Clinical and Biologic Treatment of Coronary Artery Disease

Frank W. Sellke, MD, is the chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital and is the Karl Karlson and Gloria Karlson Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. A noted clinical cardiothoracic surgeon, researcher, and author, Dr. Sellke previously served as the chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and as the Johnson and Johnson Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American College of Chest Physicians, and the American College of Surgeons. Dr Sellke has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for 30 years. He served as Associate Editor for the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery for 14 years and is currently an Associate Editor of Circulation Heart Failure, Vessel Plus, and the Circulation Journal. He is on the editorial board of Circulation, Surgery, the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, and the Journal of Cardiac Surgery. He is the Past Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia of the American Heart Association and the Past Chairman of the Advisory Council on Cardiothoracic Surgery of the American College of Surgeons. He is the current Chairman of the Data Safety Monitoring Committee of the National Institutes of Health Cardiac Surgery Network and served as a full-time member of the Surgery, Anesthesiology, Trauma study section, and the Bioengineering, Technology and Surgical Science study section of the NIH.  Dr Sellke is the recipient of the 2013 Indiana University School of Medicine Distinguished Alumni Award, the 2013 American Heart Association Distinguished Achievement Award, and the 2021 Brown University Distinguished Research Award.

Research interests: Coronary artery bypass grafting, cardioplegia, myocardial protection, coronary angiogenesis, cardiac surgery, atrial fibrillation, microcirculation, cardiopulmonary bypass, aortic surgery, valve surgery.

Sunil V. Rao, MD is the Director of Interventional Cardiology at NYU Langone Health and the Director of the NYU Langone’s Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory in Manhattan. Additionally, he is the Professor of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Rao served as the chair of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) Quality Committee and was chair of the SCAI 2019 Scientific Sessions. A prolific researcher, Dr. Rao has published more than 400 peer-reviewed articles and textbook chapters. He serves as editor-in-chief of Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions and is currently the president of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. In addition to his clinical and academic accomplishments, Dr. Rao is a dedicated educator who has received numerous teaching and mentoring awards. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the American College of Cardiology, the Veterans Affairs Health Administration, and the interventional industry. He continues to present at national and international meetings and is sought out as an expert on the subspecialty.

His focus of research is on bleeding and transfusion issues in patients with ischemic heart disease, quality assessment and improvement through registries, as well as early phase clinical trials in interventional cardiology.

Stephen Edward Fremes Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Toronto, Ontario, Canada Presentation: Revascularization for Ischemic LV Dysfunction: STICH 3.0 Dr Fremes will be reviewing percutaneous and surgical revascularization for ischemic LV dysfunction  Dr. Stephen Fremes completed medical school at the University of Toronto in 1979 and then entered surgical residency in 1979 at the University of Toronto. Dr. Fremes completed general surgery residency in 1986 and cardiovascular and thoracic surgery residency in 1988. Dr. Fremes was a Research Fellow of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada from 1982 to 1984 during residency (MSc awarded 1984) and from 1988 to 1989 following residency, under the supervision of Dr. Richard Weisel. Dr. Fremes has been a staff surgeon at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre since 1989 and a Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto since 2001. His patients have described him as an amazing doctor and an amazing person.

His research interests have primarily centred on improving outcomes following CABG, arterial grafting, myocardial protection/cardiopulmonary bypass management, and lately transcatheter aortic valve surgery. Methodologies include clinical trials, large observational studies, systematic reviews and meta-analysis, guideline development and modelling.

Dr. Kenza Rahmouni completed her MDCM degree at McGill University in 2020. She is now the current chief resident and she is doing her academic enrichment year in the clinical scientist program at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. She is extremely organized, a potential superstar and an exceptional speaker with profound insights.

Her research interests include mitral valve repair and replacement, minimally invasive surgery (including minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafts), heart valve bioprostheses, and mechanical valves, as well as women's cardiovascular health.

Carlos A. Mestres boasts a rich medical background and extensive clinical expertise. Graduating from the University of Barcelona School of Medicine in 1979, he obtained a Doctor of Medicine degree. His specialization spans across general thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, serving as a cardiovascular surgeon at the University Hospital of Barcelona for 30 years (1984-2014). During this tenure, he also served as a visiting teaching fellow in the Department of Surgery at the National University of Singapore and as an assistant professor at the University of Barcelona School of Medicine. He held key positions in several hospitals, including Chief of the Cardiovascular Surgery Section at the University of Murcia's affiliated hospital in Spain and as a senior staff surgeon at the Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in Barcelona. His international experience encompasses roles as a consultant cardiovascular and vascular surgeon at the Heart and Vascular Institute of the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, followed by becoming a leading physician at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at the University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland. Currently, he is an Extraordinary Professor in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The University of the Free State in Bloemfontein (South Africa).

Research interests: Biomaterials, tissue valves, surgery of ischemic heart disease, healthcare systems and management, valvular homografts, infective endocarditis & cardiovascular infections, intrathoracic organ transplantation, vascular homografts, surgery of the aorta.