Dr. Carl June, M.D.

Dr. Carl June is the Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies at the Perelman School of Medicine, and Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at the University of Pennsylvania. He maintains a research laboratory that studies various mechanisms of lymphocyte activation that relate to immune tolerance and adoptive immunotherapy for cancer and chronic infection. In 2011, his research team published findings detailing a new therapy in which patients with refractory and relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia were treated with genetically engineered versions of their own T cells. The treatment has also now been used with promising results to treat children with refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He has published more than 350 manuscripts and is the recipient of numerous prizes and honors, including election to the Institute of Medicine in 2012 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014, the William B. Coley award, the Richard V. Smalley Memorial Award from the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, the AACR-CRI Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology, the Philadelphia Award in 2012, the Taubman Prize for Excellence in Translational Medical Science in 2014 (shared w S. Grupp, B. Levine, D. Porter), the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize (shared w J. Allison), the Novartis Prize in Immunology (shared w Z. Eshaar and S. Rosenberg), the Karl Landsteiner Memorial award, the Debrecen Award and a lifetime achievement award from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Dr. June is a graduate of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, 1979. He had graduate training in Immunology and malaria with Dr. Paul-Henri Lambert at the World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland from 1978-79, and post-doctoral training in transplantation biology with E. Donnell Thomas and John Hansen at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle from 1983 – 1986. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology.


Critical Care

Dr. Joseph E. Parrillo, M.D

Dr. Joseph E. Parrillo is the Chairman of Hackensack Heart &Vascular Hospital. Prior to his arrival at HackensackUMC, Dr. Parrillo was Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Chief of the Department of Medicine, the Edward D. Viner Chair of the Department of Medicine and Director of Cooper Heart Institute at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey. Prior to Cooper, Dr. Parrillo established the cardiovascular program at Rush Medical Center in Chicago. Dr. Parrillo’s involvement in academia has led to significant medical findings. Examples of his work can be found in the more than 1,030 publications he has authored or co-authored. His outstanding research, teaching ability and patient care has led to numerous professional honors and awards such as the Cornell University Medical College Alpha Omega Alpha Award for Teaching Excellence and the Distinguished Clinical Educator Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Parrillo has received the NIH Director’s Award, the highest civil service employee honor, for “creating a superior Critical Care Medicine Department, which has permitted NIH Institutes to conduct research involving very sick patients.” In 2012, Dr. Parrillo received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Critical Care Medicine in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to research, education and patient care.

Dr. Claudio Ronco, M.D.

Dr. Claudio Ronco is the Director of the Dialysis and Renal Transplantation Programs of St. Bartolo Hospital in Vicenza, Italy, and has been a Professor of Nephrology at the University of Padua since 1989. Dr. Ronco has coauthored 560 papers, 36 book chapters, 26 books, 7 monographic journal issues and has delivered more than 300 lectures in the fields of nephrology, dialysis, transplantation, bioengineering, and intensive care medicine. He has organized several congresses and meetings in the area of nephrology and intensive care.He is member of several advisory groups for clinical trials and dialysis research. In 1982 he introduced in Italy the use of continuous hemofiltration and in 1986 he published the first series of neonates treated with arteriovenous hemofiltration. He also established the dangerous effect of backfiltration in a contaminated dialysis fluid condition.


Cardiac Surgery

Dr. Joseph Zwischenberger, M.D.

Co-Chairman of the Cardiac Surgery Advisory Board. Dr. Zwischenberger is the Johnston-Wright Professor of Surgery, Chairman of the Department of Surgery, and Surgeon-in-Chief of UK HealthCare at the University of Kentucky. He has expertise in cardiothoracic surgery and surgical critical care, and has broad research interests ranging from extracorporeal membrane gas exchange, the physiology of cardiopulmonary bypass, and the use of systemic hyperthermia to treat lung cancer. Dr. Zwischenberger has co-authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications, 65 book chapters and four books, and holds 2 patents. He has enjoyed continuous funding for his research since 1987 with more than 60 funded projects. He serves on several NIH study sections, is former editor of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs Journal, section editor of the International Journal of Artificial Organs, and is a member of the Editorial Board of Chest. Dr. Zwischenberger obtained his medical degree from the University of Kentucky, completed his General Surgery and Cardiothoracic Surgery residencies at the University of Michigan, and completed a Cardiac Surgery fellowship at the National Institutes of Health and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation/Critical Care training from the University of Michigan. He currently holds joint appointments in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Kentucky.

Dr. Robert Bartlett, M.D.

Co-Chairman of the Cardiac Surgery Advisory Board. Dr. Bartlett is Professor Emeritus of Surgery and Director of the Extracorporeal Circulation Laboratory at the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) at Ann Arbor. Dr. Bartlett is a cardiothoracic surgeon and was Director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Chief of the Trauma/Critical Care division, and Director of the Extracorporeal Life Support Program at UMHS. Among Dr. Bartlett’s many distinguished accomplishments, he is best known as the pioneer in the development of the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine (ECMO), used to oxygenate blood in critically-ill patients worldwide. He received his M.D. from the University of Michigan Medical School, completed his general surgery residency at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, and was Chief Resident in thoracic surgery. He was also previously faculty at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Bartlett is the recipient of 26 separate research grants, 14 from the National Institutes of Health, including an RO1 grant for the development of a completely artificial lung. He has also received numerous national and international awards for his contributions to critical care medicine.


Dr. Jonathan William Haft, M.D.

Dr. Haft is Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Veterans Affairs Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is also Associate Professor of Cardiac Surgery and Anesthesiology, and Medical Director of ECMO at University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor. Dr. Haft’s research interests are in the creation, development, and application of mechanical devices for patients with advanced heart or lung failure, including the development of a novel ventricular assist device and in the joint development of an implantable artificial lung called BioVAD. Dr. Haft received his M.D. from University of Miami School of Medicine and completed residencies in General Surgery and Thoracic Surgery at University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, where he also performed fellowships in ECMO, Surgical Critical Care, and Extracorporeal and Cardiopulmonary Physiology. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons, Society of Critical Care Medicine, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the American Association of Thoracic Surgeons, and the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation. He is also associate editor of ASAIO Journal and is a reviewer for Annals of Thoracic Surgery as well as a number of other publications.

Dr. Nicholas Smedira, M.D.

Dr. Smedira is a cardiothoracic surgeon, Professor of Surgery, and Chairman of the Professional Conduct Committee at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. He is also former Director of Quality for the Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart and Vascular Institute. Dr. Smedira specializes in heart and heart-lung transplantation, ventricular assist devices, ECMO, heart failure surgery, valve repair and replacement, aortic replacement, and others. He has performed more than 5,000 heart operations since 1995, and is a pioneer in many transplant procedures. He earned his medical degree at University of Rochester, completed his residency in general surgery, and completed multiple fellowships in cardiothoracic surgery, critical care medicine, and research, at University of California, San Francisco and another fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center. He is the recipient of many awards including the Polly and W. Neil Rossborough Term Chair in Cardiac Transplantation Research, has been a principal or co-investigator in more than 100 clinical trials and studies, has authored or co-authored hundreds of published studies and abstracts, and has been on the editorial boards of a number of Journals, including the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

Dr. Craig Smith, M.D.

Dr. Smith is Chair of the Department of Surgery, the Johnson & Johnson Distinguished Professor, and the Valentine Mott Professor of Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is also Surgeon-in-Chief at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and the Seymour Milstein Family Heart Hospital. Dr. Smith is formerly Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Columbia, specializing in conventional and percutaneous valve repair and replacement, coronary bypass procedures, and operations involving the thoracic aorta. Dr. Smith received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University, and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha. He performed his general surgery residency with a fellowship in vascular surgery at the University of Rochester. He also completed his residency in cardiothoracic surgery at Columbia Presbyterian. Dr. Smith helped build the Columbia Presbyterian Heart Transplant Program into the most active program in the United States, and later inaugurated a successful program in heart-lung and lung transplantation that remains the major program in the region. Dr. Smith is Past President of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery and has received numerous awards including the “Heart of New York Award for Achievement in Cardiovascular Science & Medicine” from the American Heart Association.

Dr. Peter Wearden, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Wearden is a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, Surgical Director of Pediatric Heart and Lung Transplantation, Director of Pediatric Mechanical Cardiopulmonary Support program, and Assistant Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Dr. Wearden currently is spearheading two National Institutes of Health-funded projects to develop an internal and external ventricular assist device (VAD) for young children to help keep their blood pumping during life support or as a bridge to heart-lung transplant. Dr. Wearden completed medical school and surgical residency, and earned a doctorate in pharmacology and toxicology from West Virginia University. He completed his cardiothoracic surgery residency at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and was Chief Clinician Fellow in pediatric cardiac surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto. Dr. Wearden was also director of surgery for preclinical testing at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.


Trauma Advisory Board

Dr. Ronald V. Maier, MD | Chairman of the Trauma Advisory Board

Dr. Maier is the Jane and Donald D. Trunkey Endowed Chair in Trauma Surgery and Director of the Trauma, Burn and Critical Care Division at the Harborview Medical Center at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Also known as the Northwest Regional Trauma Center, it is the only Level 1 trauma center in the region serving Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. Dr. Maier is a trauma surgeon and researcher, specializing in trauma and critical care surgery, with more than 250 publications and manuscripts. Dr. Maier’s long-standing interest in trauma has involved extensive clinical studies in the acute management of the severely injured and critically ill patient. He has also published extensively on the role of an aberrant host immuno-inflammatory response, including the role of inflammatory mediators such as cytokines, on the development of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and organ failure in trauma. As a Glue Grant principal investigator, he has also led many clinical trials to establish treatment guidelines and best practices in trauma. Dr. Maier is Past-President of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the International Association for the Surgery of Trauma and Surgical Intensive Care (which publishes the World Journal of Surgery), the Surgical Infection Society, the Society of University Surgeons, and the Shock Society. Dr. Maier has been a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science since 1994. Dr. Maier has also served as chair and a member of the NIH Surgery, Anesthesiology and Trauma Study Section, and is past Director and Chair of the American Board of Surgery. Dr. Maier graduated from the Duke University School of Medicine in 1973, completed his surgical residency from the Department of General Surgery at University of Washington, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in immunopathology at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation.

Dr. Mitchell Cohen, MD

Dr. Cohen is Associate Professor of Surgery in the Division of General Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine, specializing in critical care medicine. Dr. Cohen is also Director of Acute Care Research at the San Francisco Injury Center. Dr. Cohen received his MD from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1997 and completed his surgical residency at Rush University/Cook County Medical Center. Dr. Cohen completed fellowships at Loyola University Medical Center Burn and Shock Trauma Institute, and a separate Trauma and Critical Care Fellowship from UCSF-San Francisco General Hospital. Dr. Cohen has an active basic science research lab where he studies coagulation and inflammation perturbations after trauma. In addition he is actively involved in the CDC San Francisco Injury Center as well as NIH and DoD funded projects related to inflammatory lung injury and monitoring of resuscitation and coagulation after injury.

Dr. Ernest E. Moore, MD

Dr. Moore is currently Editor of the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, and was the Chief of Trauma at the Denver General Hospital for the past 35 years, and Chief of Surgery for the past 26 years. He continues to serve as Vice Chairman for Research and Professor of Surgery at the University of Colorado Denver and was the Bruce M. Rockwell Distinguished Chair in Trauma Surgery. Under Dr. Moore’s leadership, the Rocky Mountain Regional Trauma Center at Denver General became internationally recognized for innovative care of the injured patient, and its trauma research laboratory has been funded by the NIH for 25 consecutive years. Dr. Moore has served as president of nine academic societies, including the Society of University Surgeons, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, International Association for the Surgery of Trauma, and the World Society of Emergency Surgery. Some of his awards include the Robert Danis Prize from the Society of International Surgeons, Orazio Campione Prize from the World Society of Emergency Surgery, and the Lifetime Achievement Award for Resuscitation Science from the American Heart Association. He has honorary fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons – Edinburgh and the American College of Emergency Physicians and is an honorary member of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, Brazilian Trauma Society, Colombian Trauma Society, and Trauma Association of Canada. Dr. Moore is editor of the textbook Trauma, now in its 7th edition, has more than 1350 publications, and has lectured extensively throughout the world.