ISHLT2026: Industry Symposia - Wednesday

Johnson & Johnson MedTech, Heart Recovery

Device-Guided Therapy: Optimizing Drugs, Procedures, and Outcomes

Primary Core Therapy: MCS | Primary Practice Area: Cardiology

This session will discuss the clinical impact of GDMT in heart failure complicated with cardiogenic shock requiring temporary mechanical circulatory support (tMCS) and the updates on guidelines around tMCS use in cardiac surgery.

An overview of INTeGRATE (Initiation and Titration of Guideline Directed Medical Therapy in Heart Failure Cardiogenic Shock with Impella 5.5™ for Cardiac Recovery) trial will be presented by the study leadership team. In addition, a focused overview of the 2025 AATS/STS/EACTS guideline update on tMCS use in adult cardiac surgery will be discussed along with the objectives of the IMPACT (Impella-Protected Cardiac Surgery Trial) trial will be reviewed.

Attendees will gain a cohesive understanding of how emerging evidence and contemporary guideline frameworks inform GDMT implementation during Impella-supported cardiogenic shock and use of tMCS in cardiac surgery.

Moderator

Roberta Bogaev Chapman, MD, J&J MedTech, Heart Recovery, Danvers, MA USA
Sanjeev Aggarwal, MD, J&J MedTech, Heart Recovery, Danvers, MA USA

Program

Optimizing Therapy in Heart Failure Cardiogenic Shock: An Integrated Device-Drug Strategy

Adam DeVore, MD, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
An overview of INTeGRATE (Initiation and Titration of Guideline Directed Medical Therapy in Heart Failure Cardiogenic Shock with Impella 5.5™ for Cardiac Recovery) trial will be presented.

2025 EACTS/STS/AATS Guidelines on tMCS use in Adult Cardiac Surgery and the IMPACT Trial

Robert Dowling, MD, The Christ Hospital, Cincinnati, OH USA
A focused overview of the 2025 AATS/STS/EACTS guideline update on tMCS use in adult cardiac surgery will be discussed along with the objectives of the IMPACT (Impella-Protected Cardiac Surgery Trial) trial will be reviewed.

Panel Discussion

Manreet Kanwar, MD, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL USA
Stavros Drakos, MD, PhD, University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, UT USA

Natera

Measuring What Matters: Use of dd-cfDNA to Move Past Biopsy in Heart Transplant Care

Primary Core Therapy: Heart | Primary Practice Area: Cardiology

This symposium explores how emerging molecular tools are reshaping heart transplant surveillance beyond traditional histology. Experts will highlight evidence showing dd-cfDNA provides more objective, clinically relevant insights into graft health, with stronger correlation to outcomes like function and survival.

Moderator

Palak Shah, MD, MS Inova, Falls Church, VA USA

Program

Molecular Profiles of Rejection Using dd-cfDNA %, DQS, and MMDx

Philip Halloran, MD, PhD, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB Canada
2TA validation data, dd-cfDNA in ACR1R on EMB and MMDx, and dd-cfDNA in early AMR on EMB and MMDx

Donor-derived Cell-Free DNA as a Prognostic Biomarker After Heart Transplant: DEFINE-HT Study

Palak Shah, MD, MS Inova, Falls Church, VA USA
Review of DEFINE study data pertinent to the discussion of dd-cfDNA and outcomes

Scaling Real-World did dd-cfDNA in Heart Transplant: The ProTECT Experience

Gregory Lewis, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA USA
MGH clinical experience, ProTECT data, physician questionnaire

Paragonix Technologies

A Higher Standard: Modern Innovations Elevating Lung Preservation

Primary Core Therapy: Lung | Primary Practice Area: Cardiothoracic Surgery

This session brings together leading experts to examine current trends in advanced lung preservation and transplantation, highlighting groundbreaking techniques designed to enhance organ viability and improve patient outcomes. Attendees will receive a comprehensive overview of the latest findings from the GUARDIAN-Lung Registry, paired with real-world case studies demonstrating innovative applications of Paragonix Advanced Lung Preservation technology and services.

Moderator

Mary Jacoski, MS, Paragonix Technologies, Boston, MA USA

Program

The Science of Temperature-Controlled Lung Preservation

Ramiro Fernandez, MD, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA

Overcoming Logistical Challenges with Precision Lung Preservation

Eugene Golts, MD, University of California San Diego Health System, San Diego, CA USA

Innovation at the Intersection of Lung Procurement and Preservation

Asishana Osho, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA USA

SANOFI

Evolving Technologies for Early CLAD Diagnosis

Primary Core Therapy: Lung | Primary Practice Area: Lung Transplantation

This session compares European and North American practices in functional lung MRI and CT for early CLAD assessment. It reviews the current evidence for donor-derived cell-free DNA and complementary biomarkers, highlighting clinical strengths and limitations. The session also explores how advanced imaging and biomarkers can be integrated with pulmonary function testing to support earlier detection and longitudinal monitoring of CLAD.

Moderator

Michael McInnis, MD, FRCPC (CA), University Health Network (UHN) / University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada

Program

Introduction

Michael McInnis, MD, FRCPC (CA), University Health Network (UHN) / University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada

Advances in CT for the Detection of Early CLAD

Michael McInnis, MD, FRCPC (CA), University Health Network (UHN) / University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
Provides evidence-based insights into emerging support for CT in early CLAD assessment, highlights challenges related to availability, workflow, and diagnostic relevance, and clarifies the role of CT beyond conventional spirometry and lung function studies.

Functional MRI in CLAD Detection - Emerging Evidence and Practice

Jens Vogel-Claussen, MD, PhD, Hannover Medical School / German Center for Lung Research, Hannover, Germany
Highlights recent insights into functional MRI modalities for CLAD detection, clarifies regional differences in availability, workflow, and diagnostic interpretation, and outlines the potential role of MRI beyond current standard approaches to early CLAD detection.

Emerging Biomarkers for Early CLAD Detection and Diagnosis

Berta Saez-Gimenez, MD, PhD, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain
Provides an overview of key biomarkers, including cfDNA, and their diagnostic relevance in early CLAD, discusses practical considerations such as baselines, variability, and discordant results, and supports clinicians in integrating biomarkers into current clinical workflows.

Moderated Panel Discussion with Q&A

Thermo Fisher Scientific

MMDx™ Heart & Lung: Real-World Insights from Molecular Assessment in Transplantation

Primary Core Therapy: Heart | Primary Practice Area: Research & Immunology

MMDx™ is designed to complement allograft histopathology through advanced molecular phenotyping, helping provide an objective, genome-wide assessment of rejection and injury in transplant organs. By providing additional, objective data, MMDx may support diagnostic confidence and clinical decision-making. Join us for an engaging expert discussion on MMDx-Heart and MMDx-Lung. This symposium will present preliminary findings from the MMDx Heart–Clinical Assessment Registry (M-CARE), share real-world insights into the use of MMDx-Lung with transbronchial biopsies, and explore how third bronchial mucosal biopsies (3BMBs) may help to further advance lung allograft surveillance.

Moderator

Richard Knight, MD, Thermo Fisher Scientific, West Hills, CA USA

Speakers

Introduction

Richard Knight, MD, Thermo Fisher Scientific, West Hills, CA USA

Real-World Experience of Molecular Microscopy(MMDX) in Heart Transplantation

Ashrith Guha, MD, MPH, FACC, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX USA

Harish Seethamraju, MD, Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA
Chang Li, MD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY USA

Molecular Diagnosis of Rejection in Lung Transplant Mucosal Biopsies

Patrick Gauthier, PhD, Alberta Transplant Applied Genomics Centre, Edmonton, AB Canada

Moderated Q&A & Conclusion

Richard Knight, MD, Thermo Fisher Scientific, West Hills, CA USA

XVIVO

From NRP to EVLP - Multimodal Strategies to Expand Lung Utilization and Improve Outcomes

Primary Core Therapy: Lung | Primary Practice Area: Cardiothoracic SUrgery

Lungs from DCD donors remain underutilized despite their potential to expand the donor pool and reduce waitlist mortality. Key barriers include uncertainty around organ quality, outcomes, and logistics. Integrating objective assessment tools such as NRP, lung weight stratification and EVLP reduces uncertainty, strengthens clinical decision-making, expands lung utilization and improves patient outcomes.

Join us as leading experts discuss the impact of Normothermic Regional Perfusion (NRP) on donor lungs, and how Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion (EVLP) and lung-weight stratification can be used as objective tools to assess graft quality and predict the risk of Primary Graft Dysfunction (PGD). Through real world clinical experience, speakers will share how these approaches are applied across both DBD and DCD donation, along with new insights from XVIVO’s All Comers EVLP Registry.

Moderator

Marie Budev, MD, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH USA
Matthew Hartwig, MD, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC USA

Program

NRP in Lung Procurement: Understanding Risk and the Role of EVLP in Graft Assessment

Niels van der Kaaij, MD, PhD, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Fifteen Years of EVLP: Leveraging EVLP in DCD and DBD Donation to Improve Lung Utilization and Patient Survival, Insights from 300+ EVLP Cases

Edouard Sage, MD, PhD, Foch Hospital, Paris, France

Integrating EVLP to Drive Lung Utilization and Program Growth: Cleveland Clinic’s Real-World Experience, Together with National Insights from 300+ Cases Enrolled in the XVIVO All-Comers EVLP Registry

Kenneth McCurry, MD, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH USA