CREF Speakers
The CREF speakers for 2017 include experts in the field of cardiothoracic surgery, extracorporeal perfusion, and human-factors engineering. The Co-Directors and Program Committee have assembled many talented CREF speakers and faculty for this year’s CEU /CME conference in San Diego, California.
The 37th Annual Cardiothoracic Surgery Symposium is a continuing medical education and perfusion meeting dedicated to science and techniques of cardiopulmonary bypass. For regular updates about the invited CREF speakers, faculty, and abstract presenters, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
FEATURED SPEAKER
M. Filip De Somer PhD ECCP
Belgian Filip De Somer is a practicing perfusionist at the Heart Centre, University Hospital Ghent, Belgium, where he also is actively involved in research related to cardiac surgery, cardiopulmonary bypass, and extracorporeal perfusion.
FEATURED SPEAKER
Pedro J. del Nido MD
Chilean-born Dr. Pedro del Nido is a pediatric cardiac surgeon who serves as Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Boston Children's Hospital. He received his MD from University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and has been practicing medicine for more than 20 years.
SPEAKER
Timothy A. Dickinson MS CCP
Perfusionist Tim Dickinson is the Director of Perfusion Services at Mayo Clinic Rochester and the former Director of Clinical Performance Improvement at SpecialtyCare. His research interests include evidence-based medicine, clinical registries, and outcomes research.
FEATURED SPEAKER
Kevin A. Grace BS CCP
Kevin Grace, senior staff perfusionist at Massachusetts General Hospital, knows what it's like to be on the receiving end of the scalpel. Listen to his inspiring heart-transplant story, which kicks off the CREF general session on Thursday afternoon.
SPEAKER & PC MEMBER
Serdar Gunaydin MD PhD
Turkish cardiac surgeon Dr. Serdar Gunaydin serves as Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, at the University of Kirikkale in Ankara, Turkey. He is also a member of the Steering Committee for MiECTiS.
SPEAKER & PC MEMBER
Robert S. Kramer MD FACS
Cardiac surgeon Dr. Bob Kramer is a CREF Program Committee member, helping select speakers for the scientific agenda. At Maine Medical Center, he actively participates in the Northern New England Cardiovascular Disease Study Group.
SPEAKER
Linda B. Mongero BS CCP
Perfusionist Linda Mongero is the Director of Education and Clinical Performance for SpecialtyCare. Prior to that, she was the Director of Perfusion Services at New York Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center, where she served for nearly 30 years.
SPEAKER & PC MEMBER
Richard F. Newland BSc CCP (Aust)
Australian Richard Newland is a lecturer at Flinders University and senior perfusionist on the staff of clinical perfusion at Flinders University Medical Center in South Australia. His research interests include evidence-based medicine, perfusion registries, and outcomes improvement.
FEATURED SPEAKER
Scott A. Shappell PhD
COURSE DIRECTOR & SPEAKER
Alfred H. Stammers MSA CCP PBMT
CREF Course Director Al Stammers is Director of Clinical Quality & Outcomes Research at SpecialtyCare. Prior to this position, he was a perfusionist at ESSA Heart and Vascular Institute and Director of Perfusion Services at Geisinger Health Systems. Mr. Stammers has authored more than 300 publications on perfusion-related topics and is a renowned speaker in this area.
SPEAKER & PC MEMBER
Joyce A. Wahr MD FAHA
Dr. Joyce Wahr, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan, has served as director of the ICU rotation for residents, director of cardiac anesthesiology, and director of the cardiac research program. She is the first author on the American Heart Association Scientific Statement “Patient Safety in the Cardiac Operating Room: Teamwork and Human Factors.”
SPEAKER
Julie A. Wegner PhD
SPEAKER
David D. Yuh MD
Cardiac surgeon Dr. David Yuh is the Chairman, Department of Surgery, at Stamford Hospital in Stamford, Connecticut. Prior to this, he served as Professor & Chief, Yale University Section of Cardiac Surgery. His research interests include computational cardiac modeling, minimally-invasive cardiac surgery, cardiac transplantation, mechanical circulatory support and cardiac imaging modalities.
SPEAKER
Yu Kevin Zeng MS AGACNP-BC RN
Yu Kevin Zeng currently works as a nurse practitioner in the ICU at Stanford University Department of Adult Cardiac Surgery and UC San Francisco Medical Center. Prior to this, he was a nurse practitioner at Duke University Health System and practiced critical-care nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his Master of Science in Critical Care Nursing .