The Scientific Program
Day 1: Saturday 11 April, 2026
Session
Opening Ceremony & Welcome Remarks
Speaker
ICFCS chairs
Session
Keynote Lecture: The Global Future of Cardiothoracic Surgery.
Speaker
Dr. Sunil Bhudia
Session
Webinar 1: Robotic thoracic oncologic surgery
Speaker
Dr. Ghada Shahin
Session
Webinar 2: Global Challenges in Aortic Disease Management
Speaker
Dr. Nimrat Grewal
17:45 – 18:00 (UTC)
BREAK
Session
Oral Abstract Presentations – Session 1
Speaker
Session
Virtual Basic Surgical Skills Workshop – Part I
Speaker
Dr. Jason Han
Session
Breakout Session: Meet and Ask Residents and Doctors Worldwide
Speaker
Panel of International Residents & Doctors
Session
Webinar 3: The future of cardiothoracic surgery in a global context.
Speaker
Dr. Asishana A. Osho
Session
Day 1 Wrap-Up
Speaker
ICFCS chairs
Day 2: Sunday 12 April, 2026
Session
Announcements of the day & Networking ICE Breaker.
Speaker
ICFCS chairs
Session
Webinar 4: Pediatric and congenital cardiac surgery in Africa.
Speaker
Prof. Frank Edwin
Session
Webinar 5: "So you want to be a surgeon?"
Speaker
Prof. Hussein Alkhayat
Session
Oral Abstract Presentations – Session 2
Speaker
17:30 – 18:00 (UTC)
BREAK
Session
Virtual Basic Surgical Skills Workshop – Part II
Speaker
Dr. Jason Han
Session
Webinar 6: Training and career development in CT surgery.
Speaker
Dr. Stephen M. Spindel
Session
Webinar 7: Aortic Dissection
Speaker
Mr. Jason Ali
Session
Awards & Closing Ceremony
Speaker
ICFCS chairs
Keynote and honored guest speakers
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Dr. Sunil Bhudia
HAREFIELD HOSPITAL, LONDON
Bio
Mr Bhudia qualified in pharmacology with basic medical science at UCL in 1994. Continuing at UCL, he was awarded Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery in 1996. He undertook research towards his thesis at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio, USA in 2001 and was award MD from University of London. He has been a consultant cardiac surgeon since 2009 starting in University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital and moving to Harefield Hospital in 2016. Currently, he is the Clinical Director of Harefield Hospital. Additionally, he completed Executive MBA from Imperial College Business School in 2023.
Dr. Ghada Shahin
Utrecht University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Bio
Ghada Shahin, MD, graduated from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 1990 and completed cardiothoracic surgery training at St. Antonius Hospital in Nieuwegein in 2000. She later worked at Isala Hospital in Zwolle, where she introduced VATS anatomical lung resections for non-small cell lung cancer and led a robotic thoracic surgery program from 2011. In 2026, she joined Utrecht University Medical Center. Alongside her clinical work, she performs voluntary cardiac surgery annually in Egypt and founded the Foundation Heart for Humane Investment to support cardiac care in developing countries.
Dr. Nimrat Grewal
Amsterdam University Medical Center, Netherlands
Bio
Dr. Nimrat Grewal is a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon specialized in aortic pathology at the Amsterdam University Medical Center (AUMC). She is Associate Professor of Translational Aortic Pathology at the AUMC and serves as Adjunct Professor at the Yale Aortic Institute. Alongside her clinical work, she leads translational research integrating genetics, lifestyle, and precision medicine to improve personalized risk prediction and treatment of aortic disease.
Dr. Asishana A. Osho, MD, MPH
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA
Bio
Asishana A. Osho, MD, MPH, is Co-Director of the Cardiac Surgery Clinical and Translational Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and a leading academic cardiothoracic surgeon. His clinical expertise includes minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting, complex arterial grafting for coronary artery disease, heart valve surgery, pericardial disease, and advanced heart failure including transplantation. Alongside his surgical practice, his research focuses on improving outcomes in coronary revascularisation and advancing translational and clinical research in cardiac surgery.
Prof. Frank Edwin
University of health school allied sciences (UHAS), HO, National Cardiothoracic Centre, Accra, Ghana
Bio
Prof. Dr. Frank Edwin is a cardiothoracic surgeon and Professor of Surgery, currently serving as Dean of the School of Medicine at UHAS since August 2021, where he also leads the Cardiothoracic Center. He joined UHAS in 2016. Previously, he spent 12 years as a consultant at the National Cardiothoracic Centre in Accra, specialising in paediatric and congenital heart surgery, and continues to serve as a consultant there and at Ho Teaching Hospital. He trained at the University of Ghana Medical School, completed fellowship with the West African College of Surgeons, and undertook subspecialty training in paediatric cardiac surgery in Johannesburg.
Prof. Dr. Hussein Alkhayat
Assiut University Faculty of Medicine, Egypt
Bio
Prof. Dr. Hussein Elkhayat is a leading thoracic surgeon and Full Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Assiut University Faculty of Medicine. Internationally recognized for his expertise in minimally invasive thoracic surgery and Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS), he is a Fellow of the European Board of Cardiothoracic Surgery and an international board member of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. He currently serves as Task Force Chair of Chest Wall and Thoracic Trauma within EACTS and represents cardiothoracic surgery on the executive board of the Pan African Thoracic Society. Alongside his clinical and academic work, he leads advanced surgical training initiatives and plays a key role in expanding global expertise in modern thoracic surgery.
Dr. Jason Han
Cooper University Hospital, New Jersey, USA
Bio
Jason Han is a cardiac surgeon at the Cooper University Hospital. He completed his cardiac surgical training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where he focused education, ethics and media. Over the span of a decade in Philadelphia, he wrote nearly a hundred columns for the Philadelphia Inquirer where he reflected on his experiences as a resident. He co-founded and helped garner a significant following on The Modern Surgeon, which is a multimedia platform that renders surgical content more accessible to a broader audience. He has been featured in ND MD, The Zach Highly Show and other podcast platforms related to his outside-of-the-box perspective on surgical education and culture.
Dr. Stephen M. Spindel
Montefiore Einstein, New York
Bio
Dr. Stephen Spindel served eight years in the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard and graduated as an Alpha Omega Alpha member from LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. He completed cardiothoracic surgery training at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. After six years at Ochsner Medical Center—where he specialised in complex aortic surgery and founded Louisiana’s only Ross Operation program—he joined Montefiore Medical Center in 2024. He focuses on aortic and mitral surgery, coronary bypass, and heart transplantation, and serves as Associate Program Director for cardiothoracic surgery training while contributing to Society of Thoracic Surgeons education initiatives.
Mr Jason Ali
Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge
Bio
Jason Ali is a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge. He is the surgical clinical lead for the Enhanced Recovery Unit at Papworth working closely with the intensive care team to improve outcomes for patients undergoing cardiac surgery. He is Co-Lead for the EuroSCORE 3 project, updating the internationally adopted risk scoring system for cardiac surgery. He also leads the medical student education programme at Papworth as regional SubDean for the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine at and is an Affiliated Associate Professor.