(Vienna, 16 November 2020) The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) is a multidisciplinary non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting the scientific fundamentals und treatment of advanced heart and lung diseases. Cardiac surgeon Andreas Zuckermann from MedUni Vienna’s Department of Surgery has now been chosen to be the new President Elect.
The Society, which was founded in 1981, encompasses 3,000 international experts from 50 countries, from the areas of heart and lung transplantation, infectiology, pharmacology, artificial heart, chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension and basic research. The ISHLT is also concerned with education and advanced training, scientific collaborations and drafting of consensus guidelines.
Following a long-drawn-out selection process, Andreas Zuckermann was chosen to be the new President Elect for the next three years and is the first Austrian to be President of the Society. Says Zuckermann: "This is a great honour for MedUni Vienna, which is a world leader in the field of thoracic transplantation and cardiac support systems. I am delighted to have the opportunity to help steer the Society for three years and to implement my 'End-stage heart and lung failure' concept. This involves the education and further training of experts and young talent, promotion of international scientific collaborations and, last but not least, the drafting of guidelines and consensus documents. In future, the Society will have a global network covering every continent."
About Andreas Zuckermann
Andreas Zuckermann completed his medical studies and his specialist training courses to become a consultant surgeon and cardiac surgeon at the University of Vienna. After submitting his doctoral thesis entitled "New immunosuppressive concepts following local transplantation" in 2003, he became an associate Professor of Surgery. Since 2006, he has headed up the heart transplantation programme at MedUni Vienna's Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and has been Senior Doctor at the Division of Cardiac Surgery since 2010. In 2020, he was elected President Elect of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT).