WIVAM gives You the opportunity to meet with the top global experts in the field of vascular medicine. Renowned keynote lecturers will tell you all about the influential research that they perform. In their lectures they will share their knowledge and experiences with you, showing the therapeutic possibilities offered by modern vascular medicine. The topics of the speakers differ and will cover broad fields of angiology and vascular surgery. We hope that they will stimulate and fascinate You in your own research activities.
Professor Piotr Kasprzak, MD, PhD
Department of Vascular Surgery, University of Regensburg, Germany
Professor Piotr Kasprzak received his medical diploma from the Medical University of Lodz in 1974. In 1977 he obtained 1st degree of specialization in surgery and in 1981 he joined Vascular Surgery Team in Lainz Hospital in Vienna (Austria). In 1982 he obtained 2nd degree of specialization in surgery and in 1986 he became the specialist in Vascular Surgery. In the years 1984-1995 he was deputy head of the Department of Vascular Surgery at the University Hospital in Nuremberg (Germany). From 1995 head of the Department of Vascular Surgery at the University of Regensburg (Germany). Doctor Honoris Causa of the Medical University of Warsaw, Poznan University of Medical Sciences and Wroclaw Medical University. Treasurer of the European Society for Cardiovascular and Endovascular Surgery.
He was one of the first to use endovascular techniques in vascular surgery on a large scale. His research interests focus on the complex aortic aneurysms treatment. Author of a pioneering method of two-stage endovascular treatment of complex thoraco-abdominal aortic aneurysms resulting in significant reduce of the incidence of lower limb paresis after the procedure. He introduced method to prevent migration of thoracic stent grafts using endovascular anchors. Moreover, he demonstrated that, compared to the conservative method of treatment of acute type B aortic dissections, the use of an endovascular stent graft after a year results in more frequent clotting of the pseudolumen combined with a reduction in its diameter and, at the same time, widening of the true lumen. On the other hand, he is the author of research demonstrating the superiority of the classical surgical technique in the treatment of carotid artery stenosis over stenting and proving the superiority of the own material over plastic patches in carotid surgery.
In his honorary lecture, he will present, how vascular surgery emerged from general surgery, becoming an independent specialty, and how it adapted the latest achievements in interventional radiology to its needs, becoming one of the fastest developing medical specialties.
Professor Arkadiusz Jawien, MD, PhD
Department of Vascular Surgery and Angiology, Nicolaus Copernicus University Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Poland
Professor Arkadiusz Jawien received his medical diploma from the Poznan University of Medical Sciences in 1977. In 1980 he obtained 1st degree of specialization in surgery and in 1983 he obtained his doctorate from the Medical University of Gdansk. In 1984 he obtained 2nd degree of specialization in surgery, in 2002 he became the specialist in Vascular Surgery and in 2003 he became the specialist in Angiology. Professor of Medicine since 1998. In the years 1991-2011 he was head of the Department of Surgery at the University Hospital in Bydgoszcz (Poland). From 2011 head of the Department of Vascular Surgery and Angiology at the Nicolaus Copernicus University Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz (Poland). President of the European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS) in 2015. Doctor Honoris Causa of the Poznan University of Medical Sciences.
In the years 1988-1991 he was a fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle (USA), where he conducted research on the role of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) in the migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells of the arterial wall. Using an animal model, he managed to prove for the first time in the world that the BB form of PDGF in an in vivo study is primarily a chemotactic factor leading to the migration of smooth muscle cells from the intima media to the intima in the experimentally damaged rat carotid artery. He also studied the effect of arterial blood flow on the healing of the damaged arterial wall. His research confirmed that, apart from pressure, the amount of blood flow has a significant impact on the remodeling of the carotid artery wall after slight damage to its endothelium (so-called gentle denudation of intima).
Author and co-author of hundreds of articles, among them: European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS) 2022 Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Management of Chronic Venous Disease of the Lower Limbs and International, multispecialty, expert-based Delphi Delphi Consensus document on controversial issues in the management of patients with asymptomatic and symptomatic carotid stenosis. Reviewer of the latest ESVS 2024 Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Management of Abdominal Aorto-Iliac Artery Aneurysms.
Professor Pier Luigi Antignani, MD, PhD, FIUA, FRSM, FESVM, DFAVF
Director of Vascular Center Nuova Villa Claudia and Coordinator of Master in Angiology at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
Pier Luigi Antignani is Professor of Vascular Medicine, Phlebology and Non-invasive investigation, President of the Central European Vascular Forum, President of the International Union of Angiology foundation, Honorary President of the International Union of Angiology, Past General Secretary of International Union of Phlebology, President of Italian Vascular Foundation, President of the Italian Society of Vascular Medicine, Honorary President of Italian Society for Vascular Investigation, Editor in Chief of Acta Phlebologica journal, Co-editor in Chief of Vascular Investigation and Therapy journal, Member of Editorial Committee of International Angiology journal, Honorary Member of Panamerican Society of Phlebology and Lymphology, Honorary Member and Fellow of the International Union of Angiology, Fellow of the European Society of Vascular Medicine, Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, Emeritus fellow of the American Venous Forum. He is at present the Director of Vascular Center Nuova Villa Claudia in Rome (Italy) and Coordinator of Master in Angiology at Sapienza University of Rome (Italy).
Dr. Kosmas I. Paraskevas MD, PhD, FEBVS , FIUA
Department of Vascular Surgery, Red Cross Hospital, Athens, Greece
Doctor Kosmas I. Paraskevas is a Vascular Surgeon who works in the Department of Vascular Surgery at the Red Cross Hospital in Athens (Greece). Besides his clinical work, he has an interest in scientific research, writing and publishing. He has published more than 400 articles in PubMed, and he is first or single author in more than 300 of them. He has international collaborations with well-known vascular surgeons and vascular specialists from the United States, UK, Germany, Italy, France, Poland, Austria, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Australia and other countries. He is a Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Vascular Surgery, and an Associate Editor for Angiology and Current Vascular Pharmacology. He has organized 3 Special Issues on carotid artery stenosis with international participation from Europe, Australia, Canada and the U.S.A.
Professor João Rocha Neves, MD, MPH, PhD, FEBVS
Consultant of Angiology and Vascular Surgery in Hospital da Luz, Porto, Portugal
Invited Professor at Biomedicine Department, Unit of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Portugal
Professor João Rocha Neves is Health Strategic Consultant and Vascular Surgeon, Fellow of the European Board of Vascular Surgery with experience in teaching and scientific research. Tutor at the Belmiro de Azevedo Foundation, Secretary-General of the Portuguese Society of Cardiac, Thoracic, and Vascular Surgery, and Assistant Professor at Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto. MBA candidate and Master in Public Health, combining clinical expertise with a focus on leadership and innovation.
Professor Szymon Darocha MD, PhD, FESC
Department of Pulmonary Circulation, Thromboembolic Diseases and Cardiology, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland
Szymon Darocha is a chest physician and invasive cardiologist working at the Department of Pulmonary Circulation, Thromboembolic Diseases and Cardiology in Otwock, Poland. He is a Professor in The Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education in Warsaw. As an expert in the field of pulmonary circulation and right ventricular failure, he is a coordinator of the regional Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (CELZAT) and a leader of the Programme for Baloon Pulmonary Angioplasty in the treatment of Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Disease. He is active in the acute and long-term care of patients with pulmonary embolism and pulmonary hypertension, also including novel endovascular strategies. His main clinical and scientific interest is the evaluation of the invasive treatment in improving the quality of life, functional capacity and hemodynamics for patients with acute and chronic pulmonary embolism.