Dr. Nche Zama

Dr. Nche Zama is a renowned cardiothoracic surgeon who completed training at the Cleveland Clinic and Harvard University. He holds a PhD in chemistry, a Harvard master’s degree in management, and a medical degree.

He is recognized as one of the top cardiothoracic surgeons in the US and is often sought out for his expertise. He has held positions across Pennsylvania as Director of the ESSA Heart and Vascular Institute in East Stroudsburg, Director of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at Jefferson Aria Health in Philadelphia, Chief of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at Guthrie Clinic in Sayre, and has been a Staff Cardiothoracic Surgeon for Susquehanna Health Systems in Williamsport and York Hospital in York. He has also served as a Clinical Associate Professor at Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

As vice chair of an American educational empowerment organization he has contributed to the construction of a new academy in Africa to train innovative thinkers and future leaders.
He also founded a humanitarian organization to provide medical and surgical care to the poor and disadvantaged. On one of his global humanitarian missions, he performed the first pediatric cardiac surgery in his native country of Cameroon.

Dr. Thierry Mesana

Dr. Thierry Mesana is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and Professor of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Ottawa. He is recognized as one of the leading heart valve surgeons in the world.
He received his medical degree at the Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France, where he trained in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, and received his PhD in biophysics and biomechanics at the same university.
He served as Chair of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at La Timone University Hospital, the largest hospital in Marseilles, where he introduced advanced techniques and greatly expanded the cardiac surgery program. He was Visiting Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from 1996 to 1997.

Dr. Mesana was appointed Chief of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute in 2001. Under his leadership, the Institute’s valve repair program has become recognized as one of the best in the world.
His emphasis on repairing failing heart valves helped to establish this approach as a gold standard for treatment. In addition, he has encouraged the development of minimally invasive surgical procedures for coronary bypass grafting and complex cardiac arrhythmias, and during his tenure, the Institute marked the milestone of its 500th heart transplant.
He is certified by the European Board of Cardiothoracic Surgery and the French College of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and he’s a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Dr. Jay M. Nfonoyim

Dr. Jay Nfonoyim is Program Director, Chief of Critical Care and Clinical Medicine at the Richmond University Medical Center, and Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at New York Medical College. He also served as director of the Surgical Trauma ICU at Elmhurst Hospital Center and Assistant Professor of Surgery at Mt. Sinai Medical School. He has close to four decades of experience in the field of medicine. His areas of expertise are Saddle Pulmonary Embolism, Emphysema, and Angioplasty. He is affiliated with numerous hospitals in New York, including the Richmond University Medical Center and the Staten Island University Hospital.
He studied at the Universidad Tecnologica De Santiago and did his Intensive Care training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai. He is a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Mpoki M. Ulisubisya

A former Cardiac Anaesthesiologist at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute
(Muhimbili National Hospital) in Dar Es Salaam and one of the first doctors to be trained as a Cardiothoracic Anaesthesiologist in Tanzania, Dr. Mpoki serves as the High Commissioner of Tanzania to Canada.

Dr. Gopichand Mannam

Dr. Gopichand Mannam is a consultant Cardio Thoracic Surgeon based in India, with expertise in the field of Cardio-Thoracic surgery, having performed over 25000 cardiac surgeries. He is credited with the nascence of beating heart coronary bypass surgery and undersized donor heart transplantation in India.
He pioneered minimally invasive atrial septal defect closure and mitral valve replacement in India.
Dr Mannam has provided extended cardiac surgery services to children in developing countries such as Ethiopia and Libya. He was named the “Doctor of The Year” in India 2005, and TV5 “Business Leader of The Year” in 2013.