Meet Our Faculty

Agnes Koczo, MD is a post-doctoral researcher and cardiologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She completed both her residency and fellowship training with chief designation at the University of Pittsburgh and with special focus on women’s health. Her fellowship and post-doctoral research focuses on a number of cardiovascular conditions that exclusively or disproportionately impact women, including hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, peripartum cardiomyopathy, and spontaneous coronary artery dissection. She is also part of the high-risk obstetric committee at Magee Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, where her cardiology clinic is based.

James Lewis Cox, MD, was the 81st president of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) from 2000 to 2001. Although his contributions to thoracic surgery have been, and will continue to be, remarkable, he is best known for his extensive work investigating the mechanism responsible for atrial fibrillation and its successful surgical cure with the maze procedure.1 Dr. Cox has described this as his most important contribution to thoracic surgery (personal communication, February 23, 2013). His academic career epitomizes the importance of basic laboratory investigation of the pathophysiology of disease and successful translation to clinical patient benefit.

Andrea Natale, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.H.R.S., F.E.S.C., Executive Medical Director, Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David’s Medical Center.  Patients from around the world seek treatment from Dr. Natale. A world recognized leader in the field of electrophysiology, Dr. Natale is a dedicated clinician, academician and researcher.  Prior to the establishment of Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David’s Medical Center, Dr. Natale was a member of the Cardiovascular Medicine Department at the Cleveland Clinic from 1999 to 2007, and served as Section Head for the Department of Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology and as Medical Director for the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Atrial Fibrillation. In 2006, Dr. Natale was named to the Food and Drug Administration’s Task Force on Atrial Fibrillation.  A committed academician, Dr. Natale’ s faculty positions at a variety of prestigious universities include Duke University and Stanford University. He has been an invited lecturer at more than 200 symposiums and conferences around the world, and is the author or co-author of hundreds of published articles on pacing and electrophysiology. In addition to serving on the editorial boards of numerous medical journals, he is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Atrial Fibrillation.  Dr. Natale’s greatest reward is restoring his patients to a life free of cardiac arrhythmia. He pioneered a circumferential ultrasound vein-ablation system to correct atrial fibrillation and performed the procedure on the world’s first five patients. He also developed some of the current catheter-based cures for atrial fibrillation, and was the first electrophysiologist in the nation to perform percutaneous epicardial radiofrequency ablation, which is a treatment for people who fail conventional ablation. He also holds a patent for a device used to treat Atrial Fibrillation. A forefront researcher, Dr. Natale focuses on innovative advances in the treatment of atrial fibrillation.

Stephen H. Bailey, MD, is Chair of the Allegheny Health Network Cardiovascular Institute and System Chair of the AHN Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Dr. Bailey is also an Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Drexel University College of Medicine and the first recipient of the Magovern Endowed Chair in Cardiothoracic Surgery.  Dr. Bailey is a leading specialist in heart transplantation, heart valve disease and mechanical heart assistance. He has expertise in complex heart surgery, aortic aneurysm surgery, minimally invasive valve repair and percutaneous valve surgery, heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support, and re-operative cardiac surgery. He is also skilled at complex surgery for high-risk patients, allowing these patients to get the care they need. He takes special interest in providing second opinions, particularly for patients previously turned down for surgery.  Dr. Bailey’s research has been widely published, focusing broadly on optimizing clinical, technological, and economic outcomes of complex cardiac procedures. As a primary investigator (PI) in medical research, he has been involved in several national clinical trials that have contributed to FDA approval and widespread clinical use of devices, such as the Thoratec HeartMate II and III, as well as the HVAD Lateral trial demonstrating safety and efficacy of minimally invasive LVAD implantation. He also was the PI on the Partner 3 trial, a landmark for demonstrating superior outcomes for TAVR in low-risk patients.  He earned his medical degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He completed his general surgery residency at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, and his cardiothoracic surgery residency at Columbia University, New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.  He is certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and American Board of Surgery. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons, American Heart Association, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation.

Dr. Joseph Bavaria serves as Vice Chief, Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Director of the Thoracic Aortic Surgery Program, Co-Director of the Transcatheter Valve Program and Founder and Co-Director of the Penn Aorta Center at Jefferson Health.  Having performed more than 9,000 open heart procedures in his career, Dr. Bavaria is an expert in treating thoracic aortic aneurysms and repairing and replacing aortic valves. He is a skilled lecturer and educator, has held national and international leadership positions including president of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), president of the Thoracic Surgery Foundation, board member of the Heart Valve Society, and executive committee member of the European Association of CardioThoracic Surgery (EACTS). Dr. Bavaria has also played a pivotal role in helping to establish national treatment guidelines.

Akshay Khandelwal, MD, is the chief of cardiovascular medicine and an interventional cardiologist with AHN Cardiovascular Institute. He is skilled at coronary and peripheral vascular disease, as well as advanced endovascular and coronary intervention procedures. Dr. Khandelwal went to medical school at Bangalore University, Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College in Karnataka, India. He did his residency in internal medicine and his fellowship in cardiology and interventional cardiology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. As of April, will be Treasurer, American College of Cardiology, and member, ACC Board of Trustees, from 2024-2027.  Dr. Khandelwal is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is a member of the American College of Cardiology. Dr. Khandelwal has been named “Top Cardiologist” by Detroit Hour Magazine for multiple years in a row, as well as being published in numerous academic journals for his work.

Dr. Michael Madani is a cardiothoracic surgeon who specializes in pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE), heart and lung transplants, heart valve surgery, cardiac bypass, and surgery for treatment of heart failure. He was named 2006 Physician of the Year at the UC San Diego Medical Center in recognition of his dedication to his patients and the high rate of successful outcomes of his surgeries.  Dr. Madani received his advanced fellowship training in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery here at UC San Diego. He is certified by both the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.  Dr. Madani is Professor and Chief of Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery and Director of the Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center – Surgery. He directs the Heart Failure Mechanical Assist Device and Heart Transplantation Program at UC San Diego. He is also Clinical Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in La Jolla.

Kellie R. Brown, MD, is a vascular surgeon and Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Brown sees patients at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee and the FORME Aesthetic and Vein Center in Wauwatosa. She completed her Doctor of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin and her residency in General Surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, her Fellowship in Vascular Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Fellowship in the Robert W. Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the University of Chicago.   Her Clinical Interests are Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, Carotid Artery Disease, Carotid Stenosis, Diabetic Foot Infections, Peripheral Vascular Disease, Varicose Veins, Carotid Angioplasty, Stenting, Carotid Endarterectomy, Carotid Stenting, and Endovascular Aneurysm Repair. She is board-certified in the Surgery and Vascular Surgery and currently serves as the Chair of the Vascular Surgery Board of the American Board of Surgery.

A.J. Conrad Smith, MD, is an interventional cardiologist and is certified in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is the director of the cardiac catheterization laboratories at UPMC Presbyterian, associate chief of cardiology for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Division of Cardiology, medical director of the Center for Heart Valve Disease, and is an associate professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He received his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco and completed his internal medicine residency, cardiology fellowship, and interventional cardiology fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital.  Dr. Smith’s clinical interests include interventional cardiology, complex coronary intervention, transcatheter mitral and tricuspid valve therapies, and catheter-based treatments for adult congenital heart disease. In addition, Dr. Smith has actively sought to battle health disparities through his active involvement in the Association of Black Cardiologists and through grassroots work in underserved communities around Pittsburgh. He has published several peer reviewed manuscripts and has served as governor of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American College of Cardiology.

Dr. Thourani is board certified in surgery and cardiothoracic surgery. He earned his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Thourani completed a general surgery internship at Emory University, followed by a residency and fellowship at Emory University. He also completed visiting fellowships for minimally invasive and transcatheter valve surgery at Fuwai Hospital in Beijing, China, and a fellowship with Prof Fred Mohr in Leipzig, Germany. Dr. Thourani is a member of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, American Board of Thoracic Surgery, American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, the Heart Valve Society, the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery, the South Atlantic Cardiovascular Society, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. He serves as the President of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association (2019-2020) and the President-elect for the Heart Valve Society (2019-2020).  Dr. Thourani specializes in valve surgery, specifically in minimally invasive and transcatheter aortic and mitral valve surgery. He is passionate about working with a multi-disciplinary team in providing the patient with options for traditional, minimally invasive, and transcatheter surgical options.  In his spare time, Dr. Thourani enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, tennis, and going to sporting events and concerts.

Dr. Michael J. Mack earned his medical degree from the St. Louis University after which he completed an Internal Medicine residency at the University of Minnesota.  Dr. Mack then completed his General Surgery and Thoracic Surgery residencies at the University of Texas Southwestern.  Dr. Mack is a pioneer in the field of cardiothoracic surgery and a world-renowned physician.  He is the Medical Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery for Baylor Scott & White Health and the Chairman of BSW The Heart Hospital.  He has performed more than 7,000 cardiac surgeries, with 3,000 involving heart valve procedures.  Dr. Mack has served in multiple leadership roles including being a Board of Trustees on the American College of Cardiology Foundation, President of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, President of the Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education, and President of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association. Dr. Mack was recently elected to be the Vice Chair of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Mack will serve in this position for two years until 2024 after which he will become Chair. Dr. Mack most recently served as a Board Director (2015-2022).

Dr. Catalin Toma, MD, is an interventional cardiologist and is certified in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He currently serves as director of interventional cardiology for the Heart and Vascular Institute and director of the Interventional Fellowship at UPMC. He is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He received his medical degree from Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Iasi, Romania. Following a post-doctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, he completed an internal medicine residency at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City and a fellowship in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology at UPMC.  Dr. Toma joined the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute in 2007. He currently leads the Chronic Total Occlusion Program as well as the Pulmonary Vascular Interventional Program at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. He is an integral part of the Structural Heart Program with interests in the aortic and tricuspid space. Additional interests include intracoronary imaging and mechanical circulatory support. Dr. Toma has had an extensive amount of publications and presentations over his career, has several invention patents, and serves as a clinical study leader at local and national levels.

Dr. Joseph F. Sabik III was appointed to the role of Chair of Department of Surgery at University Hospitals in 2016. Prior to joining University Hospitals, he served as the Chairman of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and Director of the Cardiothoracic Residency Training Program in the Sydell and Arnold Miller Heart & Vascular Institute.  Dr. Sabik is board-certified in surgery and thoracic surgery and has specialty interests in adult cardiac surgery, valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, surgery of the thoracic aorta, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, and off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery. He is widely published in leading professional journals and a frequent lecturer at national and international conferences. Most recently, he was co-principal investigator for the landmark EXCEL trial, which compared drug-eluting stents to open-heart surgery for select patients with left main coronary artery disease. Results were published in the October 31, 2016, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.  Dr. Sabik earned a BS in Life Sciences from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. He completed his surgical internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was named Chief Resident in Surgery. During his surgical training, Dr. Sabik was appointed a Clinical Fellow and a Research Fellow in Surgery at Harvard Medical School and a Research Fellow in Cardiovascular Surgery at Children’s Hospital, Boston. Following his general surgery training, Dr. Sabik completed a residency in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at Cleveland Clinic, and during his final year of training was the Chief Resident in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. In 1996, he was appointed to the Cleveland Clinic Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery as a staff physician. He was named department chair in 2008.

Dr. David Kaczorowski received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed an internship and residency in general surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, followed by fellowships in cardiothoracic surgery, advanced heart failure and advanced adult cardiac surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. Following his training, Dr. Kaczorowski entered private practice in Pennsylvania before joining the faculty at the University of Maryland in 2017. During his time in Maryland, Dr. Kaczorowski served as Director of Cardiac Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support. Recruited to UPMC in 2020, Dr. Kaczorowski continues to be a national clinical and academic leader in single and combined organ cardiothoracic transplant, mechanical circulatory support, ventricular assist devices, and the cutting edge of the field in donation-after-cardiac-death transplantation and basic/translational xenotransplantation research. He is the principal investigator on several research projects, including a grant for pre-clinical exploration of a novel ventricular assist device from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and holds numerous U.S. patents. Under Dr. Kaczorowski’s leadership, the heart transplantation program has recently performed the first successful donation-after-cardiac death heart transplant in the state of Pennsylvania; the first combined donation-after-cardiac-death heart/kidney transplant reported in the United States; and is currently the highest volume heart transplant program in the state of Pennsylvania in calendar year 2023. Since his recruitment to UPMC, the program has achieved a 0% 90-day mortality and 98% 1-year survival of patients undergoing isolated heart transplant, performing far better than national benchmarks. Dr. Kaczorowski also serves as the Program Director of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery ACGME Integrated Residency and Independent Fellowship programs.

Jennifer C. Romano, M.D., M.S. is the Herbert Sloan Collegiate Professor of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Michigan Medical School, specializing in surgery for congenital and pediatric acquired heart disease. Her practice encompasses all elements of pediatric cardiac surgery with a focus on neonatal surgery and hybrid interventions. She serves as the Program Director for the University of Michigan ACGME Congenital Heart Surgery Residency and the non-ACGME Congenital Heart Surgery Fellowship. The University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital Congenital Heart Center is internationally recognized as a leader in the care of patients with congenital heart disease (CHD), performing 500-600 open-heart and 1000 total operations each year. Dr. Romano is also active nationally as the current President of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, as a Director for the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, Congenital Deputy Editor for Annals of Thoracic Surgery, member of the Board of Directors for the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and as Treasurer-elect for the Congenital Heart Surgeons Society.

Matthew A. Romano, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Cardiac Surgery and the Director of the multidisciplinary Mitral Valve Clinic. He joined the faculty in 2009 following the completion of thoracic surgery and surgical critical care residencies at the University of Michigan. He received additional advanced training in the surgical treatment of complex valvular heart disease and heart transplantation. His clinical interests and expertise include mitral and tricuspid valve repair, minimally invasive valve surgery, percutaneous and catheter based mitral and tricuspid valve repair and replacement, and treatment of atrial fibrillation. He was recently awarded the American Heart Association/Mitral Foundation Mitral Valve Reference Surgeon distinction for his high rate of mitral valve repair and excellent outcomes. He has established a minimally invasive surgical program for isolated treatment of atrial fibrillation. His research is focused on mitral valve disease as well as atrial fibrillation and heart failure.

Dr. William O’Neill, MD, FACC, MSCAI, is a luminary in the field of interventional cardiology, as a distinguished faculty member.  Dr. O’Neill, who was born in Alousi, Ecuador, earned his medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine and completed a cardiology fellowship at the University of Michigan Hospital. He joined Beaumont Hospital in 1987, and under his direction it has become one of the nation’s top centers for cardiac catheterization. Dr. O’Neill’s career is defined by groundbreaking advancements and an unwavering pursuit of improving patient outcomes. As one of the Master Fellows of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (MSCAI) and a pivotal figure in the development of angioplasty for heart attack treatment, his work has set the standard for cardiac care globally.  Dr. O’Neill has also led the charge in catheter-based treatments of structural heart disease, notably performing the first transcaval aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in the U.S. in 2005. His leadership in the Detroit Cardiogenic Shock Initiative has notably increased survival rates from massive heart attacks. With over 450 peer-reviewed articles and abstracts, Dr. O’Neill’s contributions to medical publications are extensive. His role in shaping the next generation of cardiologists, combined with his tenure in prestigious academic and teaching hospitals, underscores his dedication to advancing the field of cardiology. Dr. O’Neill’s career is full of accolades, including America’s Top Doctors and the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics Lifetime Achievement Award. His foundational work with the American Board of Internal Medicine interventional cardiology board and the American College of Cardiology highlights his influence on the profession.

Dr. Leon is Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). Dr. Leon is also Director of Columbia Interventional Cardiovascular Care, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories, and is on the Executive Board of the Columbia Structural Heart & Valve Center. He is a practicing interventional cardiologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. Dr. Leon is also the Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. Dr. Leon has served as principal investigator for over 50 clinical trials that have helped shape the field of interventional cardiovascular medicine. Dr. Leon has co-authored over 1550 publications, has performed over 10,000 interventional procedures, and has had a major impact as a thought-leader and innovator in the expanding sub-specialty of interventional cardiovascular device and drug therapies. He is the Director and Founder of Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT), the world’s premier interventional cardiovascular meeting. Dr. Leon has also served as Director or Co-Director of more than 100 international educational programs in areas of interventional cardiology. Dr. Leon completed a fellowship in Cardiology at the Yale-New Haven Hospital. He completed medical school at the Yale School of Medicine, and his internship and residency in internal medicine at the Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Dr. Gorav Ailawadi joined the University of Michigan as the Chair of Cardiac Surgery in September of 2020. Previously, he served as the Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Co-Director of the Cardiac Valve Center, and Director of the Medical Device Innovation Center at the University of Virginia.  Dr. Ailawadi was raised in Maryland and New Jersey. He attended an accelerated honors program in medical education at Northwestern University where he received the awards for best overall student and top surgical student. Additionally, he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. While completing a surgery residency at the University of Michigan, Dr. Ailawadi spent two research years investigating and understanding the development of aortic aneurysms. His work was recognized by the NIH/Lifeline Association and was chosen as the top research project in 2003. While at Michigan, he received the Top Resident and Young Investigator Awards. He then completed his training and joined the faculty at the University of Virginia in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery.  Dr. Ailawadi has internationally-recognized expertise in mitral and aortic valve disease with vast experience in minimally invasive cardiac surgery, and percutaneous/transcatheter valve therapies having performed over 600 minimally invasive procedures and roughly 3000 heart operations. He has been invited to national and international conferences to share his expertise with novel minimally invasive approaches, valve disease, reoperative and AF surgery.  At Virginia, Dr. Ailawadi was the first surgeon in the U.S. to perform hybrid AF ablation, the first U.S. Surgeon to perform the MitraClip procedure, and the world’s first transcaval TEVAR procedure. He has been the principal investigator for a novel left atrial appendage clip to prevent strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation. Dr. Ailawadi served one of five core principal investigators leading the CTSN linked research consortium (NIH) developing new trials in cardiac surgery. Currently, Dr. Ailawadi is on the executive steering committee for numerous transcatheter and surgical trials in valvular disease. Dr. Ailawadi is the surgical national principal investigator for the Summit Trial investigating TENDYNE, a transcatheter mitral valve replacement without stopping the heart. In 2019, Dr. Ailawadi completed his MBA from the Darden School of Business.  Dr. Ailawadi has been funded by the NIH, AHA, among other grants. His research lab studies novel mechanisms and new treatments for aortic aneurysms. He has published over 350 peer-reviewed manuscripts in journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Circulation, and JACC. Dr. Ailawadi is member of the American Association for Thoracic Surgeons, the American Surgical Association, and the Cardiac Surgery Biology Club. In his leisure time, Dr. Ailawadi enjoys exercise, sports, and spending time with his wife, Aarti, and their three children.

Andy C. Kiser, M.D., M.B.A. is currently the Physician-in-Chief of Cardiovascular Services, the Chief of Cardiac Surgery and the Executive Medical Director of Perioperative Services at St. Clair Medical Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Kiser is a Clinical Professor of Surgery in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and serves as the President of the Western Pennsylvania Society of Thoracic Surgeons.  Dr. Kiser is an expert in minimally-invasive valve, arrhythmia, and coronary artery surgery. He also has extensive experience in the treatment of cancers and other diseases that involve the lungs, the esophagus, and the chest wall.  An international leader in arrhythmia surgery, Dr. Kiser pioneered the Convergent Procedure, a minimally invasive way to treat atrial fibrillation that is now performed world-wide. He also developed the suprasternal approach for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), enabling aortic valve replacement via a small incision for people who cannot undergo open-heart surgery. Dr. Kiser completed his MBA at The UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School in July, 2018. He has been a founding partner of start-up medical devices companies such as nContact Surgical, Aegis Surgical, Atrius Surgical, KL Medical, and Red Branch Innovation. As CEO of Advanced Cardiac Access Training Institute (ACATI), he designs novel, high-fidelity simulators and educational platforms for start-up medical device companies and law firms prosecuting health care malpractice.  Dr. Kiser, a native of Moore County, NC, earned B.S. and M.D. degrees with honors at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed his training in both general surgery (1997) and cardiothoracic surgery (2000) at UNC. He practiced cardiac and thoracic surgery in Pinehurst, NC, until he joined the UNC Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery in November 2010 where he became chief of the division in July 2011 and was named the Byah Thomason-Sanford Doxey Distinguished Professor of Surgery. In April, 2016, Dr. Kiser joined the East Carolina Heart Institute in Greenville, NC as chief and as the John Mark Williams Distinguished Professor in Cardiac Surgery. Upon completion of his MBA, he joined St. Clair Cardiovascular in Pittsburgh, PA in January 2019. He is a Board Certified in Thoracic Surgery and in General Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American College of Cardiology, and the American College of Chest Physicians. Dr. Kiser has directed the Pittsburgh Heart Summit since 2019.

David M. Lasorda, DO, FACP, FACC, FSCAI, is senior attending physician of cardiology at Allegheny General Hospital and consulting internal medicine physician at the Medical Center of Beaver. Board certified in internal medicine, Dr. Lasorda is a graduate of the University of San Francisco and a 1983 graduate of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed an internal medicine residency at Allegheny General Hospital and a cardiology fellowship at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, Allegheny General Hospital Campus in Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Lasorda is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Heart Association Council on Clinical Cardiology, the Pennsylvania Medical Society, the Allegheny County Medical Society. He is on the speaker’s bureau for Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. and Shockwave Medical and serves as a proctor for Edwards LifeScience.