Dr. Abbara is the Director of Noninvasive Cardiac and Vascular Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital; the Director of Education, Cardiac MR and CT Program, Massachusetts General Hospital; and Instructor, Harvard Medical School. He completed his Internship in Vascular Surgery at Heinrich-Heine University Hospital in Düsseldorf, Germany and received his ACGME accredited Internship in Surgery from the University of Hawaii. Dr. Abbara completed his residency in Radiology at Georgetown University Medical Center where he assumed the role of Chief Resident. He also became a Nycomed Ammersham/ISMRM Clinical Fellow, Cardiac and Vascular MRI and CT at Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Abbara’s clinical interests include Cardiac CT, coronary imaging, functional imaging, myocardial perfusion; Cardiac MRI, ischemia/viability imaging, imaging of cardiomyopathies, masses and valves; and CT and MR of congenital heart disease.

Dr. Budoff is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and is the Director of Cardiac CT at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, CA. Dr. Budoff has conducted extensive research over the last 15 years using the Electron Beam CT and Multi-detector CT to identify those patients at high-risk for cardiac events, progression of coronary calcium, and non-invasive CT angiography. He has published over 100 articles on these topics.

Dr. Budoff is the Vice President of the Society of Atherosclerosis Imaging (SAI) and a founding Board Member of the Society of Cardiovascular CT (SCCT). Previously, he served as chair of: the ACC/AHA Credentialing document for cardiac CT and MR; the COCATS 2 – CT Section (ACC training for fellows); a forthcoming AHA Scientific Statement on Cardiac CT; and, edited a textbook on Cardiac CT (due January 2006).

Dr. Budoff is a Cum Laude graduate of the University of California at Riverside and a graduate with distinction of the George Washington University School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine, as well as his cardiology fellowship, at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Budoff is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Diseases, and is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

Dr. Callister is the Director of the Tennessee Heart & Vascular Institute in Hendersonville, Tennessee. He is board certified in Internal Medicine with a subspecialty in Cardiovascular Diseases. Dr. Callister is a graduate of the UCLA School of Medicine. He completed his residency at the University of Utah and his fellowship in Cardiology at the University of Vermont.

In addition to his current role, Dr. Callister’s professional experience includes over twenty years in private practice as an Interventional Cardiologist; President EBT Research Foundation; and a member of the Board of Directors for the Society of Cardiac CT (SCCT). Dr. Callister is in the forefront of cardiac CT research and training programs.

Dr. Hecht is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in cardiac imaging and preventive cardiology and is the author of more than 100 publications in peer reviewed journals. Currently, he serves as the Director of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography at the Lenox Hill Heart & Vascular Institute in New York City.

Previously, Dr. Hecht’s academic appointments have included Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Assistant Professor at UCLA, Associate Professor at the University of Southern California and University of California, San Francisco, and Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He also served as Director of Cardiac Imaging at the San Francisco Heart Institute, followed by roles as Director of Electron Beam Tomography, Cardiac Imaging and Preventive Cardiology at the Arizona Heart Institute and Chairman, Department of Medicine at the Arizona Heart Hospital. He was Director of Electron Beam Tomography and Preventive Cardiology at the Heart & Vascular Institute in Morristown, NJ and the Princeton Longevity Center, prior to assuming the role of Director of Preventive Cardiology, Beth Israel Medical Center & Continuum Heart Institute.

A Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude graduate of Columbia College and graduate of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Hecht completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Mount Sinai Hospital (NY) and a fellowship in Cardiology at Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA). Dr. Hecht is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Diseases, and is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology. He is one of the founders of, and was the first President of, the Society of Atherosclerosis Imaging.

Dr. Lesser is an Associate Cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota with sub-specialties in Cardiovascular MRI and Interventional Cardiology. His clinical interests include Interventional Cardiology, Cardiac MRI, and Cardiac CT. Dr. Lesser is a Fellow in the American College of Cardiology (ACC) the American Heart Association (AHA), the Society for Cardiac Angiography and Intervention (SCAI), and the Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance(SCMR). He has also been an active investigator on a number of published cardiovascular research trials.

Dr. Lesser is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Florida School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Wisconsin where he became Chief Resident of Internal Medicine. He also completed fellowships in Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology at the University of Minnesota where he was named Chief Fellow of Cardiology. Dr. Lesser is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Interventional Cardiology and is a Level III trainer for Cardiac MRI.

Dr. Poon is the director of Cardiology at Cabrini Medical Center, New York and an Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York. Dr. Poon is recognized as an expert in the treatment of coronary artery disease. He is a world - renowned specialist in the field of cardiovascular magnetic resonance and computed tomography imaging. He completed his internship in Internal Medicine and his fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center. He is President-Elect of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography.

Dr. Shen is the Head of Cardiac Imaging in the Department of Cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic Florida Weston campus. His specialty interests include Cardiac Imaging including nuclear, CT and MRI; preventive cardiovascular diseases; early detection and management of heart diseases in patients with high cholesterol and diabetes; women’s heart diseases; and congestive heart failure. Dr. Shen’s professional experience includes Research Associate, Nuclear Cardiology Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine; Medical Advisor, Department of Research and Development at Synticor, Inc.; and Director, Nuclear Cardiology as well as Director, Center for Cardiovascular Informatics at Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center. Dr. Shen is board certified in Internal Medicine with subspecialties in Nuclear Medicine and Cardiovascular Diseases.

Dr. Shen is a Fellow in the American College of Cardiology (ACC). He is also a member of the American Medical Informatics Association, the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, the Electronic Communication Committee, the Healthcare Information Management System Society, and the Society of Nuclear Medicine. Dr. Shen has published two books and forty-three articles to date.

Dr. Shen is a graduate of the Beijing Sports Medicine Center in Beijing, China and Jiamusi Medical College where he received his medical education. He completed his advanced training at Yale-Norwalk Hospital/Yale University School of Medicine; Yale-New Have Hospital/Yale University School of Medicine; and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio.

Dr. Guy Weigold is a cardiology faculty member at the Washington Hospital Center and Director of Cardiac CT. He received his M.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1998 and completed his cardiology fellowship at the Washington Hospital Center. In 2003 he instituted a Cardiac CT program at Washington Hospital Center and has developed a robust clinical service performing over 500 cardiac CT examinations annually. In addition to his busy clinical Cardiac CT service, he is an active investigator on both multi-center and single center trials. He was the site investigator for the CATSCAN trial, and is a founding member of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography.

Dr. Weigold has traveled extensively to lecture about cardiac CT and is the Director of the hospital's training program, "Cardiac CT in the Nation's Capital." Under his directorship, the cardiac CT lab has continued to have cutting-edge technology and is a beta-test site for new software applications. His areas of interest include correlation of coronary CT angiography with invasive angiography and IVUS, methods of quantitative stenosis measurement, the predictive role of coronary CTA and best clinical applications and appropriateness of this new technology. His latest research project focuses on the use of cardiac CT for chest pain evaluation in the emergency department.

Ms. Biga is President and CEO of Cardiovascular Management of Illinois a 44 man cardiology practice. She has 20 years experience in medical practice management. In her current practice she is responsible for strategic planning, growth and development of practices, operational efficiencies, and development/implementation of new technologies. Ms. Biga is a leading expert on CVCT reimbursement issues and a nationally recognized speaker on the topic.

Dr. Wyatt has been an Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist in the Dallas area for over 11 years. Prior to returning home to Texas, Dr. Wyatt served as a Faculty member at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. While at Johns Hopkins, he conducted research related to hearing loss, its impact on the quality of life in adults and children, and the cost-effectiveness of treatments for severe hearing loss. Dr. Wyatt serves on a number of hospital committees, and currently has hospital privileges at Baylor University Medical Center, Baylor Medical Center at Garland, Baylor Medical Center at Plano, Lakepointe Hospital, and Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas. Dr. Wyatt is the Chairman of the Board of Managers for Baylor Surgicare North Garland. He is a member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, the American Rhinologic Society, the American Medical Association, and the Crowe Society of the Johns Hopkins University Department of Otolaryngology. Dr. Wyatt is the former President of North Texas Ear, Nose and Throat Associates, a 67-member specialty group in the DFW area focused on ensuring and benchmarking quality care for Otolaryngology in the region. He continues to serve on the executive committee of this organization.