Medical Advisory Board
Thomas Piemonte, M.D., F.A.C.C. – Board Chairman
Dr. Piemonte, 55, is the Director, Interventional Cardiovascular Medicine and Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts. Dr. Piemonte is a graduate of The College of the Holy Cross and New York Medical College. He was an intern, resident and Chief Resident at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Piemonte is board certified in cardiology, interventional cardiology and internal medicine. In addition to Dr. Piemonte’s practice and academic activities, he is the President of Project Pacer International, a non-profit organization committed to delivering cardiac care to third world countries. He has participated in several clinical studies and he has written and lectured extensively in his field. Dr. Piemonte also serves as a Clinical Instructor at Harvard Medical School.
James Phillip, M.D., F.A.C.C.
Dr. James L. Phillip received his Medical Degree and Valedictorian Award from Saint George’s University located in Grenada, completed his internship at Mount Sinai Hospital and a cardiology fellowship at Albany Medical College. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology. Dr. Phillip is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and is a clinical professor of Medicine at Albany Medical College. Along with being an active clinician Dr. Phillip has been a co-investigator in numerous research trials including the National Institute for Health’s PEACE trial and others related to congestive heart failure.
Lars G. Svensson, M.D., PhD.
Dr. Lars Georg Svensson is an attending surgeon and Director of the Center for Aortic Surgery and Director of the Marfan Syndrome and Connective Tissue Disorder Clinic in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Dr. Svensson is board certified in general, vascular, thoracic and cardiac surgery. He specializes in adult cardiac surgery; cardio-aortic and aortic surgery, including combined valve and aneurysm surgery; minimally invasive mitral and aortic valve surgery; blood conservation; prevention of stroke and paralysis after aortic surgery; Marfan syndrome; peripheral vascular surgery; and the Maze procedure. Dr. Svensson received his training in cardiology and in general surgery at the Johannesburg Hospital and his training in cardiothoracic surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, to which he received a fellowship. He also completed a cardiovascular surgery fellowship and residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. In 2005, Dr. Svensson was named King James IV Professor of Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He has also held academic appointments including Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Houston; Clinical Instructor in Surgery at Harvard Medical School; Clinical Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Tufts University in Boston; and Assistant Professor of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Svensson has contributed to advances in protecting the brain, spinal cord, and kidneys during major cardiac and aortic surgery and has been instrumental in developing minimally invasive keyhole surgery. He is currently the principal investigator in a number of clinical research trials, including research to investigate percutaneous methods for replacing or repairing aortic and mitral valves.
Gary Chaisson, R.T. (R), R.T.I.S
Mr. Chaisson has over 30 years experience in the field of cardiology and cardiac surgery and currently holds the position of Technical Director for Cardiovascular Institute of the South, one of the largest Cardiology and Cardiovascular surgery groups in the nation. In his current capacity, Mr. Chaisson’s responsibilities include the oversight and supervision of CIS’s invasive - interventional cardiology programs. Prior to joining CIS, Mr. Chaisson held a key technical position with Advanced Cardiovascular Systems. A.C.S ultimately became the vascular interventional arm of Guidant Corp. Mr. Chaisson has served in a variety of consulting and advisory roles with over 16 cardiovascular medical device start up companies, all of which were successfully acquired or entered the market as an IPO. Mr. Chaisson has played an instrumental role as clinical trial manager in over 22 FDA phase I or phase II medical device clinical trials. In addition to broad clinical experience, Mr. Chaisson holds 12 patents on a variety of interventional cardiology and cardiovascular surgery devices.
Carl Kirker-Head, MA, VetMB, MRCVS
Dr. Kirker-Head is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Director of the Orthopaedic Research Laboratory at the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in North Grafton, Massachusetts. He is also the Marilyn M. Simpson Endowed Chair in Equine Medicine, Section Head of the Large Animal Medicine & Surgery Service, and Chair of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. He earned his veterinary medical degree at the University Of Cambridge, England and he completed his surgery residency at Tufts University. Dr. Kirker-Head is a Diplomate of both the American and European Colleges of Veterinary Surgery. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed scientific journals and has extensive experience testing medical devices for human application.
John Bookwalter, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Dr. Bookwalter, 68, is Chief of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital in Brattleboro V.T. Dr. Bookwalter is a world renowned thoracic surgeon with over 42 years in the profession. Among his many accomplishments in the field of medicine, Dr. Bookwalter is best known for inventing the “Bookwalter Retractor”, the gold standard and most widely accepted “table fixed” surgical retractor in use today. Dr. Bookwalter graduated Cum Laude in 1960 from Amherst College and attended Harvard Medical School. Dr. Bookwalter served as Chief Resident, Pediatric Surgery, at Boston City Hospital and Chief Resident, Thoracic Surgery at New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston M.A. Dr. Bookwalter also served as Chief Surgical Resident, Manchester Veterans Administration Hospital in Manchester N.H. and Chief Resident, Fifth Harvard Surgical Service at Boston City Hospital. As a Major in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, Dr. Bookwalter proudly served his country, remaining in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps until 1990 achieving the rank of Colonel. As a member of The American College of Surgeons, New England Vascular Society and New England Surgical Society, Dr. Bookwalter is noted for his “humanistic” approach to patient care and devotion to his field. Dr. Bookwalter has served on several Medical Advisory Boards and is a known innovator in surgical medicine.
Robert Gannan, M.D., PhD
Dr. Gannan is a nationally recognized expert in endoscopic procedures and is a regular speaker at nation wide meetings of gastrointestinal physicians regarding practice and development trends. After receiving his medical degree from University of Rochester, Dr. Gannan went on to serve his internship and residency at University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Gannan has received numerous honors and awards in his career including Best Doctors in America and a University of Rochester Pathology Fellowship. Currently in private practice in Bellevue Washington, Dr. Gannan is also the Director of Gastroenterology at Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Belleview Washington. Dr. Gannan is a renowned expert in gastro-endoscopy and has written or presented over 20 research publications and has participated in more than 50 research trials in his field.
Peter S. Fail, M.D.
Dr. Peter Fail received his undergraduate degree at the University of South Florida in Tampa and his medical degree from American University of the Caribbean in Montserrat, British Indies. In addition to an internship and residency in internal medicine, Dr. Fail also served as chief fellow in interventional cardiology at the Episcopal Heart Institute in Philadelphia. He later became director of the institute's cardiac catheterization laboratory. Dr. Fail was a clinical assistant professor of medicine at both Thomas Jefferson School of Medicine and the Allegheny Health Science School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American College of Chest Physicians, the American College of Physicians and a member of the American Medical Association. He has written or co-authored numerous research papers, abstracts, book chapters and medical presentations in his specialty. Dr. Fail is the medical director of interventional trials for the CIS Clinical Research Corporation.