ISHLT Announces Results of 2026 Election for Board of Directors + Professional Communities
The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) has announced the results of its 2026 elections, confirming a new leadership team for the Board of Directors and Professional Community Representatives. Voting was robust, with engagement reflecting diverse representation across specialties and regions. The new three-year terms begin on 1 May 2026, immediately following the 46th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions in Toronto.
Newly elected board members include:
President-Elect: Kiran Khush, MD, MAS | Professor of Medicine and Director of Heart Transplant Research, Stanford University (USA)
Treasurer: Simon Urschel, MD | Director Pediatric Cardiac Transplant, University of Alberta (Canada) (2-year term)
Director: Alexander M. Bernhardt, MD | Surgical Director Heart Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program, University Heart and Vascular Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (Germany)
Director: Brian Keller, MD | Medical Director of Lung Transplantation / Assistant Professor of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (USA)
Director: Kyung-Hee Kim, MD, PhD | Director of Advanced HF and Heart Transplantation, Incheon Sejong Hospital (South Korea)
Director: Palak Shah, MD, MS | Medical Director MCS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Inova Heart and Vascular Institute (USA)
The composition of the 2026-2027 ISHLT Board:
Members in eight of the 10 ISHLT Professional Communities (PCs) also voted for PC leaders. ISHLT professional community leaders represent their community to the ISHLT Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committees, which direct activities in ISHLT’s pillars of Heart Failure and Transplantation, Lung Failure and Transplantation, Mechanical Circulatory Support, and Pulmonary Vascular Disease (PAH & CTEPH).
ANESTHESIOLOGY & CRITICAL CARE PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY
Pulmonary Vascular Disease (PVD) (PAH & CTEPH) Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committee Representative
Antonio Rubino, MD, Consultant in Cardiothoracic Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UK
CARDIOLOGY PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation (AHFTX) Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committee Representative
Ersilia DeFilippis, MD, Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiologist/Assistant Professor, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, USA
Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committee Representative
Snehal Patel, MD, Director Heart Failure/Transplant/Mechanical Circulatory Support, Northwell Health/Hofstra School of Medicine, New York, USA
CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY
Pulmonary Vascular Disease (PVD) (PAH & CTEPH) Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committee Representative
Christoph Knosalla, MD, Director of the Heart and Lung Transplantation Program, Director of the CTEPH Program/Professor, Deutsches Herzzentrum der Charité, Germany
Early Career and Trainee Committee (ECTC) Representative
Laura DiChiacchio, MD, PhD, Cardiac Surgeon, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA USA
INFECTIOUS DISEASES PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY
Advanced Lung Failure and Transplant (ALFTX) Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committee Representative
Brad Gardiner, MBBS, FRACP, MS, PhD, Infectious Diseases Physician, Alfred Health & Monash University, Australia
PATHOLOGY PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY
Early Career and Trainee Committee (ECTC) Representative
Alexander Wein, MD, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Washington University, St. Louis, MO USA
PEDIATRICS PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation (AHFTX) Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committee Representative
Neha Bansal, MD, Pediatric Cardiologist, Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital, New York, USA
Pulmonary Vascular Disease (PVD) (PAH & CTEPH) Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committee Representative
Raysa Morales-Demori, MD, Assistant Professor, Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX USA
Early Career & Trainee Committee (ECTC) Representative
Shannon Oliver, MBBS, Senior Fellow/Junior Attending, The Stollery Children's Hospital, Canada
PHARMACY PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY
Advanced Lung Failure and Transplant (ALFTX) Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committee Representative
Krysta Walter, PharmD, Solid Organ Transplant Clinical Pharmacist Specialist, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI USA
Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committee Representative
Ian Hollis, PharmD, FCCP, BCPS, Associate Professor, Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics Clinical Specialist, Advanced HF & Cardiac Surgery, University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy and Medical Center, Chapel Hill, NC USA
RESEARCH & IMMUNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY
Advanced Lung Failure and Transplant (ALFTX) Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committee Representative
Stephen Juvet, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Physician-scientist, University of Toronto, Canada
EARLY CAREER & TRAINEE COMMITTEE
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation (AHFTX) Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committee
Tania Kakoudaki, MD, MRCP, Senior Clinical Fellow, Royal Papworth Hospital, UK
Congratulations to all the winners and nominees.