Invited Faculty

Bio coming soon.

Dr Patrick Myers is a consultant cardiac surgeon in Switzerland. After finishing medical school in Geneva, he completed his cardiovascular surgery residency at the Geneva University Hospitals, then served as Senior Fellow in adult cardiac surgery at Brigham & Women's Hospital (Lawrence H. Cohn) and Harvard Medical School, and as Fellow in cardiac surgery at Boston Children's Hospital (Pedro del Nido).

Since 2017 he has focused on adult cardiac surgery in private practice in Geneva and serves as consultant cardiac surgeon at Allianz Herzchirurgie Zurich at Zurich University Hospital. He served as member of the board and Secretary of the European Board for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, then as Chair of the Acquired Cardiac Diseases Domain of EACTS, and is now Secretary General of EACTS in his second term.

He has also contributed to CTSNet — the joint venture between AATS, EACTS and STS — having served as Secretary and President. His clinical practice and research interests focus on arterial coronary artery bypass grafting, evolving transcatheter techniques for structural heart disease, HOCM, and the critical appraisal of clinical trials and guidelines development.

Professor Smit is the past Head of Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery (2004–2024) at the University of the Free State and established the Robert WM Frater Cardiovascular Research Centre at the University of the Free State in 2015, of which he is the present director. The centre has three divisions: clinical research; tissue engineering, research and development and basic sciences; and integrated interdisciplinary simulation training.

Professor Smit has co-ordinated the national Annual Hannes Meyer Registrar Symposium since 2004 — a sub-Saharan African training symposium for registrars and perfusionists, supported by the SCTSSA, the College of Cardiothoracic Surgeons of SA, and EACTS. He served on the Education Committee of EACTS and presently serves on the EACTS Outreach Committee. He is the current President of the College of Cardiothoracic Surgery (SA), involved in curriculum, assessment, EPA and WBA projects. He previously served on Exco as Treasurer and Board member of the SA Heart Association, and is General Secretary of PASCaTS (Pan-African Society for CTS).

He serves on the AATS Evarts A. Graham Memorial Traveling Fellowship Committee/Grants Review Committee and on the board of the Cardiac Surgery Intersociety Alliance (CSIA). He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, acts as reviewer for leading journals, and has delivered numerous keynote and invited presentations at leading international conferences.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Timothy Pennel is the Chris Barnard Chair and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and Surgical Director of Heart and Lung Transplantation at Groote Schuur Hospital. His clinical practice focuses on pulmonary endarterectomy, pericardiectomy, and advanced heart and lung disease.

Professor Pennel obtained his medical degree from Stellenbosch University in 2003 and completed his cardiothoracic training at UCT, where he concurrently earned a Master's in Cardiothoracic Surgery, PhD in vascular graft tissue engineering and was admitted to the College of Medicine of South Africa, FC Cardio (SA) in 2014.

He is contributing to several international guideline committees, including the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Statement on Pleural Tuberculosis and the WHO Guidelines on Pulmonary Hydatid Disease, and currently co-authors the South African Statement on Pneumothorax. His academic interests span surgical innovation, and cardiopulmonary disease in resource-limited settings.

Prof. Peter Zilla is Emeritus Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where he led the Chris Barnard Department for 25 years. He now directs a 60-member UCT spin-off dedicated to developing heart valves for Africa.

He holds several doctorates from Vienna, Zurich, and Cape Town, has authored over 225 peer-reviewed publications with an H-index of 63, and is inventor on 93 patents. He founded the Cardiac Surgery Intersociety Alliance (CSIA) to advance surgical capacity in low-income countries.

Prof. Zilla also serves as Senior Research Scholar at UCT and Adjunct Professor at the University of Vienna, where he pioneered clinical cardiovascular tissue engineering, enabling more than 500 patients to receive tissue-engineered arteries grown from their own cells.

Bio coming soon.

Prof. Risenga Frank Chauke is an accomplished academic leader and cardiothoracic surgeon with extensive experience in directing complex academic, clinical, and administrative portfolios within South Africa's higher education and health sectors. He currently serves as Dean of the School of Medicine at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU), following more than two decades of progressive leadership roles, including Head of Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Deputy Dean, and multiple terms as Acting Dean.

Prof. Chauke has led major institutional initiatives spanning academic governance, curriculum development, oversight of postgraduate training, quality assurance, clinical service improvement, and strategic planning. He has chaired and served on numerous national and institutional committees, including the HPCSA, CMSA, SACAA, and Gauteng Department of Health advisory structures, and has contributed internationally through conference chairpersonship, scientific committee work, and international society memberships.

With advanced training in leadership, governance, strategy execution, and medical education — including programmes at GIBS, Harvard Medical School, and Wits University — Prof. Chauke brings a strong blend of executive leadership, clinical expertise, and academic vision to international collaboration in medical education, clinical training, and research capacity development.

Dr. Eduard Quintana trained in cardiovascular surgery at Hospital Clínic Barcelona, followed by a clinical fellowship at the Mayo Clinic Rochester MN. He is a consultant surgeon and associate professor of surgery at the University of Barcelona – Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. He is currently in charge of the Cardiovascular Surgery and Postoperative Critical Care fellowship programme and Coordinator of teaching activities at the Cardiovascular Institute of the Hospital Clínic.

He is a Board Member, Secretary and Examiner of the European Board of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Examination. His clinical interests focus on diseases of the aorta, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, infective endocarditis and critical care.

Dr. Quintana has been a board member of the EACTS Aorta Domain and chair of the dissection task force. He is a board member at the EACTS Francis Fontan Fund Fellowship, a member of the EACTS Clinical Practice Guidelines, and an EACTS Councilor.

Professor Dr. Gloria Färber is a leading German cardiothoracic surgeon specialising in minimal-invasive techniques, heart valve and heart failure surgery, clinical-translational research on heart failure and surgical innovation. Her surgical spectrum covers the entire field of adult cardiac surgery, with particular emphasis on reconstructive valve surgery, aortic surgery, the Ross procedure, and total arterial bypass surgery — preferably performed using minimally invasive techniques or as an OPCAB procedure. Another key area of focus is mechanical circulatory support and transplant medicine.

Professor Färber completed her surgical training with formative positions in Freiburg, Leipzig and Jena, achieving board certification in heart surgery in 2010 and thoracic surgery in 2021. She has held senior leadership roles in university heart surgery departments, including serving as director of the Clinic for Cardiac Surgery at the Universitätsklinikum des Saarlandes in Homburg. In May 2025, she assumed the position of Director of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the University Hospital Würzburg, where she also holds the corresponding endowed professorship.

She is active in national and international scientific societies, including serving as Acquired Cardiac Domain Chair within the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS), and as an active member of the AATS and the German Society for Thoracic, Heart and Vascular Surgery (DGTHG). Prof. Färber is also a founder and head of the network Women in Cardiac Surgery, promoting mentoring and training for female cardiac surgeons.

Dr. Vinay Badhwar is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at West Virginia University, and Executive Chair of the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute. He completed his surgical residency and fellowship training at McGill University, the University of Ottawa, and the University of Michigan, and served as Chief of Adult Cardiac Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh from 2011 to 2016.

Since 2016, Dr. Badhwar has led WVU's rapidly expanding cardiology and cardiovascular surgical programmes, including one of the most advanced robotic cardiac programmes in the United States. He holds 8 patents, is NIH-funded, and has over 450 publications and 450 invited presentations.

He has held leadership roles in The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, and the American College of Cardiology, and served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. He is currently Senior Editor of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vice-Chair of the NHLBI Cardiothoracic Clinical Trials Network, and President of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

Professor Vinicius Nina is a full Professor of Medicine at the Federal University of Maranhão, with a PhD in Sciences (Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery) and a Post-Doctorate in Cardio-pneumology from the University of São Paulo. He completed medical residency at the Dante Pazzanese Institute of Cardiology in São Paulo and specialisation in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Alabama and The Prince Charles Hospital, Australia.

He is a founding member of the Brazilian Academy of Cardiovascular Surgery and has served as President of the Brazilian Society of Cardiovascular Surgery. He is a member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (USA), the European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery, and the Board of Trustees of Cardiostart International.

Currently, Prof. Nina is a full Professor in the Master's and Doctoral Programs of Health Sciences at the Federal University of Maranhão, and Head of the Cardiac Surgery Service at UDI Hospital São Luiz Rede D'Or. He is Associate Editor of the Brazilian Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery, with research interests spanning cardiac surgery outcomes, heart transplantation, congenital and valvular heart disease, and global surgery.

Professor Hermann Reichenspurner attended medical school in Munich, beginning his training as a resident at the University Hospital Munich in 1985. In 1987 he joined the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Cape Town as a registrar, before returning to Munich to complete training in general and cardiac surgery.

In 1994 he undertook a cardiothoracic transplantation fellowship at Stanford University, and was subsequently appointed Assistant Professor in Dresden (1996) and Associate Professor in Munich (1997). In 2001 he became Chairman and full Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery at University Hospital Hamburg Eppendorf, and in 2005 assumed chairmanship of the newly founded University Heart Center Hamburg.

Prof. Reichenspurner has served as President of the International Society for Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery (2001–2002), President of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (2014–2015), and Chancellor of the World Society of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Dr. Elaine Tseng is Professor of Surgery in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. Her clinical expertise includes minimally invasive aortic valve replacement, the Ross operation, ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm repair, valve-sparing aortic root replacement, structural heart interventions including TAVR and transcatheter edge-to-edge repair, and multi-arterial coronary artery bypass grafting.

Dr. Tseng earned her Bachelor of Science from MIT and her medical degree from Harvard Medical School. She completed general and cardiothoracic surgery training at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, earning multiple honours including the George D. Zeidema Surgery Award and the Nina Braunwald Research Fellowship Award. She joined the UCSF faculty in 2002.

Her research focuses on biomechanics, fluid dynamics, and computational modelling of aortic disease and valve surgery, supported by continuous NIH R01 and VA Merit funding. She serves as UCSF/SFVA site principal investigator for the international TITAN trial, and holds leadership roles in the American Heart Association, Thoracic Surgery Foundation, and Heart Valve Society. She has published more than 100 scientific papers and book chapters.

Dr. Godwin Godfrey Sharau is Head of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He completed his undergraduate education at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and his paediatric cardiac surgery training at the Edith Wolfson University Medical Center in Israel, before returning to Tanzania to become the country's first paediatric cardiac surgeon.

With over fifteen years of experience in paediatric cardiac surgery, his special interests include neonatal surgery, congenital and rheumatic valve repair surgery. He is committed to expanding cardiac surgery across resource-limited settings, mentoring cardiac surgery trainees, and leading paediatric cardiac missions in neighbouring countries.

His research interests include innovative valve repair techniques and cost-effective surgical approaches. In 2025, he was awarded the Doctor of the Year award by the Medical Association of Tanzania, recognising his decades of pioneering and advancing paediatric cardiac care in Tanzania.

Professor Valdano Manuel is a cardiovascular surgeon based in Angola with extensive experience in both adult and paediatric cardiac surgery, having performed approximately 1,000 cardiac surgical procedures. He is Professor of Cardiac Surgery at the Universidade Jean Piaget de Angola, where he contributes to the training of future physicians and surgeons.

His academic and research interests include congenital and rheumatic heart disease, global cardiac surgery, health systems development, and workforce disparities in low- and middle-income countries. He has authored and co-authored numerous publications in international peer-reviewed journals and serves as Associate Editor and reviewer for leading cardiothoracic surgery journals.

Professor Manuel is an active member of both the African and World Society for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery, contributing to international collaborations aimed at strengthening cardiac surgery programmes across Africa. His professional mission is to bridge the gap between high-level cardiac surgical care and underserved populations while promoting sustainable development of cardiac surgery on the African continent.

Dr Jaymie Henry is a cardiothoracic surgeon, global surgery advocate, and global health architect focused on advancing equitable access to cardiovascular and surgical care worldwide. Her work sits at the intersection of cardiac surgery, health systems strengthening, workforce development, and global health policy with a particular emphasis on building sustainable surgical capacity in low- and middle-income countries.

Dr Henry's advocacy centres on the belief that access to safe cardiac and surgical care is not a luxury, but an essential component of resilient health systems and national development. She co-founded the G4 Alliance — a coalition of 80+ international surgical organisations — and was the first to bring surgical access onto the UN Sustainable Development Goals conversation. She co-led the advocacy campaign behind the landmark WHO Resolution WHA 68.15 on essential surgical care and pushed surgical indicators into the World Bank and USAID Core 100 Health Metrics.

She has contributed to international discussions on strengthening regional cardiothoracic surgery training networks, expanding emergency and essential surgical systems, and developing innovative financing and partnership models for surgical scale-up. Her interests include leveraging artificial intelligence, registries, and geospatial data to better understand disparities in cardiovascular disease burden, surgical workforce distribution, and access to care.

Known for combining clinical insight with strategic systems thinking, Dr Henry represents a new generation of surgeon-advocates working to bridge the gap between high-level global policy and frontline patient care.

Dr Jessen obtained her medical degree from Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique. She later specialised in Cardiology (Brasil, Mozambique and Portugal) and obtained a PhD in Public Health at the University of Porto in Portugal in 2020. Dr Jessen has been a Fellow of the Emerging Leader Programme of the World Heart Federation (2017 cohort — access to essential CVD medicines); Fellow of the 1st African Heart Failure Course by PASCAR and Cardiff University; and Fellow of the 51st International Ten-day Seminar on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention (2020 cohort).

She is currently Director of the Department of Cardiology and Consultant Cardiologist at Maputo Central Hospital, Mozambique, and Senior Researcher at the research unit of the Department of Medicine of the same hospital. She is also Professor and Head of Internal Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of Eduardo Mondlane University since 2024.

Recent awards include the 2023 Honourable Mention, Bial Prize of Clinical Medicine 2022 (Portugal), and the 2024 ISH Outstanding Woman in Hypertension Research award at the 30th meeting of the International Society of Hypertension, Cartagena, Colombia.

Dr Joan Kiyeng serves as a consulting cardiology physician at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret, Kenya. She completed her clinical cardiology fellowship through the Duke-MTRH Cardiovascular Fellowship programme, being a member of the inaugural graduating class in 2022.

Dr Kiyeng practices clinical cardiology where most patients present with Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD). She is an integral part of the multidisciplinary heart team focused on RHD/valve interventions, collaborating with Duke University, Indiana University, and the University of Texas. This programme has been awarded a two-year grant from the Dell Foundation to enhance service delivery.

Her interests lie in electrophysiology, and she is currently undertaking mentorship training in Cairo, Egypt. Her research encompasses electrophysiology and valve disease, and she serves as Co-Principal Investigator in the ongoing Valve Registry and Infective Endocarditis Registry at MTRH.

Dr Gina Portella graduated in Medicine in 1990 and completed her specialisation in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care in 1994 at the University of Genoa. From 1994 to 1995 she worked at the Hospital of Savona, after which she moved to San Gerardo Hospital in Monza, where she remained until 2010. During this period, between 1997 and 1998, she completed a one-year research fellowship in Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Virginia, USA.

While working at San Gerardo Hospital, she began collaborating with EMERGENCY in 2005, initially undertaking frequent field missions alongside her hospital duties. Between 2006 and 2007 she was deployed in Afghanistan, starting in Kabul. She subsequently worked in Sudan, based in Khartoum, where she also served as Medical Co-ordinator, and later deployed to Goderich, Sierra Leone, during the Ebola epidemic.

In 2010 she transitioned to working exclusively with EMERGENCY and has held the position of Director of the Medical Co-ordination Unit of EMERGENCY.

Professor Rainald Seitelberger studied medicine at the University of Vienna, Austria. Following early research training in pharmacology at the University of Vienna, he completed a Max Kade Foundation research fellowship at the University of California, San Diego, focusing on cardiovascular physiology. He subsequently underwent comprehensive surgical training at the University of Vienna and served as Senior Fellow and Chief Resident of the Cardiac Transplant Service.

Professor Seitelberger worked as Staff Surgeon at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg, Germany, where he was appointed Assistant Professor of Surgery. In 1993 he joined the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Medical University of Vienna, becoming Associate Professor of Surgery in 1997. During this period he held several international appointments as Visiting Professor and Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon in Saudi Arabia, Romania, Egypt, and Iraq.

He served as Chairman and Head of the Department of Cardiac, Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at the Paracelsus Medical University and General Hospital Salzburg, Austria. Since 2025, he has been Head of the Department of Training and Simulation at the Center for Biomedical Research and Translational Surgery at the Medical University of Vienna.

Professor Seitelberger is board certified in General Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Cardiac Surgery, and Thoracic Surgery in Austria, and in General Surgery in Germany. His clinical and academic interests include cardiac surgery, heart failure surgery, surgical education, simulation, and translational cardiovascular research.

Dr Yang is Deputy Director of the Valve Center (Cardiac Surgery) at Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, Co-founder of HeartValvePro Life Sciences, and Chief Medical Advisor for AorticHK & AorticAI. He obtained his MD-PhD in Surgery from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and trained internationally in Singapore (Tan Tock Seng Hospital) and France (University of Strasbourg).

Dr Yang specialises in rheumatic, mitral and aortic valve repair, bicuspid aortic valve surgery, aortic root reconstruction, and advanced structural heart imaging (CT/MRI). He leads AorticAI — the first AI-driven system for fully automated segmentation and simulation of ascending aorta, aortic valve and root procedures.

He has presented at AATS Aortic Symposium, AATS Mitral Conclave, EACTS Aortic Valve Repair Summit, and Taipei Valve Summit. Dr Yang serves as peer-reviewer for EJCTS and Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine. His research in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine and corresponding-author work on bicuspid aortic valve repair and computational modelling have advanced personalised aortic root surgery. He was PI of a grant combining biomechanical finite-element modelling and 3D printing for precision aortic reconstruction.

Dr Ahmed Afifi is Chief of Cardiac Surgery at the Magdi Yacoub Foundation in Egypt. After finishing his cardiac surgery training in London, he joined the Aswan Heart Centre in 2010 under the mentorship of Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub.

His clinical practice focuses on complex adult and congenital cardiac surgery, with interests in valve-sparing aortic root surgery, the Ross procedure, advanced mitral valve repair, and neonatal arterial switch operations. He leads one of the largest neonatal arterial switch programmes worldwide and is actively involved in surgical education and international training initiatives.

Dr Afifi has played a key role in developing multi-disciplinary care pathways and clinical quality improvement programmes at the Aswan Heart Centre. His research interests include aortic root physiology, reconstructive valve surgery, and congenital heart disease, and he has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications in these fields.

Professor Ana Olga Mocumbi is an Associate Professor of Cardiology at Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Mozambique, Affiliated Professor at the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington, and Lead Researcher at the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Division at the National Public Health Institute Mozambique (Instituto Nacional de Saúde). Her career focuses on neglected cardiovascular diseases, including epidemiological, clinical and health systems research, particularly task-shifting and incorporation of new technologies.

Dr Mocumbi holds a Diploma in Paediatric Cardiology and has been working on programmes to increase access to cardiac surgery, particularly in rural and underserved areas, focusing on the surgical management of rheumatic heart disease, endomyocardial fibrosis and congenital heart diseases.

Dr Mocumbi has co-chaired The Lancet Global Commission on Non-Communicable Diseases and Injuries (NCDI) of the Poorest Billion and is co-chair of the NCDI Poverty Network. Through this role she co-leads the PEN-Plus partnership in delivering an integrated care delivery strategy focused on alleviating the NCD burden among the poorest children and young adults by increasing the accessibility and quality of chronic care services for severe NCDs — such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatic heart disease, and sickle cell disease.

Professor Justiaan Swanevelder is presently based at the East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre, Leicester Royal Infirmary and Glenfield Hospitals in Leicester, UK.

He is a UCT Professor Emeritus and Former Head of UCT Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Cape Town, South Africa, Groote Schuur and Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospitals.

Areas of interest include Adult and Paediatric Congenital Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia and Critical Care, with enthusiasm in Transoesophageal and Transthoracic Echocardiography, influence of echocardiography on perioperative patient outcome, valvular and rheumatic heart disease, the failing ventricle post-cardiopulmonary bypass, and congenital heart disease. He is also active in introducing a fair, inclusive Perioperative Medicine Programme to South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, and in the value and safety of POC Ultrasound in Critically Ill Patients in the Developing World.

He has run regular Glenfield Hospital Hands-on TOE Courses since 1999 — one of the leading hands-on courses in the UK — and similar UCT Groote Schuur Hands-on TOE Courses since 2012.

Professor Swanevelder has many peer-reviewed publications and international lectures to his name. He is a member of the European Association of Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia and Intensive Care (EACTAIC), holds an Honorary TOE Fellowship, and has life-long member recognition from IACTACON (India).

Dr Keith Dindi is a Kenyan cardiac surgeon with more than 20 years of clinical experience and a recognised leader in advancing cardiothoracic surgery across Sub-Saharan Africa. He serves as President of the Kenya Association of Thoracic Surgeons, Head of Cardiac Surgery at Avenue Group of Hospitals, and Adjunct Faculty at Aga Khan University Hospital.

Dr Dindi is passionate about improving access to cardiac surgery, strengthening surgical training, and building research capacity across Africa. He currently leads a multinational initiative developing a regional cardiothoracic surgery database to improve collaboration and patient outcomes across the continent.

Having undertaken advanced training in Australia, he remains actively involved in international surgical exchange programmes supported by the Royal Australian College of Surgeons.

Beyond surgery, Dr Dindi is a mentor, speaker, author, and founder of The Thriving Men Summit — a mentorship movement focused on purpose, wellness, leadership, and legacy among African men.

Dr Christoph Holzinger began his scientific career at the Institute of General and Experimental Pathology in Vienna, Austria.

From 1985 he completed his training in General Surgery at the University of Vienna with his primary interest focused on cardiac and vascular surgery, later followed by work in the field of heart and heart-lung transplantation. Responsibilities included co-ordination of transplant procedures, performing orthotopic heart transplantations, and post-operative inpatient and outpatient care.

Later experience included the opportunity to establish modern techniques in heart surgery: off-pump coronary bypass grafting, stentless aortic valve implantation, minimally invasive mitral valve surgery, transapical TAVI, Ross procedure, and thoracic endovascular aortic repair.

Since retiring in 2024, he has continued to enjoy teaching educational programmes for young cardiac surgeons.

Professor Jacques Janson is Head of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stellenbosch University, a position he has held since 2017. He has extensive experience in adult and paediatric cardiac and thoracic surgery, with particular interest in heart valve repair, aortic surgery, tracheal surgery, and paediatric thoracic surgery.

Professor Janson serves on the editorial boards of the SA Heart Journal and the African Journal of Thoracic and Critical Care Medicine, and is Secretary of the College of Cardiothoracic Surgeons of South Africa.

His work focuses on advancing innovative surgical techniques in cardiothoracic surgery, including published techniques for innovative mitral valve repair using a saphenous vein patch, sternoclavicular joint reconstruction, and the co-development of a 3D-printed titanium sternum for sternal defect replacement.

Dr Darshan Reddy is a cardiothoracic surgeon practising at the Lenmed Ethekwini Hospital and Heart Centre in Durban. He completed his undergraduate medical degree at the University of Cape Town and his cardiothoracic surgical training at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, earning both a Masters in Medicine and the Fellowship of the Colleges of Cardiothoracic Surgeons of South Africa.

Dr Reddy spent a year as a visiting clinical lecturer in Paediatric Cardiac Surgery at the University of Michigan and was the recipient of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) Every Heartbeat Matters Fellowship Award in 2015.

He holds leadership positions in the World Society of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery (WSPCHS), the African Society of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery (ASPCHS), and the Global Council on Education for Congenital Heart Surgery. He serves on the editorial boards of the SA Heart Journal and the Cardiovascular Journal of Africa. His interests include complex neonatal cardiac surgery and juvenile rheumatic mitral valve repair.

Professor Joseph Bavaria is Head of the Department of Cardiac Surgery, Executive Director of the Bruce and Robbi Heart and Vascular Institute, and the Anthony E. Narducci Professor in Surgery at Sydney Kimmel Medical College, Jefferson Health in Philadelphia. He was the 52nd President of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), Past President of the Thoracic Surgery Foundation (TSF), and is currently Treasurer and Executive Committee Member of the European Association of Cardiothoracic Surgery (EACTS).

His clinical interests centre on thoracic aortic surgery, heart valve disease, and thoracic aortic endovascular repair (TEVAR). He has performed over 11,000 open heart procedures and is the author of approximately 600 original manuscripts, reviews and book chapters, holding multiple patents. He was a Primary Investigator for early transcatheter aortic valve (TAVI) clinical trials, founder of the PENN TAVI Programme, and has served as institutional and national primary investigator in over 50 industry-sponsored FDA IDE Phase I, II, and III trials.

Dr Bavaria was an honours exchange student at the University of Edinburgh College of Engineering and graduated with honours in chemical engineering at Tulane University, where he also received his medical degree, earning the "Gold Scalpel" — the highest surgical honour for a graduating Tulane medical student. He completed his general surgery and cardiovascular and thoracic training at the University of Pennsylvania and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

Dr C Johan Jordaan is a Cardiothoracic Surgeon and registered Intensivist and ECMO specialist, having gained training and accreditation from Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, UK. He was Head of Thoracic Surgery at the University of the Free State (UFS) with a joint appointment in the Department of Critical Care until 2015.

He is currently in full-time private practice at Rosepark Hospital, while maintaining a research post at UFS in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, where he completed his PhD in 2017. He is a senior lecturer at the Central University of Technology (CUT) and holds a part-time appointment in the Department of Critical Care at UFS.

Joseph F. Sabik III, MD is the Oliver H. Payne Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, and Surgeon-in-Chief and Vice-President of Surgical Operations for the University Hospitals Health System.

Dr Sabik earned a BS in Life Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his MD from Harvard Medical School. He completed surgical internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and thoracic and cardiovascular surgery residency at Cleveland Clinic. He was appointed to the Cleveland Clinic Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery in 1996 and named Chair in 2008, holding the Sheikh bin Rashid al Maktoum Distinguished Chair during his tenure. In 2016 he became Professor and Chair at University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve, and was awarded the Oliver H. Payne Professorship in 2021.

Dr Sabik is widely published in JAMA, the New England Journal of Medicine, JTCVS, and the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, and is a frequent international lecturer. His specialty interests include valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, and less invasive cardiac surgery.

Dr Yonas Ademe Teferi is a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon and faculty member at the AGC Tenwek Cardiothoracic Centre in Bomet County, Kenya. He is a Fellow of the College of Surgeons of Eastern, Central, and Southern Africa (FCS[ECSA]).

Dr Teferi earned his medical degree and completed his general surgical training at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, subsequently pursuing fellowship training in cardiothoracic surgery through the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS) at Tenwek Hospital, Kenya.

His clinical practice encompasses adult and paediatric cardiac surgery, thoracic and vascular surgery, and perioperative critical care, with a particular focus on delivering high-quality care in resource-limited settings. He is deeply committed to surgical education, mentorship, and capacity building across the region, and is actively involved in developing regional cardiothoracic surgery data registries to improve outcomes and quality improvement initiatives throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr Susan Vosloo completed her pre-graduate medical training at the University of the Free State (UFS) in 1980. She served as Medical Officer in Critical Care at UFS, Bloemfontein, before training in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Cape Town, gaining Fellowship of the College of Surgeons of South Africa and MMed Cardiothoracic Surgery (UCT).

Further training in Congenital and Paediatric Cardiac Surgery was completed at Harley Street Clinic and Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London. She served as full-time Consultant at Red Cross Children's and Groote Schuur Hospitals, and is presently in independent private practice at Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital, Cape Town, with interests in surgery for congenital heart defects.

Dr Vosloo is a Past Chairman of the Organ Donor Foundation of South Africa and has served on the University Council of UFS. She is a founder member of the World Society for Paediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery (WSPCHS) and the African Society for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery (ASPCHS), and is a member of the International Steering Committee for the World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery.

Dr André Brooks is Head of Congenital and Paediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, Chris Barnard Division, at Red Cross Children's War Memorial and Groote Schuur Hospitals, University of Cape Town.

He has developed a surgical programme with the philosophy of definitive, biventricular repair whenever feasible, and has significantly expanded both the neonatal surgical and the adult congenital surgical programme. In collaboration with the Otolaryngology department, an active surgical airway reconstructive programme has been established.

His aim is to further foster a world-class unit with a therapeutic model of definitive repair best suited to the African continent.

Professor Sir Bruce Keogh had a distinguished career as a cardiac surgeon in London and Birmingham before becoming Professor of Cardiac Surgery at University College London and Director of Surgery at the Heart Hospital. He served as Secretary General of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Secretary and President of the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain and Ireland, International Director of the US Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and President of the Cardiothoracic Section of the Royal Society of Medicine.

He was appointed the first Medical Director of the NHS in 2007, and for the following decade was responsible for clinical policy and strategy, clinical leadership and innovation across the National Health Service. In 2018 he became Chair of the Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospitals.

Sir Bruce has a longstanding interest in the measurement of clinical outcomes and quality of care. He was knighted for services to medicine in 2003, named by the Sunday Times in 2014 as one of Britain's 500 most influential people, and ranked as the most influential clinician in England by the Health Service Journal for several years.

Dr R. Morton "Chip" Bolman is a recognised international leader in global cardiac surgery. In 2006, while serving as Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, he and his wife Ceeya Patton-Bolman founded TeamHeart Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit created to perform humanitarian cardiac surgery in Rwanda in the wake of the 1994 Genocide, with the ultimate goal of establishing sustainable cardiac surgery for the country.

Dr Bolman led teams to Rwanda annually through 2022, performing life-saving open-heart surgery for patients with end-stage rheumatic heart disease. In 2019, the focus shifted from performing surgeries to mentoring the local team led by Rwandan native Dr Maurice Musoni. In January 2021 he became Chair of the Cardiac Surgery Intersociety Alliance (CSIA), charged with increasing access to cardiac surgery in the developing world.

A fourth-generation physician, Dr Bolman received his MD (Magna Cum Laude) from St. Louis University, trained in general surgery at Duke University Medical Center and in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Minnesota, where he developed an immunosuppression management method that became the field standard. He retired from clinical surgery in 2017 but remains actively involved in global cardiac surgery advocacy.

Professor Ahmed ElSayed is a Sudanese clinician-academic and health systems researcher with experience spanning cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, medical education, health informatics, global health, and implementation research in low- and middle-income and conflict-affected settings. He is the founding lead of the Alazhari Health Research Center (AHRC) and has held senior academic and leadership roles across Sudan and the region.

His experience includes clinical medicine, professionalism and ethics education, digital health, non-communicable and infectious disease control, and capacity building for healthcare workers. He has led and contributed to multiple multi-country research and training initiatives, working closely with ministries of health, universities, and international collaborators, with a strong focus on translating evidence into policy and practice.

Widely published across peer-reviewed journals, technical reports, and funded project proposals, Professor ElSayed has a proven track record in curriculum development — integrating professionalism, patient safety, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence into medical education. Through his leadership and mentorship, he continues to strengthen regional research capacity and foster equitable South–South and South–North collaborations.

Dr Richard Schulenburg is a consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon in Bloemfontein and current Acting Head of Department at the University of the Free State/Universitas Academic Hospital. He completed his pre-graduate studies at the University of Stellenbosch and post-graduate studies at the University of the Free State, and spent a year at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford with a focus on aortic surgery.

Dr Schulenburg practises thoracic surgery, adult cardiac surgery, and congenital cardiac surgery, with specific interests in aortic surgery and congenital chest wall deformities. He is a Fellow of the European Board of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons. His research interest is aortopathy, and specifically HIV-associated thoracic aortopathy.

Dr Reza Yusoff is an Anaesthetist and Medical Perfusionist with a strong focus on cardiothoracic and liver transplant anaesthesia and extracorporeal circulation. Based in Perth, Western Australia, he has extensive experience managing complex cardiac, thoracic, liver transplant, and major vascular procedures in both public and private healthcare settings.

With dual expertise in anaesthesia and perfusion, he brings a unique perspective to the multidisciplinary management of patients undergoing extracorporeal circulation, advanced cardiac surgery, and liver transplantation. His clinical interests include blood conservation strategies, perioperative echocardiography, haemodynamic optimisation, coagulation management, and quality improvement initiatives aimed at enhancing patient outcomes in high-acuity surgical populations.

Dr Yusoff is actively involved in clinical governance, education, and research, with particular interest in transfusion practices, patient blood management, and evidence-based perioperative care. He has participated in international humanitarian and cardiac surgery missions, supporting the development of sustainable cardiac surgical services in resource-limited environments, and is passionate about teaching and mentoring medical, nursing, and allied health professionals.

Dr David Hoganson is an Assistant in Cardiac Surgery at Boston Children's Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. His clinical focus is on neonates and children with congenital heart disease.

He has co-led development of patient-specific 3D modelling and computational flow modelling of complex cardiac disease for improved pre-operative planning and intraoperative guidance. His laboratory also focuses on development of medical devices to improve the safety and effectiveness of cardiac surgery.

Dr Hoganson holds a degree in electrical engineering and has industry experience developing cardiovascular medical devices. He graduated from Temple University School of Medicine in 2004 and completed his general surgery residency, CT fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis, and a congenital cardiac surgery fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital. He has been a visiting surgeon at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya annually since 2019, helping train surgeons and develop their congenital cardiac surgery programme.

Dr Maurice Musoni is a Rwandan cardiothoracic surgeon currently practising at King Faisal Hospital Rwanda. He specialises in heart valve surgery, aneurysmal disease of the aorta, and benign and neoplastic lung disease. In addition to clinical work, he is involved in academic activities in the fellowship programme of cardiothoracic surgery and research programmes at the University of Rwanda and Africa Health Sciences University.

Upon completion of training, Dr Musoni returned home to Rwanda as the first Rwandan cardiothoracic surgeon. He has been pivotal in transforming cardiothoracic surgery in Rwanda from mission-based fly-in teams to a fully-fledged unit averaging 300 open heart cases per year in both acquired and congenital heart disease — making it one of the busiest centres in the region.

Dr Baffoe Gyan is a distinguished cardiovascular surgeon with over 24 years of experience in cardiothoracic and vascular surgery, clinical leadership, and healthcare management. He graduated with First-Class Honours from the High Institute of Medical Sciences, Santa Clara, Cuba, and completed postgraduate training in General Surgery and Cardiovascular Surgery, with advanced training in Argentina and Uruguay focusing on off-pump cardiac surgery, cardiac device implantation, heart transplantation, and ventricular assist device implantation.

Dr Gyan currently serves as Director of Medical Affairs at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), where he previously headed the Departments of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery and Surgery, and successfully led the establishment of UGMC's Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery Department. His earlier career included roles at the National Cardiothoracic Centre, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, and specialist practice at Fundación Favaloro in Buenos Aires and Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.

An accomplished academic and advocate, Dr Gyan has served as Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of Health and Allied Sciences and as an examiner for the West African College of Surgeons. He is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Twi, and Dagbani, and is a public advocate for heart disease awareness and free cardiac surgery for indigenous Ghanaians.

Dr Rampini is a Cardiothoracic Surgeon in private practice in Johannesburg, South Africa. He performs the full range of adult cardiac and thoracic surgery, with a particular focus on complex aortic procedures including aortic root and aortic arch surgery, as well as advanced coronary artery bypass grafting techniques.

He is actively involved in a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) programme and has an interest in minimally invasive aortic surgery. In the context of increasing TAVI adoption, he is committed to surgical education and mentoring the next generation of cardiac surgeons, with a focus on aortic root enlargement techniques to optimise surgical aortic valve replacement and broaden treatment options for patients with small aortic annuli. He has also trained in paediatric cardiac surgery and heart transplantation.

Dr Rampini is an Executive Member of the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons of South Africa, and has a strong interest in mentoring young surgeons in the present challenging South African healthcare environment.

Dr Ivan Schewitz graduated from the University of Cape Town in 1974 and obtained his Fellowship of the College of Surgeons of South Africa in Cardiothoracic Surgery in 1985. He has held academic appointments as Head of Department at MEDUNSA (now Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University) and as Honorary Consultant in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Universities of Cape Town and Pretoria and Wits. He is currently Consultant Thoracic Surgeon at Wolfson Medical Centre, Tel Aviv University, Israel.

Dr Schewitz is the Founder and President of the African Society of Thoracic Surgery, serves on the Executive Councils of the Chest Wall International Group (CWIG) and the Pan African Thoracic Society, and is a Council Member of the South African Thoracic Society. He has directed thoracoscopic (VATS) wet-laboratory training programmes throughout South Africa, Turkey, and Africa, and has delivered numerous invited lectures and authored many peer-reviewed publications.

He introduced video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) and the Nuss procedure for pectus excavatum into South Africa, and continues to promote innovation in thoracic surgery, particularly in pectus surgery, cryoanalgesia, and surgical education.

Professor Hellmuth Weich is an interventional cardiologist with a focus on structural heart disease and transcatheter valve therapies. He serves as Senior Consultant and Director of the Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory at Tygerberg Hospital and was appointed Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at Stellenbosch University in 2024.

Educated at Stellenbosch University and in the UK, his PhD focused on the development of a novel transcatheter aortic valve designed to improve affordability and applicability in patients with rheumatic heart disease. He was part of the teams that performed the first Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) procedures and transcatheter mitral edge-to-edge repair (MTEER) in South Africa.

His other research interests include pulmonary vascular interventions, biomedical device innovation, and cardiovascular health systems evaluation in resource-constrained environments. He is a past President and current Secretary of the South African Society of Cardiac Interventionists (SASCI).

Professor Liesl Zühlke is Vice-President of the South African Medical Research Council (Extramural Research and Internal Portfolio), a paediatric cardiologist in the Division of Paediatric Cardiology at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, and Director of the Children's Heart Disease Research Unit at the University of Cape Town. Her research spans Congenital and Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD), grown-up congenital heart disease, and cardiac disease in women of childbearing age.

She is a B1 NRF-rated researcher, the 2026 L'Oréal Women in Science Laureate for Africa and Arab States (one of five globally), the 2018 MRC/DFID African Research Leader Award recipient, and one of the top three international scholars in rheumatic heart disease research. She holds an MPH and PhD from UCT and an MSc in Health Economics from the London School of Economics, and is a Fellow of the American Heart Association.

Professor Zühlke is President of REACH (Rheumatic Heart Disease, Evidence, Advocacy, Communication and Hope), a board member of the World Heart Federation, past president of the South African Heart Association and the Paediatric Cardiac Society of South Africa, and an executive member of SAVAC. She is passionate about prioritising women and children in the global health agenda.

Dr Martin Zammert is currently Chair of Surgical Critical Care at Lahey Clinic in Burlington, USA. He received his medical degree from the University of Ulm, Germany, and completed his anaesthesia residency training at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, followed by fellowships in critical care medicine and cardiac anaesthesia at the same institution.

During his tenure at Brigham and Women's Hospital, he served as Director of Vascular Anaesthesia, Director of the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit, and Interim Associate Chair of Surgical Critical Care, before joining the Lahey Clinic.

Dr Zammert is board-certified in anaesthesia, critical care medicine, and advanced perioperative transoesophageal echocardiography. His clinical interests include intraoperative anaesthesia management during aortic surgery and the management of patients with mechanical circulatory support in the ICU.

After obtaining his medical degree, Dr Goodman worked for several years in emergency medicine and trauma surgery, participating in South African rescue missions to Phuket and Haiti. Having completed his MBA, he headed up the Southern Africa healthcare practice of a leading international consulting organisation before moving into the healthcare funding industry. Dr Goodman joined Discovery Health shortly after its inception and is currently Chief Medical Officer of Discovery Health.

Dr Goodman is a Trustee of the Discovery Foundation, which invests in the training of South African medical specialists in identified areas of need, and Chairs its Medical Student Loan Guarantee Fund. He is also a Trustee of the Discovery Fund, dedicated to improving individuals' quality of life through funding primary healthcare services in indigent communities.

He is a past Acting President and current Member of Convocation Exco of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), serves on the Wits Foundation Board of Governors, and is a Member of the SAMA Health Policy, Law and Ethics Committee. Dr Goodman serves on the Executive Committees of the Wits Business School Association and the Medical Advisors Group, is a Trustee of The Children's Cardiac Foundation of Africa, and is a guest lecturer on the Wits Business School's MBA in Healthcare Leadership.

Dr Itumeleng Clifford Taunyane is a Specialist Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Head of Clinical Unit / Head of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and the University of the Witwatersrand. He trained in cardiothoracic surgery at the Chris Barnard Division, Groote Schuur Hospital, and subsequently undertook advanced cardiac and congenital cardiac surgery training in Germany, including at Freiburg/Bad Krozingen and Heidelberg University Hospital.

He is the recipient of several awards and scholarships, including the Professor Bongani Mayosi/Hamilton Naki Clinical Scholarship, the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital Paediatric Heart Surgery Fellowship Scholarship, the Endoscopic Cardiac Surgery Club Travel Award, and the American Association for Thoracic Surgery Foundation Award.

His clinical and academic interests include minimally invasive cardiac surgery, complex valve surgery, aortic surgery, congenital cardiac surgery, thoracic surgery, and ECMO/CARL research. At CMJAH he has contributed to minimally invasive valvular surgery, endoscopic vein harvesting, transcatheter valve therapies, and rapid-deployment valve implantation, and led the outreach team that performed the first open-heart surgery at Tshepong Hospital. He is actively involved in registrar training, research supervision, and academic mentorship.

Martin Sussman is a cardiothoracic surgeon in full-time private practice at Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre and Netcare Milpark Hospital. His areas of special interest include arterial revascularisation in CABG surgery, heart failure surgery — namely heart transplantation and LVAD implantation — and he has extensive experience in ECMO for both respiratory and cardiac support.

His interest in aortic surgery includes valve-sparing aortic root replacement. He has been actively involved in mentoring young surgeons in his private practice for many years.

Dr Adriano Tivane is a Mozambican Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon, with a Masters in Surgical Sciences. He is a university lecturer, healthcare executive, and medical entrepreneur with extensive experience in specialised surgical care, medical education, and healthcare management.

Dr Tivane was actively involved in surgical missions to Cameroon as a team leader, performing congenital heart surgeries and rheumatic heart valve surgeries. His areas of clinical interest include rheumatic mitral valve repair, ascending aorta surgery, congenital heart surgery, venous endovascular procedures, diabetic foot management, and dialysis access management.

He is committed to advancing cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, medical education, healthcare leadership, and the development of sustainable specialised healthcare services in Mozambique and across Africa.

Professor Carlos Mestres is an Extraordinary Professor in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery and the Robert WM Frater Cardiovascular Research Centre at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. He has previously served as Senior Consultant at University Hospital Zürich, Staff Surgeon at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, and Senior Consultant at Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona.

His principal areas of interest are cardiovascular infections, diseases of the aorta, and the development of the Barcelona Endocarditis Working Group, including the Hospital Clínic Barcelona Tissue Bank and the Endocarditis Board at University Hospital Zürich.

Professor Mestres is widely published in peer-reviewed journals and has served as Associate Editor of the European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Founder/Board Member/Section Editor of the Asian Cardiovascular and Thoracic Annals, Editor-in-Chief of Cirugía Cardiovascular (Spanish Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery), and Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of the Best Available Evidence in Medicine.

Dr Christopher John Knott-Craig was born in Oudtshoorn, South Africa in 1953. He graduated from the University of Cape Town Medical School in 1977 and interned with Professor Christiaan Barnard in 1978, before graduating as a cardiothoracic surgeon from Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital in 1986 (summa cum laude). He completed his fellowship in congenital heart surgery with Professor Marc DeLeval at Great Ormond Street in 1989, and was subsequently awarded the prestigious Evarts Graham Travelling Fellowship, spending time with Professor Gordon Danielson at the Mayo Clinic and Professor Aldo Casteneda at Boston Children's Hospital.

Dr Knott-Craig was recruited to Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center in 1991, where he performed the first three successful biventricular repairs of Ebstein Anomaly in critically ill neonates in 1994. In 2008 he was appointed Co-Director of the Heart Institute at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, where he served as Chief of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery until retiring from clinical practice in 2025. Under his leadership, Le Bonheur was named among only 8 programmes in the USA with a 3-star rating for cardiac surgical outcomes and ranked in the top 3 for the most complex surgeries including the Norwood operation.

Dr Knott-Craig has delivered over 90 international presentations, published more than 173 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 14 book chapters, and has been personally recognised by President Nelson Mandela and Pope John Paul II.

Dr Dave Harris grew up in the UK and attended high school in Natal, South Africa, before completing his medical studies at the University of Cape Town. After working across various specialties and completing his intermediate surgical examination, he specialised in Cardiothoracic Surgery, qualifying in 1997.

His clinical interests include off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB), aortic surgery, valve surgery, and redo surgery. He undertook advanced training in aortic surgery with Dr Hazim Safi in Houston and attended an OPCAB course with Dr Paul Sergeant in Belgium. He has participated in five humanitarian surgical trips to West Africa.

Dr Amit Thakker is a visionary leader and transformative entrepreneur renowned for his pioneering efforts in integrating the private sector into Africa's healthcare systems. As Executive Chairman of Africa Health Business — a leading health management consultancy, advisory, and investment firm — he is dedicated to improving access to high-quality and affordable healthcare across Africa.

He serves as President of the Africa Healthcare Federation and Chairperson of the Kenya Health Professionals Oversight Authority. He is a distinguished member of the Ethical Principles in Health Care (EPiHC) Advisory Board at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Washington D.C., a Fellow of the Academy of Public Health, and an African representative on the Board of the Bay Area Global Health Alliance.

Dr Thakker founded Avenue Healthcare in 1995, one of Kenya's leading integrated private healthcare providers, and has held leadership roles across a wide range of organisations including the Kenya Healthcare Federation, the East African Business Council, KEPSA, and the Ministry of Health Kenya. He chairs the University of Nairobi Alumni Medical Chapter and is actively engaged in advancing sustainable and equitable health systems throughout Africa.

Dr Hani Shennib is Chairman of the Board of the Academy of Life Sciences, an organisation promoting health sciences education to healthcare professionals in underprivileged communities worldwide, particularly in Africa and the Middle East. He is an internationally recognised opinion leader in healthcare policies and regional health services development, and serves on the faculty of the University of Arizona Medical School in Phoenix as a full Clinical Professor.

Dr Shennib is a Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Libyan Presidential Council, with a keen interest in foreign policy and the role of the "physician diplomat." He has consulted with numerous international state leaders, participated in Middle East World Economic Fora and the United Nations Development Programme on Middle East Education, and built a comprehensive HIV treatment programme in Libya. He is Founder and President of the National Council on US-Libya Relations.

He has held numerous leadership positions including President of the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations, President of the Quebec Muslim Association, and member of the Board of Governors of Concordia University, Montreal. He is listed in the Canadian "Who's Who" registry, is recognised globally for his work on innovative technology, serves on the editorial boards of several journals, has published over 200 articles, and holds 17 patents.

Professor Hu Qiuming is with the Department of Cardiac Surgery at Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, where he serves as Treatment Group Lead in the Heart Failure & Valve Surgery Center. He is a Young Committee Member of the Cardiac Valve Disease Committee of the Chinese Research-Hospital Association, a Committee Member of the Cardiac Rhythm Branch of the Chinese Society of Biomedical Engineering, and a Committee Member of the Cardiovascular Education Committee of the China Medical Education Association.

He is a Visiting Physician at the Pauley Heart Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, and an Independent Operator for Structural Heart Disease at the National Cardiovascular Quality Control Center.

His specialty areas of interest include minimally invasive valve replacement and repair, minimally invasive atrial fibrillation surgery, interventional procedures for congenital heart disease, and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).