ISHLT Elects New Board Members and Professional Community Leaders

• Board of Directors
• Committees & Communities
• Interdisciplinary Networks
• Press Release
• Professional Communities

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Incoming volunteer leadership brings diverse expertise and dedication to interdisciplinary care

CHICAGO, IL – 1 December, 2022 – The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) has announced the results of the 2022 member election for the 2023 Board of Directors as well as leadership positions in the Professional Communities. The Society will welcome six members to the Board of Directors and 14 leaders across various specialties to serve as representatives to the 4 ISHLT Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committees and the Early Career & Trainee Committee beginning 1 May, 2023, immediately following the ISHLT 43^rd Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions.

Professor Christian Benden, MD, MBA, FCCP, will serve as ISHLT President-Elect beginning in May 2023 and as ISHLT President beginning in May 2024. President-Elect Jason Christie, MD, MSCE, begins his term as ISHLT President in May 2023.

“The Governance Committee commends the membership for their engagement during this election cycle,” said Lara Danziger-Isakov, MD, ISHLT Past President and Governance Committee Chair. “These results represent the development of coordinated election processes and were boosted by a record number of nominations and engagement of professional communities to expand opportunities for leadership in ISHLT to our members. I am also pleased to see ISHLT leaders from five different countries elected to the ISHLT Board of Directors, and to see such a mix of geographical, gender, and generational representation stepping into leadership roles in the Professional Communities.”

Christian Benden, MD, MBA, FCCP | President-Elect

Adjunct Professor of Pulmonology and Transplant Medicine
University of Zürich
Zürich, Switzerland

Professor Benden is a pediatric pulmonologist. He has previously served as Secretary of the Board of Directors; Chair and member of the Annual Meeting Program Committee; Chair, Vice-Chair and Co-Chair of the Pediatric Scientific Council; and as a member of the JHLT Editorial Board.

Peter M. Hopkins, FRACP | Secretary

Director Queensland Lung Transplant Service
The Prince Charles Hospital
Chermside, QLD Australia

Professor Hopkins is the Executive Director of the Heart and Lung Clinical Stream Metro North Brisbane and holds positions on numerous state-wide and national advisory groups. He has served as Secretary of the ISHLT Board of Directors, Chair of the ISHLT Standards and Guidelines Committee, and Scientific Chair of the ISHLT 41^st Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions.

Yael Peled, MD | Director

Medical Director, Heart Transplantation Unit
Sheba Medical Center
Ramat Gan, Israel

Professor Peled’s research interests include advanced heart failure and transplantation and COVID-19 vaccination in immunocompromised patients. She currently serves as a member of the JHLT Editorial Board, a member of the ISHLT2023 Program Planning Committee, a Project Lead for the Care of Heart Transplant Candidates Guidelines, a member of the ISHLT COVID-19 Task Force, and is an active member of the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Interdisciplinary Network.

Laurie D. Snyder, MD | Director

Associate Professor, Associate Medical Director of Lung Transplant
Duke University
Durham, NC USA

Professor Snyder’s research interests include advanced lung disease, lung transplantation, interstitial lung disease, and immune monitoring. She has served in a variety of roles at ISHLT, including as Chair of the ISHLT 42^nd Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions, member of the Grants and Awards Committee, and invited subgroup chair of the CT-ILD Consensus Guidelines Committee.

Josef Stehlik, MD | Director

Professor of Medicine, Heart Transplant Program Director
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT USA

Professor Stehlik’s areas of interest include advanced heart failure, heart transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, cardiac sarcoidosis, and cardioversion. He has served as a member of the JHLT Editorial Board, Medical Director of the Thoracic Registry, a member of the Research Oversight Committee, a Regional Ambassador of the ISHLT Foundation, and a member of the Annual Meeting Planning Committee.

Simon Urschel, MD | Director

Service Director Pediatric Cardiac Transplantation, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Medical Microbiology & Immunology
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB Canada

Professor Urschel’s research interests ABO-incompatible heart transplantation in children and social diaspora within medical practice. He currently serves as Chair of the Pediatrics Community of Practice, the Pediatrics Professional Community representative to the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committee, a member of the JHLT Editorial Board, and a member of the Grants and Awards Committee.

Beginning 1 May, 2023, the new composition of the Board will be:

• President: Jason D. Christie, MD, MS, Pulmonologist, USA (2025)
• Past President: Andreas Zuckermann, MD, Cardiac Surgeon, Austria (2024)
• President-Elect: Christian Benden, MD, MBA, FCCP, Pediatric Pulmonologist, Switzerland (2026)
• Treasurer: Martin J. Goddard, FRCS, MRCPa, Pathologist, United Kingdom (2024)
• Secretary: Peter M. Hopkins, FRACP, Pulmonologist, Australia (2025)
• Director: Caron L. Burch, RN, MSN, FNP, CCTC, Transplant Coordinator, USA (2025)
• Director: Marc de Perrot, MD, Thoracic and Lung Transplant Surgeon, Canada (2024)
• Director: Daniel F. Dilling, MD, Pulmonologist, USA (2024)
• Director: Mardi Gomberg-Maitland, MD, MSc, Cardiologist, USA (2024)
• Director: Angela Lorts, MD, MBA, Pediatric Cardiologist, USA (2024)
• Director: Jignesh K. Patel, MD, PhD, Cardiologist, USA (2025)
• Director: Yael Peled, MD, Cardiologist, Israel (2026)
• Director: Diyar Saeed, MD, PhD, Cardiac Surgeon, Germany (2025)
• Director: Laurie D. Snyder, MD, Pulmonologist, USA (2026)
• Director: Josef Stehlik, MD, Cardiologist, USA (2026)
• Director: Simon Urschel, MD, Immunologist, Pediatric Cardiologist, Canada (2026)

The elected Professional Community leaders are:

Katherine Kozarek, MD

University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI USA

Anesthesiology & Critical Care Representative
Pulmonary Vascular Disease (PAH & CTEPH) Interdisciplinary Network

Lynn R. Punnoose, MD

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Nashville, TN USA

Cardiology Representative
Advanced Heart Failure Transplantation Interdisciplinary Network

Brian A. Houston, MD

Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, SC USA

Cardiology Representative
Mechanical Circulatory Support Interdisciplinary Network

Alexander M. Bernhardt, MD

University Heart and Vascular Center Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany

Cardiothoracic Surgery Representative
Pulmonary Vascular Disease (PAH & CTEPH) Interdisciplinary Network

Caitlin T. Demarest, MD, PhD

Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, TN USA

Cardiothoracic Surgery Representative
Early Career & Trainee Committee

Emily Eichenberger, MD, MPH

Emory University School of Medicine,br /> Atlanta, GA USA

Infectious Diseases Representative
Advanced Lung Failure Transplantation Interdisciplinary Network

Elsa Garza, DNP, ACNP-BC, BSN

AMITA Health
Elk Grove Village, IL USA

Nursing & Allied Health Representative
Pulmonary Vascular Disease (PAH & CTEPH) Interdisciplinary Network

Federica Pezzuto

University of Padova
Padova, Italy

Pathology Representative
Early Career & Trainee Committee

David M. Peng, MD

University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI USA

Pediatrics Representative
Advanced Heart Failure Transplantation Interdisciplinary Network

Shawn C. West, MD

UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA USA

Pediatrics Representative
Pulmonary Vascular Disease (PAH & CTEPH) Interdisciplinary Network

Neha Bansal, MD

Children’s Hospital at Montefiore
Cliffside Park, NJ USA

Pediatrics Representative
Early Career & Trainee Committee

Fay S. Burrows, BPharm

St. Vincent’s Hospital
Darlinghurst, NSW Australia

Pharmacy Representative
Advanced Lung Failure Transplantation Interdisciplinary Network

Amanda Ingemi, PharmD, MPH

Sentara Norfolk General Hospital
Norfolk, VA USA

Pharmacy Representative
Mechanical Circulatory Support Interdisciplinary Network

Daniel R. Calabrese, MD

University of California San Francisco
Mill Valley, CA USA

Research & Immunology Representative
Advanced Lung Failure Transplantation Interdisciplinary Network