Heart Transplant Program Expert Team

The Heart Transplant Program team at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute consists of highly collaborative experts in the filed of heart transplantation, including cardiothoracic surgeons, transplant cardiologists specially trained transplant nurse coordinators, dieticians, social workers, financial counselors and other healthcare specialists.  The team at Cedars-Sinai is among the most distinguished in the world and includes prominent leaders in the field:

Leadership

Eduardo Marban MD Director, Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute	Jon Kobashigawa MD Associate Director, Clinical Affairs, Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute Director, Advanced Heart Disease Director, Heart Transplant Program DSL/Thomas D. Gordon Chair in Heart Transplantation Medicine
Andrew S. Klein MD, FACS, MBA Director, Comprehensive Transplant Center Esther and Mark Schulman Chair in Surgery and Transplantation Medicine	Fardad Esmailian MD Surgical Director, Heart Transplant and Ventricular Assist Device Program

Medical Directors

Lawrence Czer MD, FACC, FACP Medical Director, Heart Transplant Program Co-Medical Director, Cardiothoracic Database	Jignesh Patel MD, PhD Co-Medical Director, Heart Transplant Program
Michele Hamilton MD Director, Heart Failure Program	Jaime Moriguchi MD Medical Director, Mechanical Circulatory Support Program

Transplant Cardiologists

Babak Azarbal MD, FACC, FSCAI Associate Program Director, Post-Graduate Education in Interventional Cardiology	Antoine (Alhajje) Hage MD Director, Solid Organ Transplant Cardiology
Michelle Maya Kittleson MD Director, Post Graduate Medical Education in Heart Failure and Transplantation

Transplant Surgeons

Alfredo Trento MD FACS Director, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery Estelle, Abe and Marjorie Sanders Chair in Cardiac Surgery	Wen Cheng MD Program Director, Thoracic Surgery Residency Director, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Surgical Director, Lung Transplant Program
Robert M. Kass MD Surgical Director, Heart Transplant Program	Danny Ramzy MD, PhD, FRCSC Cardiothoracic Surgery

Heart Transplant Coordinators

• Angela Velleca, RN, CCTC (lead coordinator)
• Linda Piponniau, RN, CCTC (lead coordinator)
• Malissa Johnson, RN, CCTC
• Tina Kao, RN, CCTC
• Brenda Kearney, RN, CCTC
• Bryan May, RN, CCTC
• Noelle Perry, RN
• Jenna Rush, RN, MSN, CCTC
• Emily Stimpson, RN, CCTC

Social Work

• Ellen Anifantis, MSW

Financial Counselors

• Cecilia Arevalo
• Chris Brown