blackman is a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at Leeds General Infirmary, and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Leeds. He is the UK Lead of the Valve for Life programme. He has performed over 1500 TAVI procedures, has proctored TAVI worldwide, and is also active in the field of trans-catheter mitral valve intervention. Dr Blackman is a committed innovator and clinical researcher in interventional cardiology, and has published well over 100 peer-reviewed articles in the field.

Member 2019-2022

Lenard Conradi is chief senior physician and surgical director of programmes for minimally-invasive and transcatheter heart valve procedures in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at the University Heart and Vascular Center of Hamburg University. After studying at the School of Medicine, University of Kiel from 1998-2005, he undertook his residency at the University Heart Centre, Hamburg from 2006-2014. Appointed a senior consultant in 2019, he became Deputy Director in January 2021. A member of numerous international associations, working groups and advisory boards, he regularly undertakes a plethora of consultancies and proctorships and is principle investigator on several ongoing clinical trials.

Member 2021-2023

Marco Di Eusanio is Professor of Cardiac Surgery; Director, Cardiac Surgery Department, Lancisi Cardiovascular Center, OORR; Director, Marfan Center, Director Minimally Invasive and Trans-Catheter Cardiac Surgery Research Center, Università Politecnica delle Marche in Ancona, Italy. His main practice and scientific areas include aortic and mitral valve repair, minimally invasive surgery and fast recovery, trans-catheter valve interventions (TAVI, percutaneous EtoE MV repair,TMVI) surgery of the thoracic aorta (open, endo, hybrid), cerebral protection, endocarditis, hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy surgery, surgical education. He is author or co-author of >200 publications and lectures nationally and internationally and regularly hosts other surgeons at his centre in order to learn minimally invasive techniques.

Member 2019-2022

Member 2020-2023

Tomas Holubec graduated in 2004 as a medical doctor at the Charles University in Prague, Medical Faculty in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic and in 2014 he received his PhD. degree at the same University. After finishing his residency in cardiac surgery in 2012, Tomas became a Board certified cardiac surgeon. After collecting experience at renowned Institutions such as University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland or Kerckhoff Klinik Bad Nauheim in Germany, he is, a Deputy Director (since 2018) of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at the University Hospital Frankfurt and Associated Professor (since 2019) at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Germany. His areas of clinical and research interests are in minimally invasive cardiac surgery, valve-sparing operations, complex aortic surgery, and coronary revascularization, especially off-pump.

Member 2019-2022

Prof. Dr. med. Jörg Kempfert was born 1976 in Berlin. After finishing Medical School in Hamburg and Leipzig he started his Residency at the Heart Center University Leipzig under the supervision of Prof. Friedrich Mohr. After Board Certification he moved to the Kerckhoff Heart Institute in Bad Nauheim to work with Prof. Thomas Walther. In 2014 he moved to the German Heart Center Berlin joining the team of Prof. Volkmar Falk. His interests are in the area of minimally-invasive, endoscopic and transcatheter valve therapy and aortic arch surgery.

Member 2019-2022

Associate Professor Theo Kofidis is Head of the Department of Cardiac-, Thoracic- and Vascular Surgery, at the National University Hospital of Singapore, Senior Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon, and a pioneer minimally invasive heart surgeon. He is a renowned Cardiac Surgeon and strongly sought-for proctor and surgical teacher around the world. One of only 2 AATS (American Association for Thoracic Surgery) members in SE Asia, he is also an Ambassador Steering Committee of the World Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery for the same region. Over the last 10 years in Singapore, he has established the most complete, pioneering and advanced Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery program in the region, and offers endoscopic, robotic and hybrid surgeries for Bypass to treat Coronary artery- and heart valve diseases, and arrhythmias. He is Chairman of I.R.I.S. (Initiative for Research and Innovation in Surgery), has introduced various new technologies, and launched new types of less invasive surgery.

Member 2020-2021

Member 2021-2023

Member 2021-2023

Dr. Nicolas M. Van Mieghem obtained his medical degree and cardiology degree at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. After subsequent Fellowships in interventional cardiology in Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg Genk, Belgium, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, USA and Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, he joined the department of interventional cardiology in the Thoraxcenter, Erasmus MC as a senior staff member in February 2010. He is the clinical director of interventional cardiology since 2014. He became full professor of interventional cardiology September 1 2019. He is involved in the percutaneous coronary interventions program and has a particular focus on transcatheter heart valve interventions, mechanical circulatory support and treatment of calcified coronary lesions. He obtained the degree of PhD based upon his research in transcatheter valve therapies. So far he has published and co-authored over 350 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Van Mieghem is principle investigator and steering committee member in multiple ongoing international trials evaluating various transcatheter valve technologies, mechanical circulatory support platforms and coronary atherectomy devices. He is a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC) and the American College of Cardiology (FACC).

Member 2021-2023