Martin is a Consultant Vascular and Endovascular Surgeon from Birmingham, UK. Appointed in 2011, he became Vascular Clinical Director in 2015. He specialises in complex endovascular repair of juxtarenal and thoraco abdominal aneurysms and is part of the team providing a supra regional endovascular service for acute aortic pathology including aortic dissection as well as complex and mycotic aneurysms. He commissioned one of the first UK hybrid theatres to open in Birmingham in 2015.

He qualified from University College London Medical School and trained exclusively in vascular surgery including a clinical fellowship on the Gold Coast, Australia and a research degree from Birmingham University. His practice also includes percutaneous management of lower limb ischaemia and hybrid revascularisation of aorto-iliac occlusive disease. He was appointed Educational Lead in the West Midlands in 2013 and set up the first day release training program in the UK to support trainees in the newly created vascular training scheme. His research interests include arterial elasticity and he is co author of a number of clinical papers on complex endovascular repair. He has been an early adopter of information technology to streamline clinical pathways and is committed to managing change in the provision of vascular services with benefit to patients and staff at the forefront of any service
improvement.

Julie A. Freischlag joined Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in April 2017 as Chief Executive Officer. Consistently ranked among the nation’s top 50 medical centres, Wake Forest Baptist includes Wake Forest Baptist Health, a growing, multi-hospital health system and physician network, the state-of-the-art and highly competitive Wake Forest School of Medicine, and Wake Forest Innovations, its technology transfer, commercialization enterprise. As CEO, she has the overall responsibility for the Medical Center’s clinical, academic and innovation enterprises and its annual operating budget of 3 billion. On July 1, 2017, Freischlag became the Interim Dean of Wake Forest School of Medicine and was formally appointed as Dean on February 1, 2018. 

Julie has published more than 250 manuscripts, abstracts and book chapters. Freischlag has received numerous teaching awards, an achievement award from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2015. She was selected to the 2017-2018 Best Doctors in America. She was named a Triad Power Player and Most Admired CEO in 2018 and by the Triad Business Journal. In addition to serving in various national and international leadership roles, she has mentored students, residents and young faculty and is a frequent speaker on topics ranging from her expertise in vascular diseases, teamwork and patient safety, leadership and work-life balance to women succeeding in health professions. Dr Freischlag has dedicated her career to serving as a role model for her students, a respected colleague across health professions, a strong community leader and a national voice for improving health and health care. In addition to her responsibilities as CEO and Dean, she continues to see patients in the department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery and serves on the boards the Aga Khan University Board of Trustees, University of Illinois Health Advisory Council, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Board of Visitors, the Council of Deans of the American Medical Colleges, and the American Association of Academic Health Centers Board of Directors. 

Dr Freischlag serves on the board of Piedmont Triad Partnership, Winston-Salem Business, Inc., Winston- Salem Chamber of Commerce and the Winston-Salem Alliance. She is also the President-Elect of the American College of Surgeons.

Marc Schermerhorn, M.D., is Chief of the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the George H. A. Clowes Jr. Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. He is President Elect of the New England Society for Vascular Surgery and a Distinguished Fellow of the Society for Vascular Surgery. He is a member of the European Society for Vascular Surgery, American College of Surgeons, and American Heart Association and serves as a member of the Medical Devices Advisory Panel for the FDA and consultant for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. He is a member of three editorial boards and a reviewer for 13 other major journals. In addition, he is an international leader in the field of clinical effectiveness research with a particular focus on the impact of new endovascular therapies on aortic aneurysm repair which supports his clinical interest in complex aortic surgery and intervention. He has an NIH funded lab and has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed articles, case reports, book chapters and reviews, including original manuscripts in the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Journal of the American Medical Association and has lectured at many national and international forums. He is mentor to numerous surgical residents interested in pursuing careers as clinical investigators.