2026 TMVR/TTVR Planning Workshop

Dr. João L. Cavalcante serves as Section Head of Cardiac Imaging at the Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital—the largest cardiology group practice in the Twin Cities. He is also the Director of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation’s Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center and Core Lab, where he oversees numerous multicenter clinical trials, and holds the Inaugural Innovation Chair for the Van Tassel Innovation Center.

He is also a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC), the American Society of Echocardiography (FASE), the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (FSCCT), and the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (FSCMR).

His passion for multimodality imaging and focus on valve and structural heart disease is seen through the lead of multiple RCT in advanced imaging, training of several international scholars, > 200 peer-reviewed original investigations, and several book chapters, training workshops, along with national and international lectures.

Dr. Vinnie Bapat joined the Valve Science Center team in June 2020, bringing extensive expertise as a cardiothoracic surgeon and innovator in the treatment of heart valve disease. In recognition of his internationally renowned research and educational work in valvular heart disease, he was named the James R. and Judith A. Bradshaw Chair for the Valve Science Center in 2026. Dr. Bapat also serves as Chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute, where he cares for patients directly.

Prior to joining the team, Dr. Bapat was a cardiac surgeon at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. He also previously served as Professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Guys and St. Thomas’ Hospital, London and continues to hold that position as visiting Professor. 

Dr. Bapat earned his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgeon degrees, followed by Master of Surgery and Master of Cardiothoracic Surgery degrees, at the University of Bombay in India and King Edward Memorial Hospital. He completed his Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) in cardiothoracic surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, U.K. He also completed an internship, three residencies and two fellowships at various institutions, including King Edward Memorial Hospital and University of Mumbai, Toronto General Hospital in Canada, and as part of rotations at institutions in the United Kingdom, including Guys and St. Thomas’ Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and Royal County Sussex Hospital in Brighton, U.K.

In addition to his clinical accomplishments, Dr. Bapat has been a collaborator among his peers in the world of transcatheter valves through the creation of two apps that are downloadable on mobile devices – Valve-in-Valve (VIV) Mitral and VIV Aortic. The apps provide imaging and clinical information, such as dimensions and characteristics of the various valve repair technologies and have been downloaded in 132 countries. Through these apps, physicians access data and clinical insights to determine the technology options based on their individual patient needs, including guidance and insights on the implant procedure. Notably, the Apps are free to download and are updated every year to provide up to date guidance.
 

Dr. Victor Cheng completed his internal medicine residency at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and his general cardiology fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. During fellowship, he conducted cardiac imaging research under Dr. Daniel Berman, developing a strong interest in the role of cardiac CT in clinical care—particularly in image quality optimization and coronary plaque imaging. He went on to complete an additional year of advanced imaging training before joining the Cedars-Sinai cardiology faculty as an Assistant Professor.
Dr. Cheng has contributed to numerous institutional and collaborative research initiatives exploring multiple aspects of cardiac CT. In 2012, he joined the Oklahoma Heart Institute in Tulsa, where he established and led what became the state’s highest-volume cardiac CT program by 2017. He later joined the Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute in 2019 and was appointed Director of Cardiovascular CT in 2023.

As a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC), Dr. Cheng has authored more than 100 peer‑reviewed original research publications.

Dr. Miho Fukui is an established cardiologist and researcher. She began her journey in Hyogo, Japan, where she earned both her Medical Degree and PhD. Specializing in echocardiography, she completed her cardiology fellowship in Japan before moving to the U.S in October 2017. At the University of Pittsburgh, she served as a post-doctorate research scholar, focusing on advanced multi-modality imaging techniques, including Cardiac CT and MRI. Her dedication and expertise led her to the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation in September 2018, where she currently serves as an Associate Scientific Director for the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center and Core Lab. Dr. Fukui's passion for multimodality imaging has culminated in over 70 peer-reviewed original investigations and several book chapters. She is a speaker at national and international conferences and active in training workshops.

Dr. Mayra Guerrero is an Interventional Cardiologist with 20 years of experience in the field. After completing Interventional Cardiology Fellowship at William Beaumont Hospital, she worked at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan for 10 years where she established the Structural Heart Disease Program and the Structural Heart Disease Interventional Fellowship Program. She served as Director of Cardiac Structural Interventions at Evanston Hospital in Evanston, IL from 2015 to 2018. She joined Mayo Clinic in June of 2018 and is currently a Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, MN. Her main area of interest is transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR). She has served as National PI or Co-PI for multiple clinical trials including transcatheter mitral valve repair and replacement. 

Dr. Nadira Hamid is Scientific Director of the Echocardiography Core Lab at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation and the Director of Interventional Echocardiography at the Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute. She is board-certified in both echocardiography and cardiac computed tomography.

Dr. Hamid earned her medical degree from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (Dublin) and postgraduate qualifications from the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland (MRCPI) and the Royal College of Physicians in the United Kingdom (MRCP UK). She completed her residencies in Dublin, followed by a cardiology fellowship at the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS). She later received research training and earned a Master of Clinical Investigation (MCI) from the National University of Singapore. Dr. Hamid subsequently completed an Advanced Echocardiography and Interventional Echocardiography fellowship focusing on structural heart interventions at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York.

Her research contributions include work on multiple clinical trials such as the TRILUMINATE, JenaValve, and Ancora trials. Dr. Hamid is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC), the American Society of Echocardiography (FASE), the European Society of Cardiology (FESC), and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (FRCPI).

Dr. Felipe Kazmirczak has published several manuscripts on right ventricular function in pulmonary hypertension. He is currently involved in multiple collaborative research projects, including the evaluation of GP130 antagonism in porcine right ventricular pressure overload, where he serves as a co-investigator on a funded R01 grant. In addition, he has contributed to preclinical studies assessing the effects of metabolic modulation on right ventricular dysfunction, leveraging his expertise in cardiac imaging for translational research.

Dr. James (Jamie) McCabe received his medical degree from Yale University. He completed 10 years of post-medical school training at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Brigham and Women's Hospital / Harvard Medical School. Dr. McCabe joined Beth Israel Lahey Medical Center in 2025 as the Section Chief for Structural Heart Therapies after 12 years of experience at University of Washington culminating as the David and Nancy Auth Endowed Chair in Cardiac Innovation and the Section Head for the Interventional Cardiology practice across the University of Washington enterprise of hospitals. His clinical practice focuses on structural heart interventions including repair or replacement of all heart valves using catheter-based methods. His research interests focus on novel transcatheter therapies to address unmet needs in the structural heart space. He has been the site principal investigator for dozens of clinical trials and has authored more than 200 original manuscripts and multiple book chapters related to his work. He travels frequently to lecture at national and international meetings including at Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT), Transcatheter Valve Therapeutics (TVT), American College of Cardiology (ACC) and Society for Cardiac Angiography and Intervention (SCAI), amongst others. He is a nationally recognized clinician educator and investigator in transcatheter therapies for valvular heart disease. 

Dr. Toby Rogers is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University and Scientific Lead for Structural Heart Disease at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, in Washington DC. He is a pioneer of transcatheter electrosurgery, including leaflet modification for aortic and mitral valve interventions.

Dr. Paul Sorajja is an interventional cardiologist at Banner Health in Phoenix, AZ. He received his M.D. from Mayo Medical School and completed his Internal Medicine Residency and Cardiology Fellowship at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine. Dr. Sorajja joined the Mayo Clinic staff in 2006, achieving the rank of Professor of Medicine in 2012. In 2013, Dr. Sorajja joined the Minneapolis Heart Institute. In 2025, Dr Sorajja joined Banner Health.

Dr. Sorajja's clinical practice specializes in interventional cardiology, with a focus on catheter-based therapy of valvular and structural heart disease. He was part of the team that performed the first transcatheter mitral valve replacement in the U.S. for native mitral regurgitation in 2015 and has one of the highest worldwide experiences with TMVR. Dr. Sorajja has served or serves as the global or national PI for many early feasibility and pivotal clinical trials in valve disease, with the most recent notable contribution being the TRILUMINATE pivotal trial that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine as the first randomized trial for tricuspid therapy. He is known especially for performing many first-in-human therapies in valve disease including the first TriClip (2017), MitraClip laceration and TMVR (2018), dedicated TMVR in severe MAC (2016), vDyne (2021), MitraClip for HCM (2016), among many others. Dr. Sorajja has published over 500 manuscripts and book chapters, with expertise in cardiac hemodynamics, clinical education, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and percutaneous therapy of structural heart disease. He has served in leadership positions in multiple national societies and is a founding Board member of the Cardiovascular Innovations Foundation.

Dr. Sorajja has been an editor-in-chief for numerous textbooks on cardiac catheterization, including his Structural Heart Disease atlas. He has served as a program director for interventional cardiology fellowships, and has received awards in medical education. In 2017, he received the Robert G. Hauser Award for Leadership Excellence in Innovation from the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation. Dr. Sorajja is highly active in intellectual property development and start-up companies.

Konstantinos Voudris, MD, PhD, is a trained structural and interventional cardiologist with the Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. He specializes in the management of patients with cardiovascular and valvular heart disease.  

Dr. Voudris completed his Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago – Advocate Christ in Chicago, IL, where he was recognized with the 2018 Resident Award for Excellence in Scholarly Activity. He completed his Cardiovascular Disease fellowship at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL. During this time, he served as Chief Fellow. Subsequently, he completed his Interventional Cardiology fellowship at New York Presbyterian - Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, NY and Advanced Adult Structural and Congenital Heart Disease Interventions fellowship at Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute in Minneapolis, MN. 

Dr. Voudris is a physician-investigator with clinical and research interests related to patients with coronary artery disease and valvular heart disease. His research has resulted in numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at both national and international scientific meetings, as well as book chapters, and abstracts. He also serves as a reviewer for reputed cardiology journals.