Meet the Mentors of ISHLT2026

Samantha Anthony, PhD, MSW
Health Clinician Scientist

The Hospital for Sick Children
Toronto, ON Canada
Primary IDN: ALFTX | Primary PC: Research & Immunology

Dr. Anthony is a Health Clinician Scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, with appointments as a Senior Scientist in the Child Health Evaluative Sciences Program of the SickKids Research Institute, and an Associate Professor and Affiliated Scientist in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Anthony leads a research program centered around evidence-based interventions for adaptation and quality of life for children with chronic conditions, especially those who have undergone solid organ transplantation. Her research drives impact through the design and implementation of eHealth interventions and generates co-produced knowledge through meaningful patient engagement.

Her program of research is nationally and internationally funded, with grants awarded from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, The Kidney Foundation of Canada, Health Canada, the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program and Enduring Hearts.

Sai Bhagra, MBBS, MRCP
Consultant Cardiologist

Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Cambridge, United Kingdom
Primary IDN: MCS | Primary PC: Cardiology

Dr. Bhagra completed postgraduate medical training in the West of Scotland and higher specialist training in cardiology in Newcastle upon Tyne. His subspecialty training in advanced heart failure, MCS, and transplantation was undertaken at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital (Glasgow), Freeman Hospital (Newcastle upon Tyne), and Toronto General Hospital (Canada). Sai’s research focuses on long-term outcomes following MCS and heart transplantation and increasing donor utilization. He was shortlisted for the Philips Caves Award at the 2015 ISHLT Annual Meeting and received the ISHLT Transplant Registry Early Career Award in 2016.

Arvind Bhimaraj, MD, MPH, FACC, FHFSA
Associate Professor of Cardiology

Houston Methodist Institute of Academic Medicine
Houston, TX USA
Primary IDN: AHFTX | Primary PC: Cardiology

Dr. Bhimaraj is an advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologist and System Director of Advanced Heart Failure at Houston Methodist. He directs the Bradley Z. Naifeh Amyloidosis Clinical and Research Program and Heart Failure Disease Management Services. His career integrates clinical care, systems innovation, and data science to transform heart failure management and prevention.

He earned his medical degree from Gandhi Medical College and an MPH from the University of Kansas Medical Center. He completed internal medicine at Drexel University, cardiology at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, and advanced heart failure and transplant fellowships at Cleveland Clinic. Since joining Houston Methodist in 2011, he has held multiple leadership roles, including Interim Chief of Heart Failure and Medical Director of the Heart Transplant and LVAD programs.

An active investigator, Dr. Bhimaraj leads work in multi-omics in transplantation, nano-delivery for genetic modulation, non-myocyte myocardial recovery, cardiogenic shock, and pressure-volume physiology. He is interested in patient-focused and patient-led volunteer programs, and has held national roles with HFSA and ACC. He serves as visiting adjunct faculty at Tecnológico de Monterrey, mentors translational research, and collaborates on heart failure program development in India and Mexico.

Sabina De Geest, PhD
Professor of Nursing

University of Basel
Basel, Switzerland
Primary IDN: AHFTX | Primary PC: Nursing & Allied Health

A Professor of Nursing at the University of Basel and part-time Professor of Nursing at KU Leuven, Sabina De Geest leads the PIONEER international research group, an interdisciplinary team focused on behavioral and psychosocial issues in chronic illness, including transplantation, rheumatology, and geriatric populations. Her research is driven by implementation science methodologies and centers on developing innovative care models, many of which leverage eHealth technologies.

Tonya Elliott, MSN, RN, CCTC, CHFN
VAD Coordinator

Inova Schar Heart and Vascular
Falls Church, VA USA
Primary IDN: MCS | Primary PC: Nursing & Allied Health

Tonya Elliott has worked in the Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) space since 1990. Over the course of her career, the rapid advancement of MCS technology has inspired Tonya to focus on education and outreach, leading the development of community-based programs designed to support emergency medicine first responders, dialysis staff, and nursing facility teams who care for patients living with durable MCS devices. She is experienced in supporting teams through regulatory preparation, program development, and operational readiness. Tonya is active in ISHLT as a presenter, publisher, and is the incoming Standards and Guidelines Committee Chair.

Tonya is an alumna of the State University of New York at Buffalo and The Catholic University of America. A proud Buffalonian, she is an avid Bills fan and brings the same loyalty, resilience, and team spirit to her professional and mentoring relationships.

Savitri Fedson, MD, MA
Professor, Medicine and Clinical Ethics / Director, Advanced Heart Failure/Transplant Program

Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center
Houston, TX USA
Primary IDN: AHFTX | Primary PC: Cardiology

Dr. Fedson is a Professor of Medicine and Clinical Ethics at the Michael E. DeBakey Houston VA Medical Center and the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine. She is the medical director and founder of the advanced heart failure/transplant program at the DeBakey VA, and serves as the Chair of the Ethics Committee for the VA Medical Center. She currently heads the ABIM Board Exam writing committee for Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation and is the outgoing chair of the ISHLT Ethics Committee.

She earned degrees from the University of Chicago and the University of Virginia, completed her residency in internal medicine and fellowship in cardiology at the University of Chicago, and did advanced training in heart failure/transplantation at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Fedson is also a graduate of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics Program at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Fedson has interests in the ethics of scarce resource allocation, the intersection of individual autonomy and public health, and patients’ decisions to discontinue device support. She is also interested in patient reported outcomes with decision making, the impact of frailty and physical conditioning in heart failure in the Veteran population. She has been a speaker at national and international heart failure and transplant meetings on topics such the integration of palliative care in cardiovascular disease, ethical dilemmas in candidacy for heart and multiorgan transplantation, xenotransplantation and donation after cardiac death, and in device deactivation for mechanical circulatory support.

Jonathan Hand, MD

Oschner Medical Center
New Orleans, LA USA
Primary IDN: AHFTX | Primary PC: Infectious Diseases

Dr. Hand is the Section Head of Transplant Infectious Diseases and the Medical Director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Ochsner Medical Center. He also serves as Associate Medical Director of the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency. Dr. Hand leads clinical trials as Research Medical Director of Infectious Diseases for Ochsner Health.

His practice and research interests include infectious complications of transplant donors and recipients, vaccine and antimicrobial clinical trials and antimicrobial stewardship. He has also been actively involved in national transplant policy and is an Associate Editor for Clinical Transplantation. Within ISHLT, Dr. Hand has served as the Infectious Diseases representative on the Early Career and Trainee Committee and has been on the annual meeting program committee 4 times.

Konrad Hoetzenecker, MD, PhD
Professor of Surgery

Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, TN USA
Primary IDN: ALFTX | Primary PC: Cardiothoracic Surgery

Dr. Hoetzenecker is a Professor for Thoracic Surgery at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and serves as the Surgical Director of the Vanderbilt Lung Transplant Program. His research focuses on donor lung preservation and the opportunities arising from organ storage at 10°C, ex-vivo lung perfusion, and normothermic regional perfusion.

Another major area of his work is the development of new surgical techniques, including minimally invasive lung transplantation. Vanderbilt is one of few centers worldwide currently offering minimally invasive lung transplantation.

Dr Hoetzenecker has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and is an editorial board member of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. He has been awarded several prizes and grants including the Graham Memorial Traveling Fellowship from the American Association of Thoracic Surgery.

Ian Hollis, PharmD, FCCP, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacist and Associate Professor

University of North Carolina Medical Center
Chapel Hill, NC USA
Primary IDN: MCS | Primary PC: Pharmacy

Dr. Hollis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutic at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and has been a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Advanced Heart Failure (including LVAD and Heart Transplant) at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Medical Center in Chapel Hill for 18 years.

After receiving his PharmD from The Ohio State University in 2005, he completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at the University of Michigan Hospitals and a PGY2 Cardiology Residency at UNC. He has been the Program Director for the PGY2 Cardiology Pharmacy Residency at UNC since 2013.

His research interests include the medication management of heart failure, LVAD, and heart transplant patients.

Luise Holzhauser, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine / Associate Medical Director, Heart Transplant Program

University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA USA
Primary IDN: AHFTX | Primary PC: Cardiology

Dr. Holzhauser is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Advanced Heart Failure, Mechanical Support and Heart Transplantation program. She serves as the Associate Medical Director of the Heart Transplant Program.

She completed medical school in Germany and gained initial postgraduate experience in Cardiology at the Charité Berlin before relocating to New York for Internal Medicine Residency. This was followed by fellowships in Cardiology and Advanced Heart Failure at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Holzhauser’s academic focus is on non-invasive allograft surveillance and immunological risk profiling, with the aim to improve long term transplant outcomes.

Stephen Juvet, MD, PhD
Respirologist, Associate Professor of Medicine

University Health Network / Toronto General Hospital
Toronto, ON Canada
Primary IDN: ALFTX | Primary PC: Research & Immunology

Dr. Juvet is a transplant pulmonologist and clinician-scientist with the Toronto Lung Transplant Program at Toronto General Hospital, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. His clinical focus is the care of patients undergoing lung transplantation, and his research lab focuses on identifying novel cellular pathways driving chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) using animal models and human biospecimens, as well as developing novel therapeutic approaches for CLAD prevention. He is the incoming Research & Immunology representative to the Advanced Lung Failure and Transplantation Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committee, and recently led the forthcoming ISHLT Consensus Statement on Acute Lung Allograft Dysfunction.

Aaron Mishkin, MD
Infectious Diseases Specialist, Associate Professor of Medicine

Temple University
Philadelphia, PA USA
Primary IDN: ALFTX | Primary PC: Infectious Diseases

Dr. Mishkin is a transplant infectious diseases physician at Temple University in Philadelphia, typically the highest volume lung transplant program in the United States. He considers himself a clinician first and spends the majority of his time caring for transplant patients and treating non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections. He is involved in retrospective multi-center studies and enjoys collaborating through ISHLT and other societies. At Temple, Aaron is an IRB board member and assists with PCORnet a U.S. network that uses health data to support patient-centered clinical research. Outside of work, he enjoys skiing, hiking, travel and spending time with his wife and daughters.

Michelle Murray, MBBch, BAO, MD, MSc (Clin Ed), FRCPI, FRCP
Associate Professor of Medicine UCD / Consultant Respiratory Medicine

Mater Misericordiae University Hospital
Dublin, Ireland
Primary IDN: ALFTX | Primary PC: Pulmonology

Dr. Murray is an Associate Professor of Medicine in UCD and a Consultant in Respiratory Medicine with specialist expertise in Advanced Lung Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, and Lung Transplant Medicine.

She graduated from Trinity College, Dublin in 2006 and subsequently obtained membership of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. She holds a Masters degree in Medical Education from the University of Galway, and obtained her MD in research in Cystic Fibrosis from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. She went on to obtain advanced clinical fellowship training in Cystic Fibrosis in St. Michael’s Hospital Toronto and Lung Transplant in Toronto General Hospital in Canada.

Dr. Murray has co-authored several national and international guidelines in the area of lung transplant and cystic fibrosis. She is currently completing further training in Quality Improvement from the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, and holds fellowships of both the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and London.

Justin Rosenheck, DO
Pulmonologist

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Columbus, OH USA
Primary IDN: ALFTX | Primary PC: Pulmonology

Justin Rosenheck is the Associate Medical Director of Ohio State University’s Lung Transplant program and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine. He completed his fellowship in Advanced Lung Disease and Lung Transplantation at the University of Pennsylvania in 2019.

In addition to his clinical work, he is interested in advancing the care of lung transplant recipients through research, collaboration and innovation, with a particular interest in cell free DNA. Dr. Rosenheck has been active in ISHLT, currently serving as a member of the Membership Committee.

Aman Sidhu, MD
Medical Director, Toronto Lung Transplant Program

Ajmera Transplant Centre
Toronto, ON Canada
Primary IDN: ALFTX | Primary PC: Pulmonology

Dr. Sidhu is the Medical Director of the Toronto Lung Transplant Program at the Ajmera Transplant Centre and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

She completed medical school at the University of Ottawa, internal medicine training at the University of British Columbia, respirology at the University of Alberta, and an MSc in Epidemiology at the University of London (UK), followed by lung transplant fellowship training at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Sidhu’s academic focus is on health system innovation, including telemedicine and novel models of care to improve access and quality for patients with lung disease. She previously served as Director of Quality and Innovation at the multi-organ Ajmera Transplant Centre, leading initiatives to enhance patient care delivery.

Davor Simic Silva, MD
Clinical Fellow

Toronto General Hospital / UHN
Toronto, ON Canada
Primary IDN: ALFTX | Primary PC: Anesthesiology & Critical Care

Dr. Simic Silva is a Clinical Fellow in Thoracic Anesthesia, Cardiac Anesthesia, and Cardiovascular Critical Care at Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, in Toronto, Canada. He completed his medical degree at Complutense University in Madrid, Spain, and his residency in Anesthesiology, Intensive Care, and Pain Management at University Hospital Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda, Spain. He later worked as a consultant anesthesiologist at several leading institutions in Madrid, with a focus on cardiothoracic surgery, transplantation, and critical care.

Dr. Simic Silva currently serves on the ISHLT en Español Steering Committee. His clinical and academic interests include thoracic and cardiac anesthesia, lung and heart transplantation, transesophageal echocardiography, and cardiovascular critical care.

Melinda Solomon, MD, FRCPC
Professor of Pediatrics

The Hospital for Sick Children
Toronto, ON Canada
Primary IDN: ALFTX | Primary PC: Pediatrics

Dr. Solomon has been the Medical Director of the Pediatric Lung Transplant Program and Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic at SickKids in Toronto for over 20 years. She is also the Immediate Past President of the Canadian Thoracic Society. She received her medical degree from the University of Toronto and completed her Pediatric residency and Respirology fellowship at The Hospital for Sick Children. Her advanced training in lung transplantation was undertaken at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Toronto General Hospital.

Dr. Solomon has a longstanding passion for medical education and served as the Pediatric Respirology Training Program Director at the Hospital for Sick Children for over 20 years, and is currently the CF and Lung Transplant Fellowship Director. She is the recipient of multiple awards for excellence in teaching.

Weibke Sommer, MD
Deputy Director, Department of Cardiac Surgery

University of Schleswig-Holstein
Kiel, Germany
Primary IDN: ALFTX | Primary PC: Cardiothoracic Surgery

After finishing Medical School in 2008, Dr. Sommer started training in Cardiac Surgery at Hannover Medical School and at the same time pursued clinical and experimental research in the field of lung transplantation, focusing on immune tolerance induction (experimental, large animal model) as well as aspects and outcome of utilizing marginal donors in lung transplantation (clinical). Along the road, treatment of donor-specific antibodies in patients before and after heart and lung transplantation became a key part of her clinical interest.

Dr. Sommer’s clinical focus since then alongside routine cardiac surgery has always been heart and lung transplantation as well as end-stage heart failure (ECLS, pVAD and tMCS). In order to focus on research, she performed a full-time research fellowship at the Center for Transplantation Science at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston from 2016-2018.

Upon return to Germany, Dr. Sommer worked as an attending in the Dept. Of Cardiac Surgery at Heidelberg University before joining the University of Schleswig-Holstein as deputy director of the Department of Cardiac Surgery. at the University of Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel in Germany. She has been involved with ISHLT more than 15 years, giving talks, chairing sessions at the annual conference, and has served multiple times on the program planning committee.