Plenary lectures

Stephen R. Ash, MD, FACP

CEO of HemoCleanse Technologies LLC

Dr. Ash recently retired from the Nephrology Department at Indiana University Health Arnett in Lafayette, Indiana. He is CEO of HemoCleanse Technologies,  Chairman of the Board of Ash Access Technology and co-founder of a number of spin-off biotechnology firms.  He has a long history of research and product development in the field of sorbents, resulting in devices for treatment of kidney failure (Allient™ by Renal Solutions) and for liver failure (Liver Dialysis™ by HemoTherapies). He was instrumental in development of an orally ingested sorbent for potassium (zirconium cyclo-silicate now marketed by AstraZeneca as Lokelma®). Dr. Ash has also invented a number of new catheters for dialysis access, including the Ash Split Cath®, CentrosFLO® and Channel™ peritoneal catheter.

Dr. Ash is a co-founder and Past President of the American Society for Diagnostic and Interventional Nephrology (ASDIN). He is Past President of ASAIO and until recently served as Secretary-Treasurer of IFAO. He is recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from ASDIN, the Celebration of Life Honor by NKF of Indiana,  the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Annual Dialysis Conference and recently the KidneyX prize from HHS and ASN for his work on uremic toxin sorbents.  

Shuvo Roy, PhD

Department of Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences
UC San Francisco (UCSF)
Faculty Director
UCSF-UC Berkeley Master of Translational Medicine (MTM) Program

Shuvo Roy, PhD, is a professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (BTS), a joint department of the UCSF Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine and is a faculty affiliate of the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3). He is the director of the Biodesign Laboratory located on the Mission Bay campus. In addition, he serves as the Technical Director of The Kidney Project and is a founding member of the UCSF Pediatric Device Consortium. Dr. Roy is the Faculty Director of the joint UCSF-UC Berkeley Master of Translational Medicine (MTM) program and the Engineering Lead at UCSF Surgical Innovations. He is the author of almost  200 publications and co-author of five book chapters and holds multiple patents for device developments. Before joining UCSF in 2008, Dr. Roy co-directed the BioMEMS Laboratory in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, focusing on clinical applications of MEMS. In 1992 he earned a BS degree, magna cum laude, for triple majors in physics, mathematics, and computer science, from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio. In 1995, he earned an MS in electrical engineering and applied physics, and, in 2001, he earned a PhD in electrical engineering and computer science, both from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Roy has over 300 peer-reviewed conference abstracts and journal publications as well as more than 25 issued patents. He has been recognized with multiple honors, including the MIT TR100 Award, NASA Group Achievement Award, Cleveland Clinic Innovator, Deshbandhu CR Das Gold Medal, HDU Chris Blagg Award, La Renon TANKER Foundation for the Sake of Honor Award, AAKP Medal of Excellence – Breakthrough Innovations, multiple KidneyX Prizes, and the US Presidential Volunteer Service Gold Medal Award.

Prof. Dr. Andries van der Meer

Professor of Microphysiological Systems
Department of Bioengineering Technologies, Organ-on-Chip Centre Twente, University of Twente

Prof. Dr. Andries van der Meer is Professor of Microphysiological Systems and a Principal Investigator in the Bioengineering Technologies department at the University of Twente, The Netherlands. He leads a research group in which he develops Organs-on-Chips, with a particular focus on the functional integration of blood vessels in these systems, including their dynamic perfusion with human blood. He is also a Scientific Lead of the university’s Organ-on-Chip Centre Twente, the former Chair of the Consortium Assembly of the Dutch national Institute for Human Organ and Disease Model Technologies (hDMT), and the elected president of the European Organ-on-Chip Society (EUROoCS). He also chaired the Focus Group on Standardization for Organ-on-Chip of the European standardization bodies CEN and CENELEC.

Before joining the University of Twente in 2015, Dr. Van der Meer worked as a Senior Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School and the Wyss Institute of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. He has a PhD in Biomedical Engineering (University of Twente, 2010), and a MSc in Biomedical Science (University of Groningen, 2005).

Cristiano Amarelli, MD

Staff Surgeon at Monaldi
Azienda Ospedaliera dei Colli, Naples, Italy

Cristiano Amarelli graduated in 1998 as a medical doctor at the Second University of Naples. In 2003, he graduated as a cardiac surgeon. After finishing his residency in cardiac surgery, he completed his training focused on aortic valve surgery, aortic surgery, and Transplantation and MCS, which gradually became his main interest. Currently, he is a Staff Surgeon at the Monaldi Hospital, Azienda Ospedaliera dei Colli, and Adjunct Professor at the Vanvitelli Faculty of Medicine for the residency course in Cardiac Surgery on the Mechanical Circulatory Support. His areas of interest and publication are Myocardial Preservation, clinical implementation of LVADs in the local program, and donor allocation in Heart Transplant. During the last 10 years, he worked within the ESOT to develop a European network for Cardiothoracic transplant professionals (ECTTA), which is serving as chair and with the ASAIO becoming editor of the Journal and Board of Trustees. He is an active reviewer and editor for many Journals and Meetings in the field. He advocates the upcoming revolution of myocardial preservation and ex-situ organ perfusion as a potential game-changer for organ replacement therapies.