Hajar A. Albinali, MD, FACC, FESC, FGHA, Senior Cardiology Consultant, Director of Medical Education in Heart Hospital. He was a former Managing Director of HMC, Chairman of Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery, Undersecretary of Health and Minister of Health and past President of GHA.

Mohammad Zubaid is Professor of Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University. He heads the division of cardiology at Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital. He is currently the Chair of the Faculty of Cardiology at Kuwait Institute for Medical Specialization (KIMS), in charge of the cardiology residency program in Kuwait. He was elected for a three years term as president of the Gulf Heart Association in December 2023. Professor Zubaid obtained his MB, ChB from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1986. He went on to do internal medicine residency at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada from 1988 to 1991 and cardiology residency at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada from 1992 to 1994. He pursued his research career with a fellowship in interventional cardiology at the University of British Colombia, Vancouver, Canada from 1994 to 1996. He returned to his home country, Kuwait, in 1996 and joined Kuwait University as an assistant professor of Medicine. He was promoted to Professor in December 2006. He served as Vice Dean for Academic Affairs at the Faculty of Medicine from 2012 to 2013. He has contributed to several international journal publications and has served on the editorial boards of the Kuwait Medical Association Journal and the Journal of the Gulf Heart Association, Heart Views. He has published 122 peer-reviewed articles. Professor Zubaid has organized and chaired several local and regional conferences. He is Fellow of the Gulf Heart Association, the Royal College of Physicians of Canada and American College of Cardiology. His research interest focuses on the performance of disease registries. He has led several disease registries in Kuwait and the region including the Kuwait myocardial infarction registry, Kuwait Acute Coronary Syndrome (KACS) registry, Gulf Registry of Acute Coronary Events (Gulf RACE), Gulf Survey of Atrial Fibrillation Events (Gulf SAFE), Kuwait Time in Therapeutic Range study, Gulf locals with acute coronary syndrome events (Gulf COAST) Registry, use of reperfusion in ST elevation myocardial infarction in Kuwait (REPERFUSE Kuwait) Registry, and Gulf documentation of ambulatory sick patients with heart failure (Gulf DYSPNEA) registry, Kuwait Catheterization Laboratory Project (Kuwait CLAP), and Mubarak Alkabeer hospital primary PCI registry. He is the principal investigator for the Kuwait Heart Foundation Registry of Acute Coronary Events (KHF RACE). KHF RACE enroll 10,200 ACS patients from across Kuwait. It started in May 2023 and was completed in November 2024.

Dr. Nidal Asaad, MBBS, FRCPC – Senior Cardiology Consultant, CEO, Medical Director and Head of Cardiac Electrophysiology at Heart Hospital in Qatar and an Associate Professor at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Asaad is actively involved in cardiovascular research and Gulf region registries with more than 100 publications in peer review journals. He is certified in internal medical cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology from University of Toronto and University of Ottawa Heart Institute. He is a member of the steering committee for the Gulf Heart Rhythm Society and has been a member of the Arab Board of Examiners in Cardiology for over 10 years.

Dr Wael Abdulrahman Almahmeed is a Consultant Cardiologist at the Heart and Vascular Institute in Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. He is also a Clinical Professor at the Khalifa University and has an Adjunct Staff position at Cleveland Clinic, Ohio.

Dr Almahmeed completed his undergraduate medical training at the medical school in the University of Southampton, England. He continued his post graduate studies in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. This was followed by a fellowship in Echocardiography at the same institution.

He received his Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Internal Medicine in 1994 and in Cardiology in 1995. Subsequently he became a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians (1996), Fellow of the American College of Physicians (1998), Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (1998) and Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology in 2004.

He is a foundation member of the Gulf Heart Association and the Emirates Cardiac Society. Under his leadership in the Emirates Cardiac Society, the Society won the bid to host the World Congress of Cardiology in Dubai in 2012, the World Tobacco or Health Congress in Abu Dhabi in 2015, the Asia Pacific Congress of Cardiology in Abu Dhabi in 2015 and World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology in 2016. He also established an annual meeting for the Emirates Cardiac Society in UAE. In 2000, he initiated World Heart Day in the UAE. Today it is celebrated by many institutions across the country.

Dr Almahmeed's research interests include Coronary Artery Disease prevention in the developing countries, Hypertension, Dyslipidemia, and Registries on Acute Coronary Syndromes, Heart Failure and Atrial Fibrillation. He was the national coordinator for the Inter-Heart Study. He is on the steering committee of the Gulf Race, Gulf Coast, Gulf Care and Gulf Safe Registries. He has over 350 publications to his credit, and is currently the national coordinator for a number of Multi-Center Trials including Elixa, Examine and Garfield Trials.

Doctor Uwe Zeymer is interventional Cardiologist at the University Heart Center Freiburg, Department of Cardiology, Germany. He is Vice-Director of the Institut für Herzinfarktforschung Ludwigshafen. He has been board certified in internal medicine, cardiology, interventional cardiology and intensive care medicine.

After his graduation from Medical School at the Universities of Munich and Marburg in 1985, Dr Zeymer gained experience as a resident, fellow and attendee in the Department of Cardiology, Municipal Hospital, Kassel, and as a clinical research fellow in the Department of Cardiology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, USA. He is full Professor of Medicine at the University of Göttingen.

Dr. Zeymer is or has chaired or been a member of the Steering Committee numerous trials in patients with acute coronary syndromes, antithrombotic therapies and anticoagulants. In addition, he has been chair or member of the Steering committee of several international registries in interventional cardiology, treatment of hypertension, anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation and acute coronary syndromes. He has been co-chairman of the largest randomized clinical studies in patients with infarct-related cardiogenic shock, such as the IABP-SHOCK 2 trial, the CULPRIT-Shock trial and the ECLS-Shock trial.

Dr. Zeymer has authored and co-authored over 600 scientific papers on cardiovascular disease in journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, JAMA, European Heart Journal, Circulation and Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Dr. Zeymer is member of the editorial board of Clinical Research in Cardiology, European Heart Journal Acute Cardiovascular Care and is European Editor for Cardiology and Therapy

Dr. Zeymer has been the Board member Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Association for Acute Cardiovascular Care (ACVC) of the ESC, the Chair of the Working Group of Thrombosis of the German Cardiac Society and the Chair of the Working for Quality Insurance and Registries of the German Cardiac Society. He is the past and current chair of the STEMI Registry of the European Society of Cardiology.

Peter Clemmensen graduated as MD at the University of Copenhagen, currently Professor of Cardiology at the Department of Cardiology, University Heart and Vascular Center, Hamburg-Eppendorf, Previous President the Acute Cardiovascular Care Association, Past President of the Danish Heart Foundation. Professor Clemmensen has published more than 400 scientific papers (N Engl J Med, Lancet, Circulation, Eur Heart J, J Am Coll Cardiol, Am Heart J, Am J Cardiol, Heart) and authored chapters in international textbooks. H-Index 66. Research interests include reperfusion therapies and organisation in patients with STEMI, antithrombotic therapy and electrocardiology. Professor Clemmensen mentored 14 completed dissertations. Participated in many clinical trials and registries ranging from investigator to Steering Committee functions: FRISC II; DANAMI1-3; PLATO; EUROMAX; TRILOGY; MULTIPRAC; CULPRIT SHOCK; ECLS SHOCK. He has served on several national and international end-points committees and DSMB´s as well as working groups including the Joint ESC/ACC/AHA/WHO Committee for redefinition of myocardial infarction 2000, and its 2004-2012 GLOBAL MI Task Force.

Prof. Carlo Di Mario is Professor of Cardiology at the University of Florence and Director of the Structural 
Interventional Cardiology Division of the University Hospital Careggi, Florence, Italy. He is still clinically active in London where he holds GMC registration and offers consultations in the Royal Brompton Hospital and PCI/TAVI in the Harley Street Clinic. Previous posts included 15 years as 
Professor of Clinical Cardiology at Imperial College of Sciences, Medicine & Technology, London and Consultant Cardiologist at 
the Royal Brompton Hospital. He also practiced at the San 
Raffaele University Hospital, Milan, Italy. He trained in Cardiology at the University of Padova, Italy, but he soon moved for interventional training at the Thoraxcentre of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where he also completed a PhD in Intracoronary Ultrasound Imaging and Doppler.

Chief, Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute Delos M. Cosgrove, MD, Chair for Heart Disease Research Professor of Surgery, Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery Cleveland Clinic

With more than 700 peer-reviewed articles published, multiple patents, and 19 inventions, Dr. Svensson was named one of the most influential researchers of the past decade. Dr. Svensson helped establish HVTI-sponsored continuing medical education at Cleveland Clinic. His research focuses on aortic valve surgery, surgery for thoracic aortic aneurysms, minimally invasive valve surgery, and percutaneous valve treatment, but also reported the first replacement of the entire aorta from the aortic valve to the aortic bifurcation in one operation. Through research and clinical practice, Dr. Svensson has contributed to advances in protecting the brain, spinal cord, and kidneys during major cardiac and aortic surgery, and has been instrumental in developing minimally invasive keyhole surgical techniques (J-incision).

Born and educated in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, outstanding grades in high school. Graduated from King Saudi University medical school 1985. Trained in general surgery, cardiothoracic surgery and pediatric congenital heart surgery in Canada. Returned to Riyadh in 1999 and worked for 17 years until recruited to the Cleveland Clinic as chair of Pediatric and Adult Congenital heart surgery on 2016. After 16 years of developing the premier Pediatric Heart Center at King Abdulaziz Medical Center in Riyadh Saudi Arabia, Dr. Najm joined the Cleveland Clinic on January 1, 2016 as the chair of pediatric and congenital heart surgery. Dr. Najm is considered an expert in his field of congenital heart surgery as he has personally performed more than 10,000 surgical cases on newborns, children, and adults with the most complex heart disease. Dr. Najm came to the Cleveland Clinic with not only his clinical expertise in pediatric and congenital heart surgery, but also is the past president of the Saudi Heart Association, Editor – in – Chief, Journal of Saudi Heart Association, Editorial Board Member Saudi Medical Journal and Associate Professor of King Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Dr. Najm holds numerous memberships in national and international professional organizations and currently is a Trustee of the American College of Cardiology. Dr. Najm is an international lecturer in the field of congenital heart surgery. He is known of innovative techniques in congenital heart surgery where he innovated multiple new surgical techniques to improve outcome in complex congenital heart defects. Due to his contributions in the field he was awarded the “Great Arab Minds” 2023 award in Medicine an award otherwise called “Arab Nobel”.

Dr. Abdulwahid Almulla is a senior consultant cardiac surgeon in the Heart Hospital. He is also Program Director of the Arab Board Program of Cardiac Surgery. As a surgeon he conducts various adult cardiac surgical procedures and he is particularly interested in minimally invasive cardiac surgery. He is among the first group of senior HMC clinicians who are participating in the HMC internal fellowship program of IHI; he is also actively engaged in quality improvement programs at the Heart Hospital.

Maan Fares, MD, is Chair of Global Patient Services at Cleveland Clinic, an $8 billion health system with locations in Ohio, Florida, Nevada, Canada, Abu Dhabi, and London. He has held the position from 2021, having served as Vice Chairman since 2015.

Dr. Fares is a board-certified, clinical cardiologist who has served at Cleveland Clinic from 2013 in the Robert and Suzanne Tomsich Department of Cardiovascular Medicine in the Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic. From 2022, he is also an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University.

Dr. Fares earned his medical degree from the University of Damascus, School of Medicine, Syria. He completed a residency at Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, and a fellowship in cardiovascular medicine at New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Fares spent time on staff at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, as a clinical associate in echocardiography while on the medical staff of Melrose Wakefield Hospital, Melrose, Massachusetts.

Prior to his appointment to the Cleveland Clinic medical staff in 2013, Dr. Fares was a member of the Ohio Permanent Medical Group/Kaiser Permanente medical staff and Chief of Cardiology. Additional positions he held with Kaiser include Associate Medical Director for Medical Specialties and member of the Board of Directors.

Professor Jordi Bañeras, MD, PhD, MSc, M.Ed, is a cardiologist specializing in cardiovascular critical care at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona. He holds multiple advanced degrees in medicine, research, and medical education, and earned his PhD in Medicine Cum Laude from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He serves as Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Barcelona and CTO Professor of Cardiology.
Prof. Bañeras is a leader in medical simulation and education, coordinating the Vall Hebron Advanced Simulation Center and co-creating SIMOONS, an award-winning virtual simulation platform. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles and actively contributes to international conferences, research, and peer review.
He currently chairs the Education section of the ESC’s Acute Cardiovascular Care (ACVC) and sits on the ESC Education Committee. His work extends internationally, including collaborations with the AHA, ACC, and observerships in the U.S. He is also involved in public health initiatives, especially around CPR training and air pollution awareness.

Dr. Abdallah El Sabbagh is an interventional cardiologist and Associate Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic, where he serves as Director of the Innovation Academy. He specializes in structural heart interventions and is a recognized expert in catheter-based therapies for the removal of intracardiac masses, including infective endocarditis and cardiac tumors. Dr. El Sabbagh has led landmark multicenter studies in this field and is also highly regarded for his expertise in complex hemodynamics and transcatheter therapies for valvular and structural heart disease.

Dr. Maryam is a Consultant Cardiologist with over a decade of experience at King Fahad Specialist Hospital in Dammam, the only tertiary and quaternary cancer center in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia under the Ministry of Health. With specialized interests in heart failure and cardio-oncology, Dr. Maryam has been instrumental in establishing dedicated cardio-oncology services aimed at supporting cancer patients through their treatment journeys while minimizing the risk of cardiotoxicities. In addition to clinical practice, Dr. Maryam serves as the Group Vice President of Quality and Performance at the Eastern Health Cluster, where he is committed to delivering world-class, person-centered, and value-based healthcare across the region. His work aligns with the pursuit of the quadruple aim: improving health outcomes, enhancing patient experience, increasing value, and fostering joy in the workplace.
She completed his undergraduate and postgraduate fellowship training through the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Beaumont Hospital in Dublin. He is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow and holds an MSc in Healthcare Administration from RCSI-Bahrain, among other certifications. An active contributor to academic research, Dr. Maryam has played a key role in authoring the national heart failure guidelines in Saudi Arabia over the past seven years.

Dr. Mehra is the William Harvey Distinguished Chair in Advanced Cardiovascular Medicine, a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Executive Director of the Center for Advanced Heart Disease at Brigham and women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. He also served as founding Medical Director of the Heart and Vascular Center (2013-2019) at the Brigham and was Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, which rose to #1 ranked journal in its field under his leadership (2010-2020). Dr. Mehra is the only individual to have been appointed as President (2008) of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) and President of the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA), the two premier societies in the field of advanced heart disease. He has authored over 500 scholarly papers with a specific focus on Advanced Heart Failure and among some highlights, discovered the obesity paradox in heart failure, described the natural history of cardiac allograft vasculopathy after transplantation, established the pivotal international guidelines for selection and care of transplant patients, defined the role of new immunosuppression to improve transplant outcomes and helped introduce genomic based biomarkers for evaluating cardiac allograft rejection. In recent years his research focus shifted to evaluation of novel left ventricular assist devices (“artificial heart pumps”) engineered to reduce the burden of adverse effects and allow use in broader populations of patients. This work published in the New England Journal of Medicine has resulted in the introduction of novel therapy for advanced heart failure patients and its practice changing implications have been seen around the world in advanced heart failure. Dr. Mehra has a certificate in Executive leadership from the Harvard Business School and completed a Master of Science in Health Economics and Management at the London School of Economics in 2018, a degree earned through his designation as a “Braunwald Scholar”.

Dr. Rasha Al-Bawardy is a U.S.-trained interventional cardiologist and Assistant Professor at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. She specializes in complex coronary interventions and structural heart procedures. Board-certified in internal medicine, cardiology, and interventional cardiology, she is actively involved in clinical research and education and serves as a leader in several regional and international cardiology initiatives.

Dr.Abdullah Esmaiel MBBCh, FRCP(C) Consultant Interventional & structural cardiologist at MKH in Kuwait. Dr. Esmaiel earned his medical degree at RCSI, Ireland. He subsequently completed postgraduate training in Internal medicine and cardiology at McGill University. He completed a one-year interventional cardiology clinical fellowship at the MUHC and a one-year structural fellowship. He is interested in complex coronary interventions, structural heart interventions and cardiogenic shock management.

Dr. Alkaabi currently works as an Adult Interventional Cardiologist and Electrophysiology consultant. He is the Director of Electrophysiology Service at Zayed Military Hospital Abu Dhabi. He did his post-graduate training in Cardiology, intervention and electrophysiology in Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto. He holds American and Canadian Board Certificates in Internal Medicine and Cardiology. Dr. Alkaabi possesses additional American Board Certificates in Special Competence in Adult Echocardiography and International Board of Heart Rhythm Examiners (IBHRE). Currently, he is working full time in Zayed Military Hospital and part time in Sheikh Khalifa Medical Center and at Dubai Hospital. He has special interest in management of Brugada syndrome patients’ and he is primary investigator in the UAE Brugada registry.

Adel Khalifa Sultan Hamad is a consultant cardiologist and Bahrain’s first interventional cardiac electrophysiologist. He was the head of the electrophysiology department; cardiac pacing and tachyarrhyhmia devices in Mohammed bin Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Cardiac Centre at The Bahrain Royal Services for nearly 14 years. He is board certified in internal medicine and adult cardiology from University of Toronto, Canada. Subsequently he did a sub-specialty clinical fellowship in cardiac electrophysiology at Toronto General Hospital. During his cardiology residency and clinical fellowship years he did a research focusing on the “Spatial organization of ventricular fibrillation in explanted Langendorff human heart” which he presented in the annual Ursula Bangs Clinical and Research day at University of Toronto. Subsequently he presented his research poster at the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Meeting in Montreal/Canada. After returning from Canada he established the country's first electrophysiology (EP) laboratory in 2010, established an advanced EP program utilizing 3D mapping system in 2012 and established a program for cryoablation of atrial fibrillation in 2016. Dr. Hamad is the current president and founding board member of the Gulf Heart Rhythm Society (GHRS). Additionally, he is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada, and Fellow of the Gulf Heart Association. He is a speaker in local, regional and international conferences. He received the following honors and decorations; Hawar Medal of a first grade, Military Assessment Medal 1st Class and Medal of Courage. His research interests include atrial fibrillation, new oral anticoagulants, cardiac devices and sudden cardiac death.

Dr. Ashraf Al Azzoni, MD, is a Staff Physician within the Cardiovascular Medicine Department of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute. Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Dr. Al Azzoni worked at Scarborough Health Network and Lakeridge Health in Toronto, Canada. During his tenure, he treated a wide spectrum of complex coronary artery disease utilizing the different invasive technologies including image-guided and catheter-based therapies. He was involved in teaching fellows from University of Toronto and enjoyed being part of research teams assessing various therapies for coronary artery disease. Dr. Al Azzoni received his medical degree from the University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan. He completed his internal medicine and cardiology residency training at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada and subsequently completed a two-year fellowship in interventional cardiology at McMaster University. He has the Canadian and American boards of Internal Medicine and Cardiology.

Prof. Feras Bader is a Clinical Professor of Medicine and Cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. He is the Director of the Section of Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation at the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. After finishing his Internal Medicine Residency training, Prof. Bader completed Heart Failure and Transplant Fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine in 2003. He then went to the University of Utah and completed his Cardiovascular Fellowship in 2006, after which he joined the faculty there at the Division of Cardiology. He served as the Medical Director of the Heart Failure Program at the University of Utah Hospital and the Director of the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Fellowship Program. During his time there, he also obtained a Master’s Degree in Clinical Investigation. Prof. Bader spent a decade at Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi between 2015 and 2025, during which he established the first multidisciplinary advanced heart failure and transplant program in UAE including the introduction of heart transplant for the first time there. During his tenure at Cleveland Clinic, he served as the Vice Chairman and then the Chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine. In 2024, Prof. Bader completed an Executive Master of Business Administration from Oxford University. Prof. Bader is American Board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases, Echocardiography, and Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology. His research interests include various aspects in ventricular assist devices, hemodynamics and cardio renal interactions in heart failure. He has participated in many single and multi-center trials and has published more than 175 papers and abstracts in peer review journals. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the Heart Failure Society of America, and the European Heart Failure Association. He is the Regional Chairman of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation Foundation on behalf of the Middle East.

Dr. Hesham is the division chief of Cardiology and an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, WQMC-Qatar. He did his Pediatric residency and core Cardiology fellowship in Canada and Interventional Cardiology fellowship in New Zealand. He joined Sidra Medicine in late 2019 where he was appointed as a senior attending Interventional Cardiologist.

Dr. Tawfeg Ben-Omran is the Division Chief of Genetics and Genomic Medicine at Sidra Medicine, a women’s and children’s hospital in the State of Qatar. Dr. Ben-Omran’s clinic provides comprehensive genetic services including clinical evaluation and risk assessment; genetic counselling; diagnosis and the advanced management for a variety of genetic disorders in pediatric patients of all ages. The clinic also offers ongoing multidisciplinary care for patients with genetic conditions and helps them access resources and treatment programs personalized to their condition. The clinic also offers genetic counselling in partnership with the Qatar National Premarital Genetic Screening Program. Other key services include preimplantation genetic diagnosis and prenatal genetic testing and diagnosis and Inborn Errors of Metabolism.

Dr. Gehan Mostafa, born in Egypt and raised in Austria, brings a diverse cultural background that greatly influences her approach to patient care. Since joining Sidra Medicine in March 2018, she has been serving as a senior attending pediatric critical care physician in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (CICU). She is the Physician Lead of Quality and Safety for the CICU. Her expertise lies in managing critically ill children and treating life-threatening cardiac conditions using extracorporeal treatment modalities, particularly extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Before joining Sidra Medicine, she worked for 16 years as a consultant at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Medical University of Vienna (MUV) in Austria. At MUV, she spearheaded a comprehensive follow-up program for ECMO patients after ICU discharge. Furthermore, she contributed as university staff, conducting her lecture series and offering bedside teaching modules in the PICU at MUV.

Professor Samir Gupta, Division Chief of Neonatology, joined Sidra Medicine in 2018. He is Program Director of Qatar Neonatologist with an interest in cardiology and hemodynamics (Q-NiCHE) program. He manages newborns requiring intensive care, with expertise in complex multi-system problems, surgical babies, and infants with complex heart problems. He was Professor of Neonatology, Durham University, UK; Medical Director of Research and Innovation, and Consultant Neonatologist at University Hospital, North Tees, UK. He is a visiting professor in Hong Kong, Slovakia, Argentina, Oman & India and holds international responsibilities: Steering committee member, American Society of Echocardiography (Neonatal section), USA; Steering committee member, NPE, Circulation section, ESPR, Chair of International Non-invasive cardiac output monitoring Special interest group of European Society for Pediatric Research and Associate Editor of the Seminars in Fetal and Neonatal Medicine journal. He is a principal investigator of NIHR, UK-funded clinical trials, and holds numerous grants

Dr. Haytham obtained his medical degree at Ain Shams University, Faculty of Medicine in Egypt 1994. His pediatrics residency was at Hamad General Hospital, Qatar, where he completed his fellowship training in the pediatric cardiology section. He obtained a Master’s degree in Pediatrics from Ain Shams University, Faculty of Medicine in Egypt in 2000, the Arab Board in Pediatrics in 2007, Membership of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health (MRCPCH) UK in 2012, and The European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging certificate in Congenital Heart Disease. He is a member of the Gulf Heart Association and the European Society of Cardiology. Dr. Ibrahim has 15 years of experience in Pediatrics Cardiology, with a special interest in Echocardiography, including 3D Echocardiography for precise diagnosis of complex congenital heart diseases. He is a senior attending Pediatric Cardiologist Director of the Non–Non-Invasive lab and a Consultant in Pediatric Cardiology at Sidra Medicine. He is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar (WCM-Q)

Dr. Younes is an Internationally recognized leader in interventional/non-surgical treatments of Congenital Heart Diseases and former director of Cardiac Catheterization laboratory in Necker For Sick Children Hospital and George Pompidou Adult Hospital (Paris, France), two of the biggest centers in Europe for treatment of Congenital and Structural Heart Diseases. He has one of the largest experience worldwide in multiple interventional fields including but not limited to transcatheter patent ductus arteriosus closure in premature babies, transcatheter pulmonary valve implantation, cardiac intervention in fetuses, transcatheter shunt creation in pulmonary artery hypertension patients, etc.… He is an Internationally recognized leader in the development of transcatheter valve therapies with several patents as inventor of medical devices and first-in man procedures. Dr. Younes travels all around the world for humanitarian missions to train doctors and treat patients with congenital heart diseases.

Dr. Grace van Leeuwen is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine–Qatar and has served as a Senior Attending in the Pediatric Cardiac ICU at Sidra Medicine since 2019. She is the Co-Director of the ECMO program, a member of the Ethics Committee, and oversees Qatar’s Neonatal and Pediatric ECMO transport. Prior to joining Sidra Medicine, Dr. van Leeuwen headed the Heart Center at Sabará Children’s Hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, where she led the creation of Cardiac and ECMO programs that earned an ELSO Award of Excellence—the first for a hospital in Brazil. Board-certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology, and Critical Care, Dr. van Leeuwen is dedicated to delivering advanced, evidence-based cardiac and critical care. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Clinical Service Operations at Harvard Medical School to further refine her leadership and healthcare operational expertise.

Dr. Faraz Masud is a General Pediatric Cardiologist with 17 years of experience in Cardiology field. He completed his Basic Medical Degree from Punjab University, Pakistan. Following his medical degree he pursued with Post Graduate Fellowship training in Pediatric Medicine and then Pediatric Cardiology from Children hospital and Institute of Child Health, Lahore, Pakistan and did his Board certifications from College of Physician and Surgeons, Pakistan in both Pediatrics and Pediatric Cardiology. He also got fellowship training especially in Post-operative cardiac cases and interventional cardiac catheterization from National Heart Institute (IJN), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In his last 10 years he served as a Senior Registrar Pediatric Cardiology in Sultan Qaboos University Hospital and as Specialist and Associate Consultant Pediatric Cardiology and Hamad General Hospital (Hamad Medical Corporation).

Dr. Olivier Ghez is the Division Chief of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at Sidra Medicine, a specialist women’s and children’s hospital in Doha, Qatar. Dr. Ghez joined Sidra Medicine in April 2018. He specializes in neonatal, paediatric and adult congenital cardiac surgery, particularly for complex heart malformations including complex neonatal and pediatric heart surgery, aortic and mitral valve repairs for congenital patients and cone repair for tricuspid valve Ebstein malformation. Along with a highly specialized team of interventional cardiologists, Dr. Ghez and his team apply innovative hybrid techniques and cosmetic approaches to cardiac surgery for simple malformations. Prior to joining Sidra Medicine, Dr. Ghez was the lead pediatric cardiac surgeon at Royal Brompton Hospital in London, U.K. During his 10 year tenure at the hospital, he was honoured by the ITV/Sun’s Special Recognition Health Star Award for having successfully operated on the hearts of more than 1500 new born babies, infants and children. Dr. Ghez received his medical degree from the University Aix-Marseille II in France as well as a master’s degree in physiology and biology of circulation from the University of Paris VII. He has several degrees from the same universities in specialties including congenital cardiac surgery; extracorporeal circulation and microsurgical research

Hamza Elkhidir, MD, completed his pediatric residency training at New York Medical College; he then joined the University of Texas School of Medicine, where he completed his critical care medicine fellowship in 2013. Dr. Elkhidir spent an additional year at the University of Nebraska in a pediatric cardiology training program. Dr. Elkhidir joined Johns Hopkins All Children’s Heart Institute after completing his training as an attending physician before joining Sidra Medicine.

Dr. Durward has been a senior consultant in cardiac intensive care at Sidra Medicine since December 2017. Prior to this, Dr. Durward worked as a consultant in pediatric care for over 20 years at Evelina Children’s, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London. Dr. Durward’s special interests include extracorporeal life support where he is pediatric ECMO director at Sidra Medicine and leads a complex airway and interventional bronchoscopy service including airway stenting.

Dr. Ahmed Abushahin was Arab Board certified in pediatrics in 2004; then, he completed his fellowship in pediatric pulmonology at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in 2007. Dr. Abushahin is a senior attending pediatric pulmonology at Sidra Medicine and an assistant professor in clinical pediatrics at Weill-Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q). Dr. Abushahin has been privileged to teach, train, and mentor medical students, pediatric residents, and pediatric pulmonology fellows. Dr. Abushahin has a particular interest in the area of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD), Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), Severe asthma and Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test in children (CPET). Dr. Abushahin has led and participated in numerous research projects and published many peer-reviewed articles in pediatric pulmonology medicine. His current research focuses on chronic lung disease of prematurity and cardio-pulmonary exercise test. Besides his clinical and academic commitments, Dr. Abushahin holds several key positions in Sidra Medicine. He is the medical director of the pulmonary function laboratory, the leader of the flexible bronchoscopy service, the director of the Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia respiratory care program.

Dr. Husnu Firat Altin is a senior attending physician in cardiovascular surgery at Sidra Medicine since 2023 and previously worked as a pediatric cardiovascular surgeon at the University of Health Sciences, Siyami Ersek Hospital in Turkey for 5 years. After completing cardiovascular surgery specialization in 2011, he performed coronary bypass, valve, and saphenous vein endovenous laser ablation operations on adult patients for 2 years at Diyarbakir Gazi Yaşargil Hospital. He has researched endovenous laser ablation extensively and has been published. Dr. Altin has over 18 years of experience and worked primarily in the field of congenital heart surgery during his cardiovascular surgery education and training. In Turkey, he received the title of associate professor in 2017 and professor in 2022. In 2015, he was selected as the Doctor of the Year by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Turkey and came first in Türkiye in the fellowship exam in 2013. He has 55 articles with 300 citations and 3 patents in the application/pre-examination stage for a custom, hand-made conduit creation. Dr. Altin is committed to quality improvement in health, including sharing surgical video online, research studies, training of fellows, and detailed patient information.

Internationally recognized leader and the founder of comprehensive electrophysiological and catheter ablation procedures without the use of fluoroscopy (X-ray) in children and adults. Performed the first comprehensive electrophysiological procedure without fluoroscopy in 2004 in the USA. Published extensively in peer-reviewed journals in the USA and internationally and was invited by several conferences and universities as an invited speaker. He is a world-renowned expert in cryoablation, a safer method of catheter ablation. He holds a Tenure Professorship at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences since 2008. Furthermore, he is the founder of the Pediatric Electrophysiology Division at Giessen Pediatric Heart Center in Germany (1998) and the founder of Pediatric Heart Centers at Mehmet Akif Ersoy Cardiovascular Research and Training Hospital in Istanbul (2009) and at Istanbul Medipol University Hospital (2012). He is also the founder of two new academic pediatric heart centers in Istanbul, Turkey (2009-2017) and the founder of the Pediatric and Genetic Arrhythmia Center at Istanbul Medipol University (2012-2017). He has received research grant support from the NIH and the Turkish Scientific and Research Council. Additionally, he has organized and directed international electrophysiology training webinars since 2009 and has been selected as a Top Doctor in his field for several years in the USA. He also serves as a reviewer for several peer-reviewed internationally recognized journals in cardiology and electrophysiology.

Dr. Diana Bernal Quintero has been a consultant Pediatric and Fetal Cardiologist at Sidra Medicine since 2022. Before this, she spent 13 years in the U.K., where she completed her specialist training in pediatric cardiology. Her training was undertaken at Great Ormond Street Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospital in London, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and John Radcliffe Hospital (Oxford) Dr. Quintero has focused her interest on imaging of the heart, fetal cardiology, and advanced echocardiography. She performs fetal echocardiograms throughout pregnancy to detect heart conditions and treat and counsel families accordingly. She participates in both acute inpatient and outpatient management of pediatric and adult patients with congenital heart disease. Dr. Quintero is committed to teaching fellows, residents, and medical students, participates regularly in pediatric and fetal cardiology teaching workshops and delivers bedside teaching routinely. She is currently the Cardiology Quality lead and is working with the cardiology team to ensure excellent care is delivered, and there is continuous improvement with the development of quality improvement projects.

Abdullah Shehab, MBChB, DipMEd, MMEd, Ph.D., CCST, FACP, FRCP, FESC, FACC, FSCAI, FAHA, FSCCT Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine Chairman of Education, EMA Editor-in-Chief, New Emirates Medical Journal Vice President, Gulf Intervention Society Vice President, Emirates Cardiac Society With 25 years of expertise in internal medicine, cardiology, interventional cardiology, and medical education, Professor Shehab has received several prestigious awards from UAEU for Best Service, Best Teaching, and Best Clinical Research. He is a past president of the Emirates Cardiac Society and currently serves as Vice President of both the Emirates Cardiac Society and the Gulf Intervention Society. As a fellow of multiple esteemed organizations including the Royal College of Physicians (UK), American College of Physicians, European Society of Cardiology, American College of Cardiology, American Society of Cardiac Intervention, and American Heart Association, Professor Shehab represents a highly qualified and respected figure in his field. His areas of special interest encompass heart failure, coronary artery disease, dyslipidemia, hypertension, arrhythmias, cardiac intervention, cardiac imaging, and screening for cardiac disease in athletes, as well as cardiovascular disease in pregnancy. Currently, he is the Chief Editor of the Emirates Medical Journal and serves on the editorial boards of numerous regional and international journals, with a publication record of 152 papers in Medline.

Professor Charbel Abi Khalil is Professor of Medicine, Genetic Medicine, and Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q). He also serves as Assistant Dean of International Affairs and is a Consultant Cardiologist at the Heart Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation. Professor Abi Khalil holds an MD and PhD from the University of Paris VII (Denis-Diderot) and an Executive Master’s degree in Healthcare Economics, Policy, and Management from the London School of Economics (LSE). Prior to joining WCM-Q, Dr. Abi Khalil was a Research Fellow at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) (2006–2010), a Cardiology Fellow at Assistance Publique–Hôpitaux de Paris (2010–2012), and a Genetics Fellow in the Department of Genetic Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine–New York (2012–2013). Over the past decade, Dr. Abi Khalil has secured seven extramural research grants totaling nearly $5 million. He has authored more than 70 original research papers, reviews, editorials, and book chapters. His team has delivered over 30 presentations at major international cardiology conferences, including those of the American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Cardiology (ACC), and European Society of Cardiology (ESC). He is a regular invited speaker at these meetings. Dr. Abi Khalil is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC), the American Heart Association (FAHA), and the European Society of Cardiology (FESC). He has received the American Heart Association’s prestigious Paul Dudley White International Scholar Award three times (2017, 2018, and 2023).

Dr. Alkindi serves as a Senior Consultant in Interventional and Structural Cardiology at University Medical City, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) in Muscat, Oman. He earned both his B.S. and M.D. degrees from Sultan Qaboos University. Following this, he completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in general cardiology at Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar. In 2016, Dr. Alkindi pursued advanced training, completing a fellowship in Adult Interventional Cardiology at Dalhousie University, Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Dr. Alkindi is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC) and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (FSCAI). He is also an active member of the Canadian Association of Interventional Cardiology (CAIC). Additionally, he is the vice president of Oman Heart Association (OHA) and board member of the Gulf Heart Association (GHA) and is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Arab Board in Medicine and Cardiology. He is examiner and externer expert evaluator of the Arab board program centers accreditation in the region. In his current role as Director of the Cath Lab and Structural Heart Disease Program at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Dr. Alkindi has pioneered several advanced procedures. He successfully led the hospital's first cases of percutaneous MitraClip, TriClip, left atrial appendage closure, and patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure. He also did the first case in Oman of Percutaneous transluminal mitral commissurotomy (PTMC) to treat patients with mitral stenosis in the private sector. Dr. Alkindi is recognized as a distinguished researcher and educator, with numerous publications in esteemed journals. He has served as an associate editor for a regional medical journal and as a former associate professor at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. His exceptional contributions to medicine have been widely acknowledged. He received several grants for reaearches incluiding his majesty’s grants for stratigic research and choosen the best researcher award at HMC in two consecutive years and in SQUH medicine department in 2022. He was honored for his outstanding medical achievement during Sultan Qaboos University Day for his groundbreaking treatment of a rare and complex case of adult congenital heart disease.

Dr. Hassan Al Thani is the Head of Trauma and Vascular Surgery Sections, the Head of WHO Collaborating Center on Trauma, Hamad Trauma Center of Hamad General Hospital and the Chairperson of ACS (ATLS) Committee on Trauma in Qatar. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ireland, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and Honorary Fellow of Kosova College of Surgeons. He graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and accomplished his surgical training in both Qatar and Canada. His training in General Surgery, Trauma and Vascular Surgery were completed at McMaster University Faculty of Health Sciences in Hamilton, Canada. In 2004, after completion of his training, he joined Hamad General Hospital as a Senior Consultant in the Department of Surgery. In the same year he established the Vascular Surgery Section. He has Master’s Degree in Logistics Hospitals Management from International Transport and Logistics Institute – Cairo, Egypt and International Executive Master’s Degree in Emergency and Disaster Management in Georgetown University, Qatar. Dr. Al Thani is the author or co-author of more than three hundred publications and peer-reviewed articles and he also has nine book chapters. In addition, Dr. Al Thani was involved in a number of administrative duties which included Board Member of Hamad Medical Corporation from 2006-2008, Chairman of the Organ Transplant Committee from 2008-2009, Board Member of Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar from 2008 - 2012, Executive Board Member of the Gulf Vascular Society from 2007, President of the Gulf Vascular Society from 2009, Board Member of Qatar Medical College and Chair of ATLS Chapter, and currently the Arab Board Chairman of Vascular Surgery Specialization Committee among others.

Dr Mohamad Lateef Wani is a highly experienced consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at HMC’s Heart Hospital in Doha, with substantial surgical, teaching, and research credentials. He plays a pivotal role in pushing forward minimally invasive and robotic approaches in cardiac surgery, coupled with robust academic contributions and active mentorship in postgraduate surgical education.

Dr. Bassam Shouman is a Senior Consultant specializing in Cardiac Anesthesia and the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit (CTICU) at Hamad Medical Corporation, where he has served since 2007. He holds an MSc (1997) and an MD (2006) in Anesthesia and Intensive Care, along with an ECMO diploma from France (2019) and a European Certificate in Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography (TEE) from EACVI (2019). With extensive experience in the perioperative care of adult cardiac surgical patients, Dr. Shouman’s expertise spans cardiac, vascular, and thoracic anesthesia, as well as ECMO and advanced ECHO techniques. He is actively involved in clinical education and mentorship of residents, fellows, and junior staff, and has contributed to a number of peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Mohammed Al-Hijji is a consultant in interventional and structural cardiology at the Heart Hospital part of Hamad Medical Cooperation in Qatar. He currently serves as the program director of cardiology fellowship and he is the lead of structural heart disease and valve programs at the heart hospital. He received his medical degree with academic distinction in 2011 from Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCM-Q). Dr. Al-Hijji pursued his postgraduate Internal Medicine training at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland where he completed his internal medicine training. He then joined Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Medicine for cardiovascular diseases, interventional cardiology, and advanced interventional cardiology in structural heart disease fellowships. He is American Board Certified in Internal Medicine, General Cardiology, Echocardiography, and Interventional Cardiology. He has special interest in transcatheter interventions in structural heart disease such as transcatheter valvular replacement or repair, paravalvular leak closure, septal defects closure, left atrial appendage closure, septal reduction therapy for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and pulmonary veins as well as pulmonary arteries dilatation and stenting. He also specializes in complex percutaneous coronary arteries interventions and mechanical support devices implantation. He has special clinical and translational research interest in developing advanced valvular solutions to improve their longevity and performance. He is exploring the utility of 3-dimensional printing of cardiac tissue to streamline transcatheter procedures and improve its safety and efficacy. He is also involved in multiple outcome research in the field of interventional cardiology. To date, Dr. Al-Hijji has more than 100 peer review publications in addition to numerous book chapters and abstracts. Over the years, he has presented at many international cardiovascular conferences. He is ranked as assistant professor at WCM-Q for his academic contributions in cardiac research and teaching.

Dr. Mohammed Qintar graduated from Damascus University in Syria in 2011 and completed his Internal Medicine Residency at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. He then moved to Kansas City where he spent 5 years specializing in Cardiovascular Diseases and Interventional Cardiology at the Mid America Heart Institute. During his time there he earned a Masters Degree in Clinical Research at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. He then joined Henry Ford Hospital for Advanced Structural Heart Interventions Fellowship. For the next four years he served as the Director of Structural Heart Program and the Vice Chair of Cardiology at University of Michigan Health Sparrow Hospital in Lansing Michigan USA. He recently moved to Qatar to work at Hamad Heart Hospital and he is the associate director for the fellowship and a Structural Interventionalist.

Dr. Yasser Shouman is a Senior Consultant and Head of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia and CTICU at the Heart Hospital. He received his primary training in Egypt (1990–1997) and completed further specialization in the UK from 1998 to 2012, where he became a Consultant Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologist in 2006. He holds the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (FRCSI – Anaesthesia). Since joining the Heart Hospital in 2012, Dr. Shouman has led advancements in cardiothoracic anesthesia with a particular focus on echocardiography, patient blood management, and clinical education.

Dr. Abdulrahman Arabi is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and an experienced interventional cardiologist. He earned his medical degree from Damascus University in Syria in 1994, followed by residency and fellowships in internal medicine, cardiology, and interventional cardiology at St. John Hospital in Detroit, Michigan (1999–2006). He served as an interventional cardiology consultant at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit starting in 2006 and was appointed Director of the Primary PCI Program at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital in 2008. In 2010, Dr. Arabi joined Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar, where he has served since 2014 as Deputy Chief of Cardiology and Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory. His clinical interests include cardiogenic shock and invasive hemodynamic monitoring.

Dr SABBOUR Is a consultant in Cardiology , Advanced HF and Pulmonary Hypertension and Cardiac Electrophysiology at Mediclinic Abu Dhabi UAE and Assitant Prof of Cardiology at Brown University Alpert School of Medicine , Rhode Island USA Dr Sabbour holds six American boards ABIM internal medicine , cardiovascular disease , advanced HF and pulmonary hypertension, cardiac Electophysiology As well he is certified board certified ASE echo comprehensive and ASNC CBNC board certified nuclear cardiology He is the lead author of the UAE Pulmonary Hypertension guidelines and established the first PH registry and center of excellence for the UAE in 2014 . AS well he is the lead co author of the UAE Cardiometabolic guidelines and one of the founding members of the cardiac Amyloidosis working group in gulf and KSA . He is also one of the co authors of the Middle East dyslipidemia guidelines and the Middle East familial Hyperlipidemia Guidelines. He is one of five steering committee members of the Abu Dhabi DOH population health program .

Professor Dr. Guangyuan Song MD, PH.D Supervisor, is an expert in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER), and left atrial appendage closure (LAAC), and serves as the director of the Interventional Center of Valvular Heart Disease at Beijing Anzhen Hospital. He is affiliated with Capital Medical University and has been honored with the Beijing Dengfeng talent program. Dr. Song is a globally recognized figure in the cardiovascular field and plays a pivotal role, serving as Secretary of the Structure Expert Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association's Cardiovascular Branch, Deputy Head of the Structural Group for the Cardiovascular Disease Committee of the Chinese Medical Association's Beijing Branch, and Secretary General of the Core Working Group of the Asia Pacific Structural Heart Youth Club. He has made groundbreaking contributions in MDCT-guided TAVR and echocardiography-based TEER surgical strategies, founding China's largest valvular disease imaging core laboratory. Dr. Song has also developed innovative approaches, such as temporary permanent pacemakers for TAVR, the All-in-one Single femoral artery access approach for TAVR, and the one-stop PCI+TAVR exploration, which have significantly propelled the treatment of structural heart disease forward. Dr. Song's research has been funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in two projects, and he has actively participated in over 20 national-level projects, yielding 30 patents. His publications have set the foundation for clinical pathways in TAVR and TEER across China, highlighting his significant contributions to research and medical innovation. His exceptional contributions have been recognized with prestigious awards for scientific research achievements and technological progress from both the Ministry of Education and the city of Beijing

Dr. Ammar Farook Chapra is a Board-certified Internal Medicine physician and Clinical Cardiology Fellow (FY-4), currently pursuing an Advanced Echocardiography Fellowship at Hamad Medical Corporation, affiliated with Weill Cornell Medicine–Qatar. With over seven years of experience in ACGME-I accredited training programs, he is deeply committed to excellence in patient care, clinical leadership, medical education, and cardiovascular research. His primary interests include Advanced Heart Failure & Transplantation Cardiology and advancing innovations in medical research.

Dr. Samah Mohamed was awarded her medical degree (MBBCh), Radiology Masters and Radiology MD from Cairo University. Following her training and residency in the National Cancer Institute (Cairo University), Dr. Samah obtained her FRCR in 2011 from the UK, followed by further subspecialized radiological training in Cardiac imaging. She is currently one of the Consultant radiologists in the Heart Hospital cardiac imaging department along maintaining her position as Lecturer of Radiology in Cairo University. Dr. Samah is a fellow of the RCR as well as being a member of the SCMR, ESCVI and ESC. She has published several articles that appear in most relevant international peer-reviewed journals with a special interest in Cardiac MRI and Cardiac CT. With the implementation of new management and cardiothoracic surgical techniques in Hamad Hospital, especially minimally invasive and robotic surgeries, Dr. Samah has been involved in the preprocedural and postoperative radiological assessment of potential candidates.

Dr. Saad Saeed joined heart center at Sidra Medicine in 2017. in addition to his other general cardiology responsibilities at Sidra Medicine, he continued his work in the development of pediatric cardiac MRI. Dr. Saad Saeed has had the privilege to teach and coach medical students and has been involved in the Education & training of pediatric residents and fellows and since 2021 he is the program director of pediatric cardiology fellowship program. His specialty is General Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Imaging.

Dr Akhlaque N Bhat has been working as a senior consultant in Cardiothoracic Surgery in HMC since 2004. He trained in pediatric cardiac surgery in the Medical University of South Carolina Charleston USA and did his post fellowship training at the Royal Children Hospital Liverpool UK. He was the clinical lead of the pediatric ECMO program in HMC from 2005 to 2018.

Graduated from Kuwait university faculty of Medicine. Underwent post graduate training in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at McGill university, Montreal Canada. Advanced Fellowship training in adult CArdiac, electrophysiology and university of Texas in Houston, McGovern health sciences center practicing CArdiac electrophysiologist involved in the care of patients with inherited cardiac arrhythmias and infiltrative cardiomyopathy

Hazem El Beyrouti, MD, PhD, FACS, MHBA Hazem El Beyrouti is an internationally recognized vascular and endovascular surgeon with extensive expertise in complex aortic disease, peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and advanced vascular interventions. Since 2018, he has been Head of Endovascular Surgery at University Medicine Mainz, leading programs in thoracic, open, hybrid, and endovascular repair. He has published widely and contributed significantly to innovations that improve outcomes in patients with life-threatening aortic and vascular conditions

Dr. Hakam Alzaeem, MD, FASE, FRCPC is a Consultant Cardiologist at Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha, Qatar, specializing in structural and valvular heart disease with a focus on interventional echocardiography. He completed advanced echocardiography fellowship training at McMaster University, Canada, and holds FASE and FRCPC certifications, as well as dual Arab Board certifications in Internal Medicine and Cardiology. As Assistant Program Director for the cardiology fellowship program, Dr. Alzaeem is passionate about education, innovation, and advancing patient-centered cardiovascular care.

Dr. Burkhoff obtained Doctor of Philosophy and Medical degrees from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and completed a fellowship in Cardiology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Burkhoff then moved to Columbia University in the City of New York where he established and ran the Cardiovascular Research Laboratory through 2003 and then took the position of Director of the Jack Skirball Center for Cardiovascular Research of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) through 2005. His focus shifted to development and research of medical devices in his capacity as Medical Director of several startup companies involved in diagnostics and therapies for heart failure. Dr. Burkhoff then returned to CRF as Director of Heart Failure, Hemodynamics and Mechanical Circulatory Support Research. In this capacity he also directs CRF’s educational program called “TEACH” (Training and Education in Advanced Cardiovascular Hemodynamics). Dr. Burkhoff’s interest include cardiovascular modeling and research in basic and clinical aspects of ventricular mechanics, cardiovascular monitoring, heart failure, device and pharmacologic treatments for heart failure, including left ventricular assist devices. He is also author of Harvi, an interactive simulation-based application available on the world wide web for teaching and researching many aspects of ventricular mechanics and hemodynamics.

Dr. Mohamed Elkahlout is a Specialist in Cardiac Surgery at the Heart Hospital, part of Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar. He holds the Arab Board in Cardiac Surgery and a Diploma in ECMO. He is also a member of Qatar’s Robotic Cardiac Surgery team, where he integrates advanced surgical technologies to provide world-class care for patients.

Dr. Osama Nweiran Alkhalaila, MD, FACC, is an Associate Consultant in Cardiology at Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar. He is Arab Board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Medicine, and completed advanced subspecialty training in echocardiography, holding the American National Board of Echocardiography Diploma. His clinical and research interests include structural heart disease and acute coronary syndromes, with multiple publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Najib Alrawahi is the Director of the National Heart Center at the Royal Hospital and the first Invasive Adult Cardiac Electrophysiologist in Oman. He also serves as a Senior Consultant Invasive Adult Cardiac Electrophysiologist at the National Heart Center and a Senior Consultant Cardiologist at Muscat Private Hospital. Additionally, he is the founder of the arrhythmia service in the Sultanate of Oman. Dr. Alrawahi completed a Fellowship in Adult Invasive Cardiac Electrophysiology at the University of Ottawa (2005-2007). Prior to this, he completed a Fellowship in Cardiology (2002-2005) and an Internal Medicine Residency Program (1999-2003) at McGill University. His pioneering work and leadership have significantly advanced cardiac care in Oman.

Prof. Dr. Rima S. Bader is Professor and Consultant in Pediatric and Fetal Cardiology at King Abdulaziz University and the International Medical Center, Jeddah. She trained in Pediatrics and Pediatric Cardiology at Bonn University, Germany, where she also earned her PhD, and completed fellowships in Fetal and Perinatal Cardiology in Toronto, Oregon, and South Florida. She is the Founder and President of the Fetal Gulf Heart Group, established the first Fetal Cardiology Unit in the Gulf region, and is a Certified Scholar in Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare from Harvard University. Dr. Bader is Senior Editor of the Saudi Heart Journal and author of The Perinatal Cardiology Handbook (Elsevier).

Dr. Hidayat specializes in *ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation)* techniques. He leads ECMO coordination and serves as a senior clinical perfusionist, involved in critical cardiac support procedures and advance perfusion techniques during Cardiopulmonary bypass surgeries.

Dr. Mahmoud Traina, MD, is Vice Chairman of the Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute (HVTI)and Section Head of Interventional Cardiology at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD). He is also a Full Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. As the director of the Structural Heart Program at CCAD, Dr. Traina has established the premier structural heart program in the UAE and one of the leading programs in the region. Under his leadership, the program has grown exponentially, and is performing over 300 cases annually, over 75% of the cases performed in the UAE overall. The published outcomes of TAVR place the center in the 95th percentile of centers worldwide. Dr. Traina has been actively involved in education and is the educational lead at HVTI. He was the Program Director of the first fellowship established at CCAD in cardiovascular medicine, He has led the HVTI efforts in providing education to the community, including directing 3 regional conferences at CCAD, 9 3-day preceptorship programs, 2 annual 6 session webinar series, and ongoing internal CME programs.

Dr. Mawahib Ali Mohammed Elhassan , Consultant Cardiac Critical Care with advanced training in heart failure and a special interest in managing cardiac disease during pregnancy. She currently serves as the Director of the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) at Heart Hospital and as the Clinical Lead for the Cardiac Maternity Service at Heart Hospital and Women’s Wellness and Research Center (WWRC With extensive expertise in critical care cardiology and advanced heart failure training , Dr. Elhassan has dedicated her career to improving outcomes for patients with complex cardiovascular conditions, particularly women with pre-existing or pregnancy-related cardiac disease. She plays a pivotal role in leading multidisciplinary teams, developing clinical pathways, and ensuring excellence in patient-centered care across cardiac and maternity services

Dr. Fahad Alhajri, is a consultant interventional cardiologist at Mubarak Alkabeer Hospital in Kuwait. He finished his training in the United States where he earned the American Board of Internal Medicine at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He then moved to Boston-Massachusetts to complete the Cardiovascular Fellowship at Tufts University-Tufts Medical Center and got certified with the American Board of Internal Medicine-Cardiovascular Diseases. Following that he completed Interventional Fellowship training at the Beth Israel Lahey Health-BILH and got certified with the American Board of Internal Medicine-Interventional Cardiology. Dr. Fahad is a board certified in echocardiography and completed the National Board of Echocardiography-NBE. He is also certified with the Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology-CBNC. He is a Fellow member of many international societies including the American College of Cardiology-FACC, Society of Cardiovascular Intervention and Angiography-FSCAI and the Gulf Heart Association-FGHA. Dr. Fahad is the head of Scientific Committee at the Gulf Heart Association-GHA 16 meeting. He is an active member and involved in many regional societies and conferences as a faculty and speaker. He is a research & abstract grader for many conferences. He is practicing Interventional Cardiologist at a very busy center in Kuwait. He is interested in Cardiogenic shock and intravascular imaging. Dr. Fahad is seeing patients with Cardiac Amyloidosis in a referral center clinic.

Dr. Ali Kindawi is a Senior Consultant Cardiothoracic and Transplant Surgeon at the Cardiothoracic and Transplant Centre, Heart Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha, Qatar. He is the Program Director of Heart Transplantation and the Cardiothoracic Training Program. After completing his cardiothoracic surgery training at the Northern Deanery in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, Dr. Kindawi held the position of Consultant Cardiothoracic and Heart–Lung Transplant Surgeon and Head of Department at The Freeman Hospital, Newcastle. He holds multiple postgraduate qualifications, including FRCS (Cardiothoracic Surgery, 2009). Dr. Kindawi has a strong clinical interest in minimally invasive cardiac surgery, mitral valve repair, aortic surgery, and TAVI. He is certified in robotic cardiac surgery using the Da Vinci surgical system and led several first-in-country procedures in Qatar, including robotic mitral valve repair and robotic atrial septal defect closure. On March 16, 2025, he performed Qatar’s first heart transplant, marking a milestone in the nation’s cardiothoracic and transplant services. In addition to his surgical practice, Dr. Kindawi has authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications, presented internationally, and continues to mentor postgraduate trainees and medical students in both Qatar and the UK.

Abeer Al Jaja is a Chief Clinical Perfusionist and ECMO Lead in Cardiac surgery at the heart hospital, part of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in Qatar. She graduated from Qatar University in 1991 and completed her perfusion training and certification at HMC. With over 30 years of experience, she served as the Chief of Perfusion in the Cardiac Surgery Department from 2019-2021 and has been leading the ECMO service since 2014

Dr. Fawaz Bardooli is an intervention cardiologist at Mohammed bin Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Cardiac Center in the kingdom of Bahrain. Dr. Bardooli is certified cardiologist with Royal College of Medicine (UK). He has training in coronary intervention at Bristol Heart Institute and Peripheral Intervention in Maria Cecilia Hospital in Italy. His interest beside coronary intervention is endovascular treatment. This includes carotid intervention, peripheral arterial disease therapy and aortic endovascular therapy. Dr. Bardooli focuses in his research in endovascular therapy offered for peripheral and aortic disease and published article and papers about abdominal aortic endoprosthesis. He is a member of Royal College of Medicine UK, British Society of Cardiology and Bahrain Medical Society.

Dr Adil Al Jabri , interventional cardiologist at the National heart centre/ Oman Deputy HOD of Adult cardiology Department. Dr. Adil Al Jabri is an Interventional Cardiologist at the National Heart Centre in Oman and serves as the Deputy Head of the Adult Cardiology Department. He is experienced in advanced coronary interventions and is dedicated to delivering high-quality cardiovascular care. Dr. Al Jabri is actively involved in clinical service, departmental leadership, and the advancement of interventional cardiology practices in Oman, contributing to improved patient outcomes and the development of cardiac services nationwide.

Dr. Fahad Alsindi, is currently a Senior Consultant Cardiologist and Medical Director of the Heart Failure Clinical Program the John Hopkins Aramco Healthcare. He previously was a Senior Consultant Cardiologist, Heart Failure & Transplant at the Heart & Vascular Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. UAE Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Dr. Alsindi worked as Consultant Heart Failure Cardiologist at Mohamed Bin Khalifa Cardiac Centre, where he established Heart Failure Services at the Cardiac Center in Bahrain. Prior to returning to the region he was a Staff Consultant Cardiologist, Heart Failure Center of Excellence at East Maine Medical Center, Maine. USA. During his tenure has attained a number of leadership roles at the Hospital. He was the Director of the Lipid Clinic. He was the Medical Director of the Cardiac Rehab Unit. He was also core faculty in The Internal Medicine Residency Program and the Cardiovascular Fellowship program at the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. He has attained a number of teaching awards including: Award of Excellence in Medical Student Teaching, Tufts School of Medicine. Senior Class of Tufts University School of Medicine Teaching award. Award for Excellence, The Gold Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award. Tufts MedicalStudent Teaching Citation Award. Boston, MA He was awarded the Fellow of the year Award in succession, receiving , The 19th Annual Fellow of the Year Award and The 20th Annual Fellow of the Year Award. Lahey Hospital Medical Center. Tufts School of Medicine Teaching Hospital, MA. USA. During his time at The Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, he was awarded the Teacher of the Year Award for The Transitional year for 2021. He was also awarded the Teacher of the Year Award for the Transitional year for 2022. He was also awarded The Teacher of the Year Award in The Internal Medicine Residency in 2022. He also received the Faculty Award in Teaching Excellence in Internal Medicine 2022.

Chairman of Iraqi Scientific Council of Cardiology Clinical lead ofAdvance Heart Failure Training Program Chairman of Scientific Council of Cardiac Imaging training Program

Dr. Amr Salah Omar, MBBCh, MSc, PhD, MD, MBA is Senior Consultant Intensivist in the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department at Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar and a Professor of Critical Care Medicine at Beni Suef University, Egypt, and a. He also holds honorary academic appointments at Weill Cornell Medicine–Qatar and Qatar University. With over 26 years of experience in cardiac critical care medicine, Dr. Omar has extensive expertise in perioperative critical care, mechanical circulatory support, and heart transplantation,. He has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications, delivered numerous international presentations, and holds two patents for ICU device innovations. In addition to his clinical leadership, Dr. Omar is deeply involved in education and mentorship, having developed structured curricula for residents and fellows, and in research, particularly in hemodynamic monitoring, ECMO, and critical care ultrasound. He is also certified with the European Diploma in Echocardiography and earned an MBA in Healthcare Management.

Assistant professor of medicine, Kufa university college of medicine. Chair, cardiac electrophysiology division, Najaf cardiac center Certified cardiologist, Asahikawa Medical University, Japan. Certified cardiac electrophysiologist, Tsukuba university, Japan EHRA certified cardiac electrophysiologist. Assistant professor of Cardiology, Asahikawa Medical University, Japan. Assistant professor of Cardiology, advanced Arrhythmia program, Tsukuba university, Japan.

Royal College of Surgery in Ireland (RCSI). German Board for General Medicine. German Board for Cardiology. Currently: Senior Interventional Cardiologist in the Heart Hospital, Qatar. Director of the Emergency Department of the Heart Hospital. Chairman of the Corporate Privileging and Credentialing Committee, HMC.

Chairman International Collaboration Associate Professor at KSAUHS ACC Governor in Saudi Arabia Consultant Interventional Cardiologists king Abdulaziz Cardiac Center Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr. MOUNA KHOJA is a surgical technologist in Cardiac Surgery at Heart Hospital in Qatar part of Hamad Medical Corporation She hold a diploma as RN and certified as Robotic Patient Nurse Side .She is a member of the Qatar's Robotic Surgery Team .she is the lead of the cardiac nurses robotic team in HH

Dr. Mahmood Alhaleem is a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist with extensive expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of complex coronary artery disease. He is recognized for his skill in advanced percutaneous coronary interventions and his commitment to delivering high-quality cardiovascular care. Dr. Alhaleem is actively involved in clinical practice, medical education, and the adoption of modern interventional techniques, contributing to improved patient outcomes and the advancement of cardiac services in his institution.

Dr. Kadhim Jaffer Sulaiman, FRCPI, FRCP (Glasgow), FESC Senior Visiting Consultant Cardiologist. He has more than 120 research papers published in international peer reviewed journals, many presented in regional an international conferences, mainly on heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, hypertension and dyslipidemia. He was awarded the Arab Doctor Award in 2021 for his contributions to the field of cardiology at the local, regional and international levels.

Dr. Ashfaq Patel is a Senior Consultant Cardiologist at the Heart Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation. He is the Clinical lead for Advanced Heart Failure Program for Inpatient Services at the Heart Hospital with special interest in Acute Heart Failure. He is also an Assistant Professor in Clinical Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College of Qatar.

Dr. Mohammed Al Qadi is a Consultant in Pediatric Cardiology and Electrophysiology at Hamad Medical Corporation, where he currently serves as the Acting Head of Pediatric Cardiology. He earned his MD-MBBS from the University of Jordan (2007) and completed his pediatric residency and fellowships in Pediatric Cardiology and Electrophysiology through ACGME-I–accredited programs at Hamad Medical Corporation and Sidra Medicine. Dr. Al Qadi’s clinical and academic interests include congenital heart disease, pediatric arrhythmias, and electrophysiology. He has actively contributed to international cardiology symposia in Las Vegas and San Diego and received several honors, including the Excellence in Teaching Award (WCMC-Q, 2010) and multiple commendations for his leadership and teaching contributions within HMC and Sidra Hospital. His research includes publications on congenital heart disease, pediatric osteomyelitis, and public health topics, with ongoing work on cardiac biomarkers in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) post–COVID-19. Dr. Al Qadi is fluent in Arabic and English, and outside his professional life, he enjoys soccer, volleyball, swimming, travel, and video games.

Dr. Fahad Omar Ahmed S. Baslaib is a Consultant in Interventional Cardiology, specializing in advanced coronary and structural heart interventions. He is dedicated to providing high-quality patient care and contributing to the advancement of interventional cardiology through clinical expertise and ongoing professional development.

Dr. Ahmed Talal Mokhtar, MBBS, FRCPC, FACC, DRCPSC Consultant Cardiologist and Electrophysiologist Assistant Professor of Cardiology & Electrophysiology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * MBBS - King Abdulaziz University (Graduated magna cum laude) * Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada - Internal Medicine * Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada - Cardiology * Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine - Internal Medicine * Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine - Cardiovascular Disease * Diplomate of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada - Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology * Fellowship in Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology - University of Western Ontario, Canada * ⁠Multiple Resident and Fellow Research Awards

Dr. Ahmed Lutf Al-Motarreb is a Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Sana’a University, and a Consultant Cardiologist at the Cardiac Centre, Al-Thawrah Hospital, where he has served since 2002. He currently leads the Cardiac Department at Sana’a University, a position he has held since February 2021. With over two decades of clinical, academic, and leadership experience, Dr. Al-Motarreb has played a significant role in advancing cardiovascular care and training in Yemen. He has been an active Board Member of the Gulf Heart Association since 2003, contributing to regional collaboration and the development of cardiovascular initiatives across the Gulf region. Dr. Al-Motarreb is widely recognized for his dedication to clinical excellence, medical education, and advancing cardiac health in Yemen and the broader region.

Graduated from medical school in 2008 from the National University of Ireland, Galway. Did my internal medicine residency and Cardiology residency at the University of British Columbia, Canada 2010 t0 2016. Did my interventional cardiology and structural heart disease fellowship at Saint’ Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver under the supervision of Dr. John Webb 2016 – 2018. Worked as an interventional cardiologist at chest diseases hospital in Kuwait and has been the head of Cardiology department from 2018 till now. During this time made some advancement in the care provided to the care for our patients including starting a heart function clinic and shock team. Also introduced new procedures and techniques including surgical valve fracture prior to Valve-in-valve procedure, use of ultrasound for vascular access, BASILICA procedure and percutaneous paravalvular leak closure.

She is an active member of the Emirates Cardiac Society and is the current president. She has been part of the scientific committee for Emirates Cardiac Society’s annual meeting for the past 4 years. She has both organized and participated in multiple educational activities, webinars and workshops over the years and has a great passion for teaching. She is also in charge of the heart failure clinic at Rashid Hospital and has been on multiple advisory boards for heart failure therapy.

Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Suliman Ghazi Suliman is an Attending Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesiologist at Sidra Medicine with more than 18 years of experience. He specializes in anesthesia for children with congenital heart disease and complex cardiac conditions, with expertise spanning pediatric and adult cardiac surgery, interventional cardiology, perioperative echocardiography, and advanced recovery protocols. Dr. Suliman graduated from the University of Nottingham and completed his anesthesia training in the United Kingdom. He pursued advanced fellowships in adult cardiac anesthesia, cardiopulmonary transplantation and ECMO, pediatric and neonatal anesthesia, and congenital cardiac anesthesia at Manchester University Hospitals, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Imperial College Hospitals London. Before joining Sidra Medicine, Dr. Suliman worked as a Consultant Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesiologist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals in the UK. His academic interests include fast-tracking in cardiac surgery, perioperative coagulopathy and transfusion strategies, point-of-care ultrasound, and medical education.

Dr. Dawood Darbar is the Chief of the Division of Cardiology at UI Health. Dr. Darbar is an experienced clinical electrophysiologist who has built a robust academic-clinical electrophysiology practice. His particular area of expertise relates to the assessment and management of patients with inherited heart rhythm disorders, including long QT syndrome and Brugada syndrome. Dr. Darbar provides state-of-the-art therapies, including atrial fibrillation ablation, to patients with arrhythmias. He also specializes in the genetics and ablation of arrhythmias, insertion of pacemakers and defibrillators, and cardiac rhythm monitoring. Dr. Darbar earned his medical degree (M.B.Ch.B.) from the University of Dundee in Dundee, Scotland. He completed his early medical training in the UK before embarking on a Clinical Pharmacology Fellowship at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Darbar completed residency training at the same institution and cardiology and electrophysiology fellowships at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Clinical Pharmacology, Cardiology, and Clinical Electrophysiology.

Thierry A Folliguet, MD, FACS France He graduated from Paris university in 1983 and received his doctor of Medicine in 1984. He then underwent a general surgery training at St Vincents hospital in new york from 1984 to 1989, then in cardiothoracic surgery in SUNY health in Brooklyn from 1989 to 1992. Successfully passed the American Board of Surgey and American Board of CardioThoracic Surgery, and became Fellow of the American College of Surgery in 1996.. Currently Chief and professor of Cardiothoracic surgery in Hospital Henri Mondor Université de Paris 12, Créteil France

Dr. Hasan Aldailami is the Chief and Network Director of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery and Co-Director of Aortic Surgery at HonorHealth in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he also serves as Program Director for the Vascular Surgery Fellowship. He is a Professor of Surgery at the Arizona State University School of Medicine and Advanced Medical Engineering. Dr. Aldailami completed his general surgery residency, vascular surgery fellowship, and research fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia Medical Center. He holds an Executive MBA and a Master of Science in Healthcare Policy and Research from Cornell University, as well as a certificate in Applied Surgical Education Leadership from the American College of Surgeons. He is an active investigator in numerous national and international clinical trials in aortic and peripheral vascular disease and serves as an examiner for the American Board of Surgery in Vascular Surgery. His academic interests include complex aortic repair, advanced endovascular interventions, and surgical education leadership.

Dr. Khalid Al Rasadi was born in Oman where he studied medicine and obtained his Medical Degree in 1998. Dr. Al Rasadi obtained his postgraduate training in Medical Biochemistry at McGill University in Canada during 2002-2006. He spent another two years in Canada, working as a scientist at the Royal Victoria Hospital, McGill University, under the supervision of Prof. Jacques Genest. There he performed a number of studies on the molecular genetics of familial hypercholesterolemia and hypoalphalipoproteinemia. In that period Dr. Al Rasadi also received training at the lipid clinic of the Royal Victoria Hospital, McGill University. He was also awarded a certificate in Clinical Lipidology by the National Lipid Association in the United State in 2008. Dr. Al Rasadi is the Head of Department of Biochemistry at the Sultan Qaboos University in Oman and head of lipid and LDL-Apheresis unit at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital. He is one of the founder members of the Oman Society of Lipid and Atherosclerosis (OSLA) and its current President. He is also the founder of the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) Familial Hypercholesterolemia Foundation and its current President. He contributed significantly to the recognition of OSLA as an active society nationally and internationally by promoting meetings aimed at education and general awareness relating to lipid disorders and atherosclerosis. He organized conferences involving experts in the field of lipid research. His activities include public outreach meetings in Oman. International collaboration has also been initiated via OSLA. OSLA has received the IAS-Pfizer educational grant for the management of dyslipidemia in the Gulf region.

Dr. Abdulrahman Tawfiq Khojah is a Consultant Preventive Cardiologist at Sulaiman Al Habib Hospital in Riyadh. He specializes in cardiovascular disease prevention, risk-factor management, and advanced cardiac imaging. He serves as the Chairperson of the SHA2024 Preventive Cardiology Scientific Committee and is an active member of the Saudi Heart Association’s Preventive Cardiology and Rehabilitation Group, contributing to national initiatives that promote cardiovascular health and evidence-based prevention strategies.Dr. Khojah holds multiple international certifications, including Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada (FRCPC), American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), National Board of Echocardiography (NBE), and ECAVI certification, reflecting his broad expertise and commitment to clinical excellence.

Dr. Mousa Akbar Jabr Akbar is a Consultant Cardiologist and Head of the Cardiology Unit at Al-Sabah Hospital, as well as a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at the Chest Disease Hospital in Kuwait. A graduate of Kuwait University’s Faculty of Medicine, he completed his internal medicine and cardiology training in Canada, earning both the American and Canadian Boards in Internal Medicine and Cardiology, along with multiple distinguished fellowships, including FRCPC, FACC, FESC, FSCAI, and FGHA. Dr. Akbar has held several leadership roles, including Chair of the Cardiology Department at the Chest Disease Hospital, Vice President of the Kuwait Cardiac Society, and General Secretary of the Gulf Interventional Society. He is also a long-standing Board Member of the Gulf Heart Association. He has contributed to numerous local and international publications and has delivered over 100 regional and national presentations in the field of cardiology.

Dr. Fawaz Almutairi is an Interventional Cardiologist and Director of the Catheterization Laboratory at the National Guard Hospital. He currently serves as the President of the Gulf Interventional Society (GIS), playing a key role in advancing interventional cardiology in the Gulf region. Dr. Almutairi is recognized for his expertise in complex coronary and structural interventions and his commitment to improving cardiovascular care through clinical excellence, leadership, and education.

Dr. Fuad is a highly esteemed Consultant Interventional Cardiologist and currently serves as the CEO of the Mohammed bin Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Specialist Cardiac Centre. It is worth noting that Dr. Fuad was the first interventional cardiologist in the Kingdom of Bahrain, having performed the first angioplasty procedure in 1992. With a wealth of experience in the field, Dr. Fuad has dedicated his career to the management and treatment of complex cardiovascular conditions. He holds multiple prestigious qualifications, including Fellowships from the Royal College of Physicians in London and the Gulf Heart Association. His comprehensive training in cardiology, including significant experience in Dublin, underscores his commitment to providing top-tier cardiac care.

Dr. Ahmed Alkharaza is a Consultant Cardiologist based in Kuwait, specializing in the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular diseases. He is dedicated to delivering high-quality patient care and advancing cardiology through clinical practice, education, and research.

Dr. Mohanad Mahmood T. A. Al-Qadi is a dedicated Pediatric Cardiologist specializing in the diagnosis and management of congenital and acquired heart conditions in children. He is recognized for his commitment to delivering high-quality, patient-centered cardiac care and for his contributions to advancing pediatric cardiology services within his institution. Dr. Al-Qadi is actively involved in clinical practice, education, and multidisciplinary collaboration aimed at improving outcomes for pediatric patients with complex cardiac diseases.

Dr. Amr Badr is a Consultant Cardiologist at HMC and currently he holds the position of director of the Heart Failure Program at HMC. In 2012 he initiated the Advanced Heart Failure Program with a multidisciplinary team at HMC. Dr. Badr graduated from medical school in Egypt in 1993, and then completed a Master’s degree in cardiovascular disease 1999. He also completed an Interventional Cardiology Fellowship from Leiden University in the Netherlands, and a Medical Doctorate of Medicine in Cardiovascular Diseases from the Netherlands. Dr. Badr was appointed as a lecturer of cardiology in 2003 then was appointed assistant professor of cardiology. He then changed his career focus to become a Heart Failure / Heart Transplant Specialist after he joined University Of Toronto 2007. Dr. Badr was involved in research throughout his career and has numerous publications.

Consultant Cardiologist, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) Dr. Salah Eddin Omran Arafa is a Consultant Cardiologist at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), where he provides comprehensive cardiovascular care across a wide spectrum of cardiac conditions. He is recognized for his strong clinical expertise, dedication to patient-centered care, and active involvement in advancing cardiology services within Qatar’s leading healthcare institution. Dr. Arafa is committed to continuous medical education, multidisciplinary collaboration, and the integration of evidence-based practices to enhance cardiac outcomes for patients in the region.

Dr. Ali joined the Sidra Neonatology Center of Excellence, Doha in February 2018 from the Royal Hobart Hospital in Australia where he had been previously working as a consultant neonatologist. The main focus of Dr Ali’s clinical research is in the field of automated oxygen control for preterm infants on respiratory support in the neonatal ICU and delivery room in addition to investigating the utility of minimally invasive surfactant therapy (MIST). He has also studied and presented in the past on the use of near infra-red spectroscopy (NIRS) for assessing the cardiovascular transition of very preterm infants soon after birth. Quality improvement is another area of interest and he has worked on reducing unplanned extubations, improving oxygen saturation targeting in NICU, implementing central line infection prevention bundles, optimizing preterm nutrition and auditing neonatal transports during present and past appointments.

MD, MBChB, MS,FRCS Dr. Amr Fares is a Senior Consultant of Vascular Surgery Section, Department of Surgery, in Hamad General Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation since August 2004 and an Assistant Professor of Surgery in Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar since 2005. He obtained his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery at Alexandria University in Egypt in 1989. He completed a Masters in Surgery at Alexandria University in June 1994. He earned his diploma in Vascular Surgery under the European Society of Vascular Surgery at Liverpool in the UK in June 1999, finished his Fellowship in Vascular Surgery in Liverpool, UK in June 2001 and later completed his MD in Surgery at Al Shams University in Cairo, Egypt on February 2002. Since 2000, he has published a number of publications and is currently collaborating with Liverpool (hospital / university?) in theUK to work on two studies on warfarin and angioplasty and renal artery. He has a special interest in the management of patients suffering from peripheral ischemia particularly in managing them with percutaneous angioplasty.

Dr. Taheri is Professor of Medicine, Assistant Dean for Clinical Investigations, and Director of the Clinical Research Core at Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar. Dr. Taheri is also Honorary Professor of Medicine at University College London Hospitals NHS Trust. He graduated in Medicine from the Medical College of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London University and obtained his PhD in neuroendocrinology from Imperial College London. He has trained in clinical medicine and research in London (UK) and Bristol (UK) and Stanford (USA). At Stanford, Dr. Taheri was a Howard Hughes research associate. Dr. Taheri has extensive experience of leading the multi-professional care of patients with obesity and diabetes within the UK National Health Service and Qatar. He has also led large multidisciplinary research teams aiming to develop, implement, and evaluate clinical services for patients with diabetes and obesity. Dr. Taheri is member of the Clinical Care Committee at World Obesity. He is also Chair for Research at the National Diabetes Strategy, Ministry of Health, Qatar, and Chair for Research at the Qatar Metabolic Institute at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC). Dr. Taheri is Assistant Chair of Medicine at HMC and has led the multi-professional specialist medical weight management serviced at HM. He has supported the development of the National Obesity Treatment Centre at HMC. Dr. Taheri has contributed to national and local guidelines on obesity in the UK and Qatar. Dr. Taheri’s research experience extends from basic laboratory to human intervention, and population studies. His research interests are increasingly focused on the development, conduct, and implementation of a range of clinical trials into diabetes and obesity, and linking these trials to investigation of disease mechanisms through laboratory studies. He has won multiple awards for his research over the years. Dr. Taheri has published extensively in high-ranked journals and serves on the editorial board of several major journals including International Journal of Obesity and PLoS One. He also frequently reviews grants for several major funding bodies.

Dr. Phani Kiran Yajamanyam completed training in Pediatrics in the UK and specialized in the field of Neonatology. He was awarded the certificate of completion of training in Neonatal-perinatal medicine in 2014 and subsequently became a fellow of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health in 2016. Before joining Sidra Medicine, he worked as a consultant neonatologist for 5 years at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, one of the largest perinatal centers in the UK. Apart from having extensive experience in caring for extremely premature and ill newborns, Dr. Yajamanyam acted as the medical lead for neonatal surgery at Liverpool Women’s Hospital. In this role, he actively established clinical pathways for newborns with surgical conditions at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. His research work includes the ‘utility of Tissue Doppler Imaging in the neonatal population.’ He also has a keen interest in neonatal infection and is currently acting as a lead investigator at Sidra Medicine, exploring the use of transcriptomics in post-operative infection. Dr. Phani joined Sidra Medicine in 2019, and his roles included Attending Physician, Neonatology, NICU Clinical lead for Patient Safety, and NICU Clinical lead for Medication Management. Dr. Phani specialized in Neonatology and worked at Liverpool Women’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UK, before joining Sidra Medicine.

Dr. Abdurrazak Gehani,a highly accomplished Senior Consultant Interventional Cardiologist and Associate Professor of Medicine/ Cardiology at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Abdurrazak Gehani completed his MRCP (UK) in 1985. He underwent specialized training in clinical and interventional cardi ology in the UK and later became a Consultant Cardiologist. Dr. Gehani conducted post-doctoral MD research in ‘Advanced Per cutaneous Angioplasty Techniques, Angioscopy, Stenting, and related Platelet function Studies.’His research received international rec ognition, with awards such as the Croom Lectureship Award of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and The David Mitchell Lectureship Award of the Royal College of Physicians and Sur geons of Ireland. He was the Sole winner of the Young Investigators Award of the American College of Angiology. Dr. Gehani serves as the Program Director of Nationwide Primary PCI in Qatar, and the program won the Star of Merits Award in 2013. He has a significant interest in pacing and device electro physiology implantation

Dr. Hassan Al-Tamimi is a Consultant in Cardiology, specializing in Interventional Cardiology, and Sports Cardiology, currently serving at The View Hospital. After receiving his specialization in cardiology from Geneva University Hospital, he built the foundation of his ca reer at The Heart Hospital at Hamad Medical Corporation, where he treated complex coronary artery disease using various angioplasty techniques. Dr. Hassan also served at Aspetar Sports Hospital, focusing on cardiac screening for athletes. He has played a vital role in supporting national and international sports events, including the FIFA World Cup 2022 and the Arab Cup. Known for his precision, clinical excellence, and leadership, Dr. Al-Tamimi is a trusted name in cardiology and a valued contributor to advancing cardiovascular health services in Qatar.

Dr. Amer Chaikhouni is a Professor of Clinical Cardiothoracic Surgery at Qatar University, College of Medicine. He earned his MD from Aleppo University Medical School in 1974 and later achieved American Board certifications in General Surgery (1981) and Thoracic Surgery (1983). A distinguished clinician, academic, and author, Dr. Chaikhouni has published 51 peer-reviewed articles and authored 21 books span ning medicine and literature

Dr. Ahmed Assar is a Consultant Vascular and Endovascular Surgeon with extensive international training and experience across the United Kingdom, the United States, and New Zealand. Dr. Assar trained in general and vascular surgery through the Royal College of Surgeons of England and undertook a vascular research fellowship at Stanford University. He later completed a vascular fellowship at Christchurch Hospital University of Otago.

Dr Muhammed Riyas is currently working as a pediatric cardiologist at Hamad Medical Corporation. Dr Riyas completed his MBBS and MD in Pediatrics from India. Dr Riyas joined HMC in 2008 as a specialist Intensivist in Pediatric cardiac intensive care. He completed fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology from HMC in 2018. Dr Riyas’s area of interest is in general cardiology and patients with pediatric pulmonary hypertension. Dr Riyas has many publications in peer reviewed journals in pediatric cardiology.

Dr. Habib Al Taraif is a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon and currently serves as the Head of Cardiac Surgery at the Royal Medical Services–Mohammed bin Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Specialist Cardiac Centre. He has been performing cardiac surgeries since 1992 and continues to do so today. It is worth noting that Dr. Habib was the first surgeon to perform an open-heart surgery in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Prof. Al-Ganadi holds a Bachelor’s degree in General Medicine and Surgery, a Master’s and PhD in Cardiovascular Surgery, and a Fellow ship in Cardiovascular Surgery. With over 12,000 cardiovascular and kidney transplant surgeries performed, he is a leading expert in his f ield. He has served as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine (2017) and currently oversees postgraduate pro grams in cardiovascular surgery. Prof. Al-Ganadi has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications and has been an active speaker and participant in numerous international and local conferences. He is fluent in Arabic, Russian, and English, with proficiency in Turkish