International Faculty
The Port Douglas Heart Meeting and Expo 2027 is delighted to once again welcome an exceptional group of International Faculty Members from across the globe. Bringing together leading experts and thought leaders in the field, the conference offers delegates the opportunity to connect with world-class expertise, insights and experiences.
Click on an international faculty member’s headshot below to view their biography.
Dr Samuel Asirvatham
Samuel J. Asirvatham, M.D., is a cardiac electrophysiology consultant in the Division of Heart Rhythm Services, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Asirvatham holds joint appointments in the Division of Pediatric Cardiology, the Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, and the Department of Anatomy. In addition, he serves as vice chair for innovation in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and medical director of the Electrophysiology Laboratory. He joined the staff of Mayo Clinic in 2000 and holds the academic rank of professor of medicine and pediatrics, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Dr. Asirvatham is recognized with the distinction of the James M. and Lee S. Vann Professorship in Cardiovascular Diseases.
Dr Samuel Asirvatham
Mayo Clinic
Rochester Minnesota, USA
Dr Aaron Baggish
Dr. Aaron L. Baggish is the founder and Emeritus Director of the Cardiovascular Performance Program (CPP) at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA, USA. The CPP, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, was the United States’ first program designed to provide comprehensive cardiovascular care to elite and recreational athletes. He is now professor of medicine at the University of Lausanne’s Institut des sciences du sport (ISSUL) and chief of sports cardiology at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV). Dr. Baggish is currently a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a fellow and Board of Trustees member of American College of Sports Medicine.
Dr. Baggish’s research interests include exercise-induced cardiac remodeling, pre-participation screening / sudden death prevention, high performance physiology, performance enhancing substance use, and exercise dose and clinical outcomes. He has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the US Department of Defense, the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, and the NFL Players Association. He has published more than 300 original peer reviewed research articles and numerous invited reviews, editorials, and book chapters and serves on the editorial boards of multiple journals including Circulation and Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise.
Dr Aaron Baggish
Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Prof. Matthew Budoff
Matthew Jay Budoff, MD, FACC, FAHA, is a professor of medicine at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Endowed Chair of Preventive Cardiology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Budoff is a graduate of University of California at Riverside (BS) and graduated a member of Alpha Omega Alpha from George Washington University School of Medicine (MD).
Dr. Budoff has author or coauthored more than 50 books and book chapters and more than 1000 articles. He has received numerous research grants from the National Institutes of Health. In addition to his 2015 appointment as the Endowed Chair of Preventive Cardiology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, he has been recognized for his work by the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, from which he received the Gold Medal Award and recently designated as Master of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (MSCCT).
Prof. Matthew Budoff
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
California, USA
Dr João L. Cavalcante
Dr. João L. Cavalcante is the Section Head for Cardiovascular Imaging at the Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute at the Abbott Northwestern Hospital, the largest cardiology group and cardiac imaging practice in the Twin Cities (14 sites)
He is also the Director of MHI Foundation Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center and Imaging Core Lab, overseeing analysis and involved in many multicentric structural trials (industry-sponsored and NIH/NHLBI/CTSN).
His passion for multimodality Imaging and focus on valve and structural heart disease is seen through the lead of multiple RCTs using advanced imaging, training of several international scholars, > 280 peer-reviewed original investigations (h-index=55), and several book chapters, along with national and international training workshops and lectures.
In 2024, he was named the Inaugural Innovation Chair of the Van Tassel Innovation Center at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation.
Dr João L. Cavalcante
Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute, Abbott Northwestern Hospital, USA
Prof. John Deanfield
Professor John Deanfield CBE is Professor of Cardiology at University College London and an internationally recognised leader in cardiovascular prevention and personalised medicine. His research has transformed understanding of cardiovascular risk across the life course, promoting earlier intervention to prevent disease rather than treating established illness. He championed the concept of “Investing in your Arteries” and served as the UK Government’s first Champion for Personalised Prevention, helping to shape national prevention strategy. He founded the National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (NICOR), pioneering the use of real-world data to improve healthcare and support large-scale clinical trials. He is Chair of the International Scientific Committee of the Springer Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Center in Berlin and a Trustee of Our Future Health. In 2021, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the prevention and treatment of heart disease. Professor Deanfield has authored more than 600 peer-reviewed publications (h-index 165) and is a frequent invited speaker at major international scientific meetings.
Prof. John Deanfield
University College London
London, England
Dr Martha Gulati
Martha Gulati, MD, MS, FACC, FAHA, FASPC, FESC is the President of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology. She recently joined the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute as a professor of cardiology and is the director of prevention, the associate director of the Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center and holds the Anita Dann Friedman Endowed Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine and Research. She was a professor of medicine and the inaugural Chief of Cardiology at the University of Arizona. She also served as editor-in-chief of CardioSmart, the patient education arm of the American College of Cardiology. She is the author of the best-seller, “Saving Women’s Hearts”. She served as the chair of the national chest pain guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, that were released in 2021.
Her exceptional commitment to the study of women and cardiac diseases has won her numerous awards and distinctions, including being named by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of Chicago’s Top 40 under 40. In 2011, she received the first CREDO (Coalition to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Cardiovascular Outcomes) Award from the American College of Cardiology that was given to honor her contributions to improve cardiovascular healthcare of women patients. In 2012, she was awarded the National Red Dress Award for her efforts in raising awareness of heart disease in women and advancing research in this field. In 2019, she was chosen as the most influential woman in Arizona and received the 2019 American College of Cardiology’s Bernadine Healy Award for her leadership and accomplishment in the field of cardiovascular disease in women.
She is the principal investigator of the St. James Women Take Heart Project, a study that examined cardiac risk factors in women, which set standards for women’s fitness levels and heart rate response to exercise. She is the site PI and coinvestigator of the WARRIOR (Women's IschemiA TRial to Reduce Events In Non-ObstRuctive CAD) trial that is funded by the Department of Defense. She also is a co-investigator on the Women Ischemic Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) study and previously served as a co-investigator on the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). She has published articles in peer-reviewed publications, including The New England Journal of Medicine, Circulation, and Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). She has also been featured on Oprah.
Dr. Gulati is Canadian and completed medical school at the University of Toronto, Canada. She went on to complete her internship, residency and cardiology fellowship at the University of Chicago. She received a Masters’ in Science at the University of Chicago and is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the American Society for Preventive Cardiology & the European Society of Cardiology. She is board certified in cardiovascular disease.
Dr Martha Gulati
Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute
Los Angeles, California, USA
Dr Rick A. Nishimura
Rick A. Nishimura, M.D., was a consultant in the Division of Structural Heart Disease, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, with a joint appointment in the Division of Interventional Cardiology. He joined the staff of Mayo Clinic in 1983 and holds the academic rank of professor of medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Dr. Nishimura is recognized with the distinction of the Judd and Mary Morris Leighton Professorship in Cardiovascular Diseases and Hypertension.
Dr. Nishimura went to Knox College for his undergraduate degree, subsequently receiving his medical degree from Rush Medical College. He then attended the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine (now Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences) for his internship, residency and cardiovascular fellowship.
Dr. Nishimura's practice in the field of cardiovascular diseases included subspecialty interests in cardiac hemodynamic valvular heart disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and pericardial disease. He received referrals from cardiologists all over the country to consult in difficult diagnostic cases. Aside from patient care, he also worked in the Cardiac Echocardiography and Catheterization Laboratories, specializing in hemodynamics and structural heart disease. Dr. Nishimura has written over 500 manuscripts and 50 book chapters in the field of cardiovascular diseases. He has served on editorial boards for prominent medical journals and has been a distinguished visiting professor at multiple academic centers. He is a recipient of the Plummer Distinguished Clinician Award and the Mayo Clinic Distinguished Clinician Award, as well as the Presidential Citation from the American College of Cardiology.
Dr. Nishimura also served as the Terrance D. and Judith A. Paul Director of MayoExpert. In this role, he led an institutional effort to provide the optimal Mayo Clinic-vetted knowledge to Mayo physicians through electronic systems to be used at the point of care. He formed the Mayo Clinic Knowledge Management Program with the goal of enhancing patient care through digital solutions.
Dr. Nishimura has a passion for education and was involved in educating medical students, fellows and practicing cardiologists, both at Mayo Clinic and through numerous medical meetings. He has been honored multiple times as Outstanding Cardiovascular Diseases Teacher and Teacher of the Year, with induction into the Hall of Fame. He has also been recognized with the Mayo Clinic Distinguished Educator Award; the Gifted Teacher Award, conferred by the American College of Cardiology; and the Laennec Award for Clinician Educator, conferred by the American Heart Association.
Dr. Nishimura was active in the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association, having served on the Board of Trustees and was the Chair of multiple ACC educational committees. He has been on several national guideline writing committees and chaired the ACC/AHA Guidelines on the Management of Valvular Heart Disease.
Dr Rick Nishimura
Mayo Clinic
Rochester Minnesota, USA
Prof. Peter Toth
Peter P. Toth, MD, PhD is Director of Preventive Cardiology at the CGH Medical Center in Sterling, Illinois, USA. He is Professor of Clinical Family and Community Medicine at the University of Illinois School of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the Cicarrone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Toth is a past president of the National Lipid Association, American Board of Clinical Lipidology, and the American Society for Preventive Cardiology. He is immediate past chair of the American Heart Association’s council on Lipids, Lipoproteins, and Thrombosis and is a member of the American College of Cardiology’s Board of Councilors. Dr. Toth has authored and coauthored over 700 publications in medical and scientific journals and textbooks. He is Series Editor of Springer’s textbook collection in Contemporary Cardiology. He has edited and written 23 textbooks on various aspects of cardiovascular medicine. He has lectured on many topics in cardiovascular medicine throughout the world.
Prof. Peter Toth
CGH Medical Center
Sterling, Illinois, USA
Dr Carole Warnes
Dr. Carole Warnes is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and Pediatric Cardiology at Mayo Clinic-Rochester, Minnesota, United States.
She received her medical degree from Newcastle upon Tyne University in England and then pursued cardiology training in London. She completed a postgraduate thesis at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) before returning to the National Heart Hospital in London for another two years as a British Heart Foundation Scholar. She joined the Department of Cardiovascular Diseases at Mayo Clinic in 1987, where she founded the Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) Clinic.
At Mayo, she received the Henry S. Plummer Distinguished Physician Award in 2004 and the Distinguished Educator Award in 2010. She remains passionate about education and has trained about 30 fellows in ACHD, with many of them now leading ACHD practices around the world. She has received the Cardiovascular Teacher of the Year 8 times and in 2014 Mayo awarded her the Lifetime Achievement for Outstanding Contributions to Medical Education.
In 2015, she received the Laennec Master Clinician Award from the American Heart Association (AHA) and in 2016 she was honored with the Distinguished Fellow Award from the American College of Cardiology (ACC), where she had served on the Board of Trustees for 7 years. In 2018, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ISACHD), and in 2021 received the Mayo Distinguished Alumni Award.
Her research interests include the long-term outcomes of ACHD patients and the management of pregnancy and heart disease. She Chaired the first ACC/AHA Guidelines for the Management of ACHD, has edited three books, and published over 200 manuscripts.
Dr Carole Warnes
Mayo Clinic
Rochester Minnesota, USA