Dr. Nadia Giannetti, MD
- Dr. Giannetti received her Medical Degree from McGill University. After training in cardiology at McGill, she went on to pursue a Fellowship in Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplantation at Stanford University in California.
- She returned to McGill to become an Attending Cardiologist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Giannetti, along with her team participates in the care of over 1000 patients with heart failure.
- Dr Giannetti is a Clinical Researcher with an interest in personalized therapy for patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and optimizing clinical outcomes in patients living with heart failure.
- For the past 10 years, Dr. Giannetti has been an active member of the Canadian Heart Failure and Heart Transplant Guidelines. She has led multiple multi-center clinical trials as a local and national principal investigator.
- Dr. Giannetti is very active in the Canadian Heart Failure and Transplant landscape. She is past president of the Canadian Cardiac Transplant Group, has been on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Heart Failure Society and Governance Committee of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.
Dr. Johannes Grilliari
- Since 2019, Dr. Johannes Grillari is the director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Traumatology (LBI Trauma) – the Research Center in cooperation with AUVA, Vienna, Austria which is the central research unit of seven trauma centers and four rehabilitation centers with a strong focus on tissue regeneration.
- In his research, Dr. Grillari focuses on improving our understanding of the molecular and physiological changes that occur during cellular aging, their impact on organismal aging and tissue regeneration, specifically in skin and bone. In addition, he is interested in engineering of mammalian cells to establish relevant and standardizable cell model systems and cell factories.
- Johannes Grillari has graduated in Biotechnology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna,where he completed his PhD in the field of cell aging in 1999.
Dr. Ernst von Schwartz, MD
- Dr. von Schwarz is a US based world renowned, triple board certified clinical and academic cardiologist and clinical professor of medicine at UCLA and UC Riverside.
- He joined Cedars Sinai Medical Center and UCLA as Director of the Cardiac Device Program in 2006. He was appointed director of cardiology at the Heart Institute of Southern California Hospital Culver City in 2015, and chairman of Pacific Heart Medical Group and medical director of Heart Stem Inc. in 2016.
- Considered a worldwide pioneer in the field of stem cell research, Dr. von Schwarz has published over 150 scientific papers in international peer reviewed medical journals, as well as books and book chapters in cardiovascular medicine. In May 2022, Dr. Schwarz published The Secret World of Stem Cell Therapy: What YOU Need to Know about the Health, Beauty, and Anti-Aging Breakthrough.
- Dr. von Schwarz is board certified in internal medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine, and in cardiology/cardiovascular diseases by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Cardiology/Cardiovascular Diseases. His primary clinical interests are end-stage heart failure, cardiac transplantation, interventional cardiology and sexual function in cardiac disease.
- Dr. von Schwarz earned his medical degree from Philipps-University in Marburg, Germany, receiving medical doctor titles from Philipps-University Marburg and from the University of Vienna, Austria. He received his doctorate from the University of Technology in Aachen, Germany.
Dr. Renzo Cecere, MD
- Dr. Cecere is the McGill University Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Surgical Director of the Heart Failure and Heart Transplantation Program, and Director of the Mechanical Circulatory Support Program.
- He is also Associate Member of the McGill University Department of Mechanical Engineering, and a Director and Principal Investigator of the Research Institute of the MUHC Myocardial Regeneration Laboratory.
- or over a decade, Dr. Cecere’s lab has been investigating novel methods to strengthen the stem-cell induced regeneration of infarcted heart tissue.
- In Dr. Cecere’s recent project (under review, Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine), the team encapsulated placenta derived stem cells in a hydrogel scaffold and implanted it in a rat MI model.
- Dr. Cecere’s lab recently published a systematic review and meta-analysis that demonstrated that stem cells combined with bioactive scaffolds provide enhanced tissue regeneration in animal models of MI, compared to stem cells injected alone.
Dr. Terry Herbert, PhD
- Dr. Hébert is the Assistant Dean for Biomedical Science Education in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at McGill University, the Director of the McGill Regenerative Medicine Network, and a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
- In 2020, he was awarded the Canadian Pacific Chair in Biotechnology, 2020 – 2025. He completed his PhD in Medical Genetics at the University of Toronto.
- Dr. Hébert’s research is focused on a better understanding of the wiring of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) and G protein signalling architectures to inform drug discovery for a number of important diseases including heart disease.
- In addition, Dr. Hébert’s work now orients toward a molecular understanding of dilated cardiomyopathy using primarycardiomyocytes, cardiac fibroblasts, and iPSC-derived cells from patients.
Dr. Norman Wong, M.D.
• Co-Founder of Resverlogix Corp. (TSX:RVX), and Chief Scientific Officer since 2003
• Currently Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Director of the Libin Gene/Cell Therapy Unit within the
Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary
• Specializes in the areas of Endocrinology, Internal Medicine, Molecular Biology and Gene/Cell Therapy
• Author &/or co-author of over 275 articles and abstracts and invited to sit on more than 40 national or international panels/
committees
• Consulted for leading pharmaceutical companies, including Eli Lilly, Merck Frost, GlaxoSmithKline, Solvay Pharmaceuticals and
Abbott Laboratories
Dr. York Hsiang, MB, ChB, MHSc, FRCSC
• Professor of Vascular Surgery at University of British Columbia, and Consultant Surgeon at the Vancouver General Hospital
• Dr. Hsiang has diverse interests in vascular biology, vascular engineering and clinical epidemiology. He is the past President of
the Chinese-Canadian Medical Society and the Western Vascular Society.
• Written or co-written and presented 165 continuing medical education accredited papers to peers at regional, national and
international symposia focused on such diverse topics as a pressure-sensing smart stent compatible with angioplasty procedure and
its in vivo testing; vascular surgery; advanced venous issues; carotid surgery; and, he presented the Company’s blinded results to
the 41st annual meeting of the Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery, held September 13-14, 2019
Dr. Pierre Leimgruber, MD, FACC
• Board-certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases, and interventional cardiology. Specialist in cardiovascular disease
treatment.
• He has worked for 32 years as an interventional cardiologist, affiliated with four leading Spokane hospitals and also serves as
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.
• Received his medical degree from University of Zurich Medical School and trained with Andreas Gruentzig, MD, the inventor of
balloon angioplasty, at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
• Author of 26 peer-reviewed research studies published in leading medical journals.
Dr. Alan Lumsden, M.D.
• Walter W. Fondren III Chair, Medical Director of the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center and chair of the
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital since 2008
• Emory University (Atlanta)-completed his surgical residency and vascular training leading to position as Chief of Division of
Vascular Surgery
• International reputation as a leader in the field of endovascular surgery. He conducts FDA-mandated training for surgeons
nationwide and has received millions of dollars for his research from the National Institutes of Health. He has contributed more
than 200 papers to medical literature.
Dr. Kumar L. Hari, PhD
• Chief Scientific Officer at cBio, a private disease diagnostics and tracking firm
• Expertise is in chromosome biology, functional genomics, and bioinformatics. Oversaw the development of the MRS and PATRN platforms
• At cBio, Dr. Hari led the team in engagements with the FDA, various universities and other US government organizations
• Former director of program management efforts the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine and the Myelin Repair Foundation
• PhD in Cell Biology from UC San Diego and a B.Sc. in Genetics from UC Davis