Beyond the Quality Initiative: AQG as a Research Resource

Marc Gillinov

Speaker

Marc Gillinov, M.D. is Professor and Chair of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic is North America’s largest cardiac surgery program, performing more than 5,000 cardiac surgical procedures annually at its Main Campus in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Gillinov has a particular interest in mitral valve repair with a focus on robotic mitral valve surgery. He has written extensively on robotic mitral valve repair and has produced a series of educational surgical videos and manuscripts with the intention of “demystifying” mitral valve repair in degenerative disease.

Dr. Gillinov also serves as Chair of the NIH-funded Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN), the world’s premier cardiac surgical research enterprise. Under Dr. Gillinov’s leadership, the CTSN has conducted numerous randomized controlled trials that have informed guidelines and changed clinical practice.

Dr. Gillinov has been an AATS member for 25 years, and his AATS activities have included Program Co-Director for the Annual Meeting, Co-Director of the STARS meeting, Board membership in the AATS Foundation, and membership and leadership of several AATS committees. Dr. Gillinov has been appointed as a Director of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, and, reflecting his commitment to training and education, is the designated Director for Education.

He lives in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife, Lisa.

Edward Soltesz

Speaker

Edward Soltesz, MD, MPH, is the Donna and Ken Lewis Endowed Chair in Cardiothoracic Surgery and the Surgical Director of the Kaufman Center for Heart Failure and Recovery at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH. He also is the Course Director for the American Austrian Foundation/Open Medical Institute Cardiac Surgery Medical Seminar held annually in Salzburg, Austria, and the Director of Cardiac Surgery Affiliate Programs at Cleveland Clinic where he  oversees quality and outcomes of more than 15 affiliated programs and 45 surgeons. 

A native of Cleveland, Dr. Soltesz graduated as valedictorian of St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland and received a full academic scholarship to the College of the Holy Cross. There, he obtained degrees in both Classics and Chemistry, was awarded the British Marshall Scholarship, and graduated summa cum laude as the class valedictorian. Dr. Soltesz then went on to receive his medical degree from Harvard Medical School where he was awarded the Harvard National Scholarship. Dr. Soltesz stayed at Harvard to complete his residences in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Dr. Soltesz also earned a Master of Public Health from Harvard University School of Public Health with a focus on clinical effectiveness. Dr. Soltesz then returned to Cleveland to complete an additional fellowship in complex aortic and endovascular surgery at Cleveland Clinic, where he was subsequently appointed to the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery in 2008.

Dr. Soltesz’s research program focuses on large-scale assessment of cardiac surgical outcomes from a public health perspective, quality improvement and safety, clinical outcomes of valve surgery, and heart failure.  He has lectured and served as a visiting professor both nationally and internationally.