Addison, Texas – June 5, 2018 – Stuart Sweet, MD, the W. McKim Marriott Professor of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been elected president-elect of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT). Dr. Sweet also serves as Medical Director of the Pediatric Lung Transplant Program at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. He will assume the role of president of ISHLT in 2019.
            “I’m honored and excited for the opportunity to serve as ISHLT president,” said Sweet, who has been a member of ISHLT since 1998. 
            The ISHLT is a multidisciplinary, professional organization dedicated to improving the care of patients with advanced heart or lung disease through transplantation, mechanical support and innovative therapies. With more than 3,000 members in more than 45 countries, ISHLT is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the research, education and advocacy of end-stage heart and lung disease. 
            Sweet's primary research focuses on improved understanding of the important factors determining outcome after lung transplantation in children. He has served numerous leadership positions within the field, including President of the Board of the Organ Transplantation and Procurement Network (OPTN) / United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Pediatric Transplantation Committee in 2016-7. 
Sweet received his medical degree from the University of Michigan in 1990, along with a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology.
 He joined the faculty of Washington University in 1996. His other interests include ethics and policies related to organ allocation and the use of technology in medicine.  
 
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About ISHLT 
The ISHLT is a not-for-profit, multidisciplinary, professional organization dedicated to improving the care of patients with advanced heart or lung disease through transplantation, mechanical support and innovative therapies. With more than 3,000 members in more than 45 countries, ISHLT is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the research, education and advocacy of end-stage heart and lung disease. ISHLT members represent more than 15 different professional disciplines. For more information, visit www.ishlt.org. 
 
 
Contact:
Nancy Mays
Nancy.mays@ISHLT.org
+1-913-568-3605