Dr Frank Sellke is the Karl Karlson & Gloria Karlson Professor and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Director of the Cardiovascular Institute at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Lifespan Hospitals. He previously served as the Johnson & Johnson Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, having been a successful clinician, educator and researcher in the cardiovascular field. Dr Sellke has published over 585 papers with 115,000 citations. Dr Sellke is the 2021 recipient of the Brown University Distinguished Research Award in Medicine or Biology, the Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Heart Association and the Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater, Indiana University School of Medicine. He is the Associate Editor of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and is a member of several other editorial boards. Dr. Marc Ruel is the Division Head and Chair of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Dr. Ruel is a Professor in the Department of Surgery and in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa. A seasoned heart surgeon, innovator and researcher, Dr. Ruel is widely credited with the development of minimally invasive multivessel coronary artery bypass surgery worldwide, and with other minimally invasive cardiac techniques. Dr. Ruel has published over 400 scientific papers and book chapters, led key clinical trials in cardiac surgery, is the recipient of numerous academic and community awards, and was recently featured among the 'Giants of Cardiothoracic Surgery'. Dr. Ruel is the President of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS), the Canadian Director of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and the surgical Editor at the prestigious journal Circulation.