John A. Elefteriades MD.
Dr. John Elefteriades is the William W.L. Glenn Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Yale University and Yale New-Haven Hospital. He is among the most clinically active academic surgeons in the country. Dr. Elefteriades directs the Center of Thoracic Aortic Disease at Yale, one of the nation’s largest facilities for treatment of the dilated thoracic aorta. Among his research projects, he is working with Celera Diagnostics to identify the genetic mutations responsible for thoracic aortic aneurysms. Dr. Elefteriades serves on multiple scientific advisory and editorial boards. He is a past President of the Connecticut Chapter of the American College of Cardiology and member of the national Board of Governors of the College. Dr. Elefteriades is also past President of the International College of Angiology. He serves on the editorial board of the American Journal of Cardiology, the Journal of Cardiac Surgery, Cardiology, and the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. He is a member of the Thoracic Surgery Director’s Association and has been named consistently in The Best Doctors in America. He is a frequently requested international lecturer, visiting professor and guest surgeon. He is the author of over 200 scientific publications on a wide range of cardiac and thoracic topics. He was selected as one of the ten best doctors in America by Men’s Health magazine. He has been featured in many dozens of print, radio, and television presentations. He has been awarded the Walter Bleifeld Memorial Award for Distinguished Contribution in Clinical Research in Cardiology and the John B. Chang Research Achievement Award. In 2005 he was selected to lecture at the Leadership in Biomedicine Series at the Yale University School of Medicine. In 2006, he received the Socrates Award from the Thoracic Residents Association, Thoracic Surgery Directors’ Association, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, recognizing exceptional achievement in teaching and mentorship of residents.
Dr. Elefteriades is the author of the books House Officer Guide to ICU Care (1st and 2nd Editions), Advanced Treatment Options for the Failling Left Ventricle, Diseases of the Aorta, Your Heart: The Owner’s Guide, and Acute Aortic Disease. Dr. Elefteriades recently published his first fiction work, the medical mystery/ethics thriller Transplant, which was a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards as a best first novel. Dr. Elefteriades was featured in a documentary of the BBC Horizons television program for his innovative techniques applying deep hypothermia to surgery of the aortic arch. His hypothermia work has also been featured on the Italian RAI channel. His is featured again for hypothermia in a recently aired segment of the Science Channel’s acclaimed program Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman.
Wilson Y. Szeto MD.
Dr. Szeto is the Chief, Cardiovascular Surgery at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Surgical Director for Transcatheter Cardio-Aortic Therapies and is the Associate Director, Thoracic Aortic Surgery. He has a special interest in adult cardiac surgery. His expertise involves thoracic aortic surgery and complex valvular heart surgery, including valve-sparing aortic root replacement and minimally invasive mitral valve repair. Dr. Szeto is also particularly interested in transcatheter heart valve replacement and repair and endovascular stent grafting of thoracic aortic diseases. He is a respected international speaker and authority in the field of thoracic aortic diseases and the author of numerous scientific publications and book chapters. He serves in the membership, program task force, and the workforce on new technology committees of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS). He also serves in the TVT Registry research and Publications Subcommittee, clinical guideline committee: Endovascular aortic disease update and clinical guideline committee: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement committees of the American Association of Thoracic Surgery.
Grayson H. Wheatley III, MD.
Dr. Wheatley is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in aortic and endovascular therapies. Dr. Wheatley practices at TriStar Health Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, TN. He has served as Director of Aortic and Endovascular Surgery and Surgical Director of the TAVR Program at Temple University Hospital and Associate Professor of Surgery at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Prior to his roles at Temple University, Dr. Wheatley was an attending Cardiovascular Surgeon at The Arizona Heart Institute in Phoenix. He received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and completed his Cardiovascular Surgery Residency at The University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, Texas in addition to completing a Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Fellowship at The Arizona Heart Institute in Phoenix, Arizona.Author of over 75 journal articles, including many practice guidelines and invited commentaries, Dr. Wheatley is on the editorial board of several leading medical journals and is committed to research and education in cutting-edge cardiovascular and endovascular surgical procedures. Most recently he has been researching new aortic stent-graft devices and autologous bone marrow cells in chronic limb ischemia and embolic protection systems.