Yevgeniy Brailovsky, DO, MSc, FACC

Dr. Usama Ahmed Ali is a colorectal surgeon who has expertise in the whole gamut of colorectal surgery, including minimally invasive and open colorectal surgical procedures, anorectal operations, and colonoscopy. He completed his medical training at Utrecht University in the Netherlands in 2007. He then did colorectal research as a PhD researcher and was a colorectal research fellow at the Cleveland Clinic in 2011 under the guidance of Dr. Pokala Ravi Kiran. He trained in general and colorectal surgery at the University Medical Center Utrecht and the St. Antonius Hospital in The Netherlands after which he worked as a general and colorectal surgeon in Riverieland Ziekenhuis in Tiel until 2022. Dr. Ahmed Ali has an interest in a wide spectrum of colorectal conditions including benign colorectal conditions, diverticular disease, colon and rectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, polyposis and anorectal disorders such as hemorrhoids, abscesses and anal fistulas. Dr. Ahmed Ali trained extensively with Dr. Kiran and Dr. James Church. He works collaboratively with Dr. Church on complex fistula disease within the Anal Fistula Center and is part of the Hereditary Cancer and Familial Polyposis Center. He also works closely with Dr. Kiran in the management of various conditions including complex and reoperative colorectal surgery. Dr. Ahmed Ali has a double PhD in medicine, one of which is in the surgical treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. He also has a Masters in Evidence-Based Medicine from Oxford University. He is a Member of Dutch Society for Surgery and Dutch Society for Gastro-intestinal Surgery (2021).

Isaac George, MD, joined Columbia University Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian in 2001 as a resident in general surgery after graduating from Duke University School of Medicine. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1997. He completed a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery in 2011 and a fellowship in interventional cardiology in 2012. He is a Professor of Surgery and Medicine, the Surgical Director of Structural Heart Disease at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, the Surgical Director of the Structural Heart and Valve Center, and Co-Director of the Mitral and Tricuspid Center. Dr. George is board certified in thoracic (cardiac) surgery. His practice includes all types of open and reoperative adult cardiac surgery, including aortic, mitral, and tricuspid valve surgery, aortic aneurysm repair, coronary bypass grafting, and robotic surgery. He specializes in minimally invasive mitral valve repair. He performs 150 to 200 open heart surgeries each year and is the highest-volume heart surgeon in New York State. His annual surgical mortality rate is approximately 1.5%. Dr. George is trained in both cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology. His practice includes transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), transcatheter mitral valve repair (MitraClip), transcatheter mitral and tricuspid valve replacement, and surgical TAVR explantation. He performs around 800 transcatheter procedures each year and has performed nearly 8,000 TAVR procedures. He is a Primary Investigator for multiple national surgical and transcatheter trials and is involved in research related to aortic stenosis, aortic insufficiency, bicuspid aortic valves, mitral regurgitation, tricuspid regurgitation, and heart failure. His research includes both clinical and benchtop studies with translational applications. Dr. George can be contacted directly at ig2006@cumc.columbia.edu Click here for a full list and description of ongoing trials from Dr. George. Click here for a complete list of publications from Dr. George.Related MediaWatch: Meet Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Dr. Isaac George Watch: Dr. Isaac George Discusses Advancements in Heart Valve Surgery Watch: Dr. George talks Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery Watch: Decision Making in Aortic Valve Disease with Dr. Isaac George Watch: Dr. George Discusses Stroke Risk and TAVR Watch: Dr. George Interviewed on the Doctors Podcast Watch: Dr. George discuses his personal recovery from COVID Watch: Dr. George Discusses the Foldex Polymer Valve Read: Dr. George Explains Link Between Microplastics and Heart Disease Read: Dr. George Talks Hybrid Cardiac Surgery: A Viable Strategy for Select Patients Read: What To Expect After A Coronary Artery Bypass, According To Dr. George Read: Dr. George Participates in World's First Use of Medical Device to Protect From Stroke During TAVR Read: Dr. George on Expanded Transcatheter Options for Cardiac Patients Read: Dr. George on Innovations in Hybrid Surgery Read: Strategy and Decision Making for Patients with Aortic Stenosis Read: Dr. George Discusses SAVR vs TAVR for Aortic Stenosis Read: Dr. George Discusses a New Synthetic Polymer Mitral Valve Read: Dr. Geoge Discusses Light-Reactive Technology for Vein Graft Failure Dr. George hosts Taking it to Heart, the Columbia Heart Valve team's podcast. In each episode, Dr. George and the Columbia Heart Valve team discuss a new topic related to valvuar disease.DisclosuresGrant Support: Medtronic, Boston Scientific, EdwardsLifesciences Consultant (honoraria) – Zimmer Biomet, Atricure, Neosurgery,Neptune Medical, Abbvie, Johnson & Johnson, Durvena, BostonScientific, Edwards Lifesciences, Medtronic, Encompass Medical, Summus Medical,Abbott SJM, BCI, Xeltis, Innocardiac, KIS Medical Advisory Boards: Edwards Surgical, Medtronic Surgical, MedtronicStructural Mitral & Tricuspid, Trisol Medical, Valcare Medical, Durvena,Abbvie, Johnson & Johnson, Foldax Medical, Zimmer Biomet, Neosurgery,Abbvie, Boston Scientific, Summus Medical, BCI, Encompass Medical, HVT Medical,Innocardiac, KIS Medical, Retex Medical Equity: Valcare Medical, Durvena, CardioMech, Vdyne, MitreMedical,BCI, Trisol Medical, HVT Medical, Foldax, KIS Medical Institutional funding to Columbia University: Edwards Lifesciences,Medtronic, Abbott Vascular, Boston Scientific, JenaValve.

Dr. Gene Im is a transplant hepatologist and the Director of the Alcohol-associated Liver Disease Program at Columbia known as ADAPT (Advanced inter-Disciplinary Alcohol liver Program and Treatment), a patient-centered, integrated care and research program for patients with alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD). ADAPT is one of only a few integrated ALD clinics in the country. Dr. Im is an internationally recognized expert in ALD, including alcohol-associated hepatitis and liver transplantation based on his clinical focus and research achievements. He has co-authored several practice-changing articles, including the 2019 ALD Practice Guidance from AASLD, the 2024 MetALD Expert Position Statement, and the first experience of early liver transplantation for alcohol-associated hepatitis in North America. Currently, he is the Vice-Chair of the AASLD ALD Special Interest Group and serves on the Editorial Board for the journal Liver Transplantation. Dr. Im is also the founder of ALD-ALLY (Alcohol-associated Liver Disease patients deserve ALcohol LiteracY), an annual conference focused on actionable initiatives for advancing the science and care of patients with alcohol use disorder and ALD (www.ald-ally.com) Dr. Im is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation and Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases at Columbia University.