Head of Cardiology, Royal North Shore Hospital. Professor of Medicine, University of Sydney.

Dr Aaisha Ferkh is a Consultant Cardiologist with expertise in advanced cardiac imaging. She completed her PhD at the University of Sydney, focusing on atrial cardiomyopathy and novel echocardiographic techniques. She recently undertook a two-year Advanced Cardiac Imaging Fellowship at St Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, with a focus on multimodality and structural heart imaging, including echocardiography, cardiac CT, and cardiac MRI. Dr Ferkh’s clinical and research interests include valvular heart disease, atrial myopathy, and the integration of advanced imaging into routine clinical practice to improve diagnostic accuracy and patient outcomes. She practices in Western Sydney, focusing on patient-centred, culturally- responsive care and improving access to advanced cardiac imaging.

Dr Nicola Straiton is a nurse and Senior Research Fellow in Implementation Science at the Nursing Research Institute, a collaboration between St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, and Australian Catholic University. Her research focuses on cardiovascular disease, health services research, frailty and implementation science. In the three years since completing her PhD, Dr Straiton has secured over $27.3 million in competitive research funding across 12 grants, including five as Chief Investigator. She has delivered >20 invited national and international presentations and received five awards recognising research excellence and leadership. Dr Straiton is committed to advancing evidence translation into clinical practice and building research capacity among clinician researchers.

A/Prof Roy is a structural and interventional cardiologist from St Vincent’s hospital in Sydney. He is the current director of the Coronary Care Unit and Director of cardiology advanced training. A/Prof Roy is a high volume TAVI operator having performed over 2000 TAVI procedures and has proctored many procedures both nationally and internationally. A/Prof Roy has been an investigator in multiple TAVI trials and first-in-man investigations. A/Prof Roy is a TAVI proctor for both Medtronic and Edwards lifesciences and sits on multiple medical advisory boards.