Prof Nicolas Maria Van Mieghem is an Interventional cardiologist at Thoraxcenter, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, NL decided to pursue a career that would help others. “I enjoy the feeling of being able to help someone or do something important for them". His father was a general cardiologist and one of his biggest influences early in his career.

Prof Van Mieghem initially intended to train as a cardiac surgeon but decided to specialise in interventional cardiology instead, following advice from a mentor. This decision was cemented when he read the first-in-human case report of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in Circulation by Alain Cribier in 2002. Prof Van Mieghem believes that great cardiologist genuinely cares for their patients. He names Gary Roubin, Dr Manu Malbrain and Professor Patrick Serruys among his mentors. 

His current research focuses on cerebral embolic protection during TAVI and the search for improved…

Ajay J Kirtane, is Professor of Medicine at the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP) Hospital / CUMC. Dr. Kirtane is an internationally-renowned leader in Interventional Cardiology, specializing in the care of patients with complex coronary and peripheral vascular disease.

In addition to his clinical commitments, Ajay has a strong interest in clinical education and research, serving as Chief Academic Officer of Columbia Interventional Cardiovascular Care. He is a director of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation’s Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics conference, has served as a director of several international, national, and regional educational conferences, and has participated on the program committees for the scientific sessions of both the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association. Ajay’s research…

Roxana Mehran is Professor of Medicine, Cardiology and Professor of Population Health Science and Policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. She is also Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Research and Clinical Trials at The Zena and Michael A Weiner Cardiovascular Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital where, over the past 5 years, she has led the development of a globally respected data and clinical coordination centre to support large, multicentre, multinational clinical trials designed to help improve outcomes and quality of life for patients undergoing interventional cardiovascular procedures. In recent years, her work has had a special emphasis on gaining a deeper understanding of anticoagulation and antiplatelet regimens post angioplasty and transcatheter valve replacement; and collection and interpretation of sex-specific data in cardiovascular clinical trials.

Roxana serves on editorial board of multiple peer reviewed journals, including …

Prof Philipp Lurz is Director of the Department of Cardiology Universitätsmedizin Mainz, Germany. Prior to this, he served as Deputy Head of the Department at Heart Center Leipzig, Germany. Previously, Prof Lurz was a Clinical Research Fellow at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust. He completed his education at the University of Leipzig, and is a member of the German Society of Cardiology. Philipp is widely published in leading international peer-reviewed journals.