Jan N. Basile, MD, FACP, FASH, FAHA
Professor of Medicine
Division of Cardiology
Medical University of South Carolina
Ralph H Johnson VA Medical Center
Previous Vice-Chair of Clinical Programs AHA Council of Hypertension
US National Leader SURPASS-CVOT
Charleston, SC

Dr. Jan N. Basile earned his medical degree in 1978 from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. He then completed his internship and residency at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, where he was also Chief Resident. He is board certified in internal medicine and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP), the American Society of Hypertension (FASH), and the American Heart Association (FAHA). For many years he served on the American Society of Hypertension (ASH) Board of Directors and has served within the AHA as Vice-Chair of Clinical Programs on the Council of Hypertension.

His honors and awards include the MUSC School of Medicine Excellence in Teaching award, the Golden Apple award, and, in 2014, he was the first recipient of the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control Hypertension Physician of the Year award. In 2019, he received the Marvin Moser Clinical Hypertension Award from the American Heart Association Council on Hypertension. He was President of the Southern Medical Association from 2008-2009.

Currently, he is Professor of Medicine at MUSC in the Division of Cardiology. He spent 31 years at the Ralph H Johnson VA Medical Center while faculty at MUSC, having retired from federal service as Chief of Primary Care in 2009. He remains a volunteer at the VA, his 45th year at that hospital. At MUSC, he continues to teach all 3rd year medical students clinical hypertension during their 3rd year core medicine rotation and currently sees clinical patients enrolled in research trials on the role of renal denervation in controlling hypertension.

Dr. Basile’s career research interests include outcome-based clinical trials involving hypertension, lipid disorders, and diabetes. He has been involved in many large hypertension trials that have defined how we treat hypertension including the NHLBI sponsored ALLHAT, ACCORD, SPRINT and SPRINT-MIND trials. In addition, he has been a principal investigator for the ACCOMPLISH, VALUE, ONTARGET, and TRANSCEND trials. Most recently, he has been involved in diabetes outcome trials with GLP1RA's including REWIND and is the US National Leader for the SURPASS-CV Outcome Trial comparing Dulaglutide with the dual-agonist Tirzepatide.

Dr Basile was a contributing reviewer of the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) and the 2017 ACC-AHA Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults. He has published more than 400 original papers, abstracts, and book chapters, as well as a textbook, Hot Topics: Hypertension. He continues to be a contributing author for the hypertension section of “Up To Date”.

Nihar R. Desai, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine
Vice Chief, Section of Cardiovascular Medicine
Investigator, Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation
Yale New Haven Health System
New Haven, CT

Dr. Nihar R. Desaiis an Associate Professor of Medicine and Vice Chief of the Section of Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, an Investigator at the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, and Medical Director for Value Innovation at the Yale New Haven Health System Heart and Vascular Center. His interests focus on cardiovascular health services and comparative effectiveness research, examining patterns of care, identifying opportunities to improve clinical outcomes, and evaluating the impact of novel care delivery systems on cost and quality. In addition, he serves as a clinical consultant on the CMS acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery readmission and mortality measures. He graduated with highest honors from Lehigh University before completing an internship in the Clinton White House. He then attended the University of Connecticut School of Medicine where he received his Doctorate in Medicine and the Harvard School of Public Health where he received his Master’s in Public Health. Dr. Desai completed his residency training in Internal Medicine as well as his clinical fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He then completed a research fellowship at the TIMI Study Group with Dr. Eugene Braunwald. His scholarly work has been published in New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, Circulation, and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

George L. Higgins III, MD, FACEP
Emeritus Professor of Emergency Medicine
Maine Medical Center, Portland. ME
Director of Rural Education and Emergency Partner
BlueWater Health
Brunswick, ME

Dr. George L. Higgins III graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine, is board certified in both Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine, is a Fellow in the American College of Emergency Physicians, and currently holds the rank of Professor Emeritus in Emergency Medicine at Maine Medical Center, an academic medical center located in Portland, Maine. For many years, he chaired MMC’s Department of Emergency Medicine, where he was privileged to advance the academic mission of the department and to be involved with the establishment of a successful resident training program in Emergency Medicine. His career path also provided him with attractive administrative opportunities, initially as the Associate Vice President of Performance Improvement and then as the Chief Medical Officer and Vice President for Medical Affairs for the institution. Eventually he returned to his true passion of caring for patients; teaching residents, APPs and medical students about the exciting field of Emergency Medicine; and overseeing scholarly productivity as Director of Research. More recently he provided clinical services to small, rural, Critical Access hospitals, an experience he foiund challenging, meaningful and professionally rewarding. As a result, he now serves as Director of Rural Education for BlueWater Health and has developed an elective in Rural/Remote Acute Care and Emergency Medicine at three clinical sites in New England for medical students, residents and APPs.

Ania Jastreboff, MD, PhD
Associate Professor
Internal Medicine (Endocrinology & Metabolism) and Pediatrics (Endocrinology)
Yale University School of Medicine
Director, Weight Management & Obesity Prevention
Yale Stress Center
Co-Director, Yale Center for Weight Management
New Haven, CT

Dr. Ania Jastreboff is an Associate Professor in Medicine and Pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine. She is trained in both adult endocrinology and pediatric endocrinology, is an obesity medicine physician-scientist, and an international leader in research and clinical application of anti-obesity pharmacotherapeutics. Her work has included working to develop the 2016 AACE/ACE Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines, serving on the Board of Directors for the American Board of Obesity Medicine, educating the next generation of Obesity Medicine physicians by teaching at national and international obesity treatment courses, and conducting cutting-edge clinical-translational obesity research. Her research includes large, multi-center clinical outcomes trials using novel anti-obesity pharmacotherapeutics and studies examining the neurobiology underlying obesity and mechanisms of anti-obesity medications. Recently, she served as lead author for the NEJM manuscript reporting 22.5% average weight reduction with the novel GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist, tirzepatide, in individuals with obesity.

Stanley Oakley, MD, DLFAPA
Professor of Psychiatric Medicine
Brody School of Medicine
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC

Dr. Stanley Oakley was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar. He received his Medical Degree and Residency Training in Psychiatric Medicine from East Carolina University School of Medicine. He then completed a Fellowship in Forensic Psychiatric and Geriatric Psychiatry at Hillcrest Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia. Following his return from Australia, Dr. Oakley joined the faculty at the East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine and is the former Director of Residency Training. He is currently a Professor of Psychiatric Medicine and Director of Continuing Medical Education. He is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Brody School of Medicine. He is Board Certified in General Adult and Geriatric Psychiatry and his interests include geriatric psychiatry, student health psychiatry and medical education.

Andrew W. Urban, MD
Infectious Disease and HIV Specialist
Madison, WI

Dr. Andrew W. Urban is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease. He graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine residency and fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of Wisconsin. His past positions include Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease at the University of Wisconsin and Chief of Infectious Diseases at the Wm. S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, WI. He has received numerous teaching awards and has been extensively involved in undergraduate, graduate and continuing medical education. His clinical interests include primary care of individuals with HIV and consultative general infectious diseases.

Richard P. Usatine, MD
Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Professor of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery
University of Texas Health San Antonio
Founding Director, University Health System Skin Clinic
San Antonio, TX

Dr. Richard P. Usatine is a Professor of Family and Community Medicine and Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery at University of Texas Health, San Antonio. He received his MD from Columbia University and completed his family medicine residency at UCLA Medical Center. He is the lead author of 8 medical books including The Color Atlas and Synopsis of Family Medicine and Dermatological and Cosmetic Procedures in Office Practice. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Usatine has been working with medical students to provide health care to homeless families and the medically underserved since 1984. He is the founding director of the University Health System Skin Clinic in San Antonio. He also directs the only underserved dermatology fellowship for family physicians in the US.

Lisa VanWagner, MD, MSc, FAST, FAHA
Associate Professor of Medicine
Director of Clinical Research
Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX

Dr. Lisa VanWagner is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX. Dr. VanWagner received her medical degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. She then completed her Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Transplant Hepatology training at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL while concurrently obtaining her master’s degree in Clinical Investigation from the Northwestern University Graduate School before joining the Northwestern Faculty as Assistant Professor of Medicine in 2015. In July 2022, she moved to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX where she is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine and the Director of Clinical Research in the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases.

Dr. VanWagner is a clinician researcher who seeks to define and characterize cardiovascular disease risk prediction, prevention, and treatment approaches in patients with chronic liver disease in the broad field of cardio-hepatology. Her scientific work has been recognized by leading professional organizations, with awards from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), American Society of Transplantation (AST) and American Heart Association (AHA). She has published over 130 peer-reviewed manuscripts the results of which have been used to develop strategies for policymakers, such as the American Heart Association Annual Statistical Update on Cardiovascular Diseases, and for clinical practice guidance documents from AST, AASLD and AHA. Dr. VanWagner is a fellow of AHA and AST, past chair of the AST Liver and Intestine Community of Practice (LICOP) and just completed her term as an active member of the AASLD Practice Guidelines Committee. Her clinical practice focuses on patients with NAFLD/NASH and disorders of the heart-liver axis both before and after liver transplantation.

Megan Wasson, DO, FACOG
Chair Dept. of Medical Surgical Gynecology
Consultant, Associate Professor
Mayo Clinic in Arizona
Phoenix, AZ

Dr. Megan Wasson is Chair of the Department of Medical and Surgical Gynecology at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. She is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and was awarded the Outstanding Emerging Educator Award in 2020. She completed her fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

Dr. Wasson is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists with a focused practice designation for Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery. She is actively involved in multiple national and international medical societies and committees including Director of AAGL Essentials in Minimally Invasive Gynecology (EMIG) Curriculum, former Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery (FMIGS) Board of Directors Member, co-Founder of the FMIGS Young Alumni Network, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) Minimal Access Surgery Committee Chair, and former Surgery Director of Social Media and former Board of Directors Member.

She is a sought after speaker on gynecology, robotics, endometriosis, and minimally invasive surgery, and has completed over 150 invited lectures. Dr. Wasson is actively involved in research with over 75 peer-reviewed publications and multiple book chapters. Her clinical interests include endometriosis, chronic pelvic pain, and minimally invasive gynecologic surgery.

C. Wayne Weart, PharmD, FASHP, FAPhA
Professor Emeritus Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Outcome Sciences
Medical University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy
Professor of Family Medicine
MUSC Department of Family Medicine
Charleston, SC

Dr. Wayne Weart received his Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy in 1971 from the University of Georgia. He served his residency in Hospital Pharmacy at the Medical University Hospital in Charleston, SC in 1972. He received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science in 1974. Dr. Weart is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Outcome Sciences in the College of Pharmacy, Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), as well as Professor of Family Medicine in the College of Medicine, MUSC. Prior to his teaching at the Medical University, Dr. Weart instructed at West Virginia University in pharmacy and family medicine.

Dr. Weart has more than 100 publications and he has given scores of lectures to numerous professional groups and societies. He has received outstanding teacher awards at both West Virginia University and MUSC and has been named Hospital Pharmacist of the Year in both South Carolina and West Virginia.

In 1991, Dr. Weart was among the first pharmacists to become a Board-Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist. In 1992, he was honored for his excellence in pharmacy practice and designated a Fellow of the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists. Dr. Weart was named a Primary Care Policy Fellow for 1999 by the U.S. Public Health Service and he was honored by the Alumni Association of the MUSC College of Pharmacy as a Distinguished Alumnus in 2002. He also received the Bowl of Hygeia Award from the SC Pharmacy Association in 2003 for outstanding service to the community and the profession of pharmacy and the George D. Schwerin Mentor Award, from the South Carolina Society of Health System Pharmacists in 2004. In 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009, he was recognized by the MUSC College of Pharmacy student body for his excellence in education by the Golden Mortar and Pestle Award. In 2008, the MUSC Board of Trustees named Dr. Weart as a Master Teacher. In 2012 he received the Proctor and Gamble National Leadership Award from the Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Society. In 2014, he was awarded the Ralph M. Wilkie Distinguished Lifetime Service Award by the SC Pharmacy Association Board of Directors. In 2015, he received the Kenneth Flinchum Distinguished Service Award from the SC Society of Health System Pharmacists. In 2021, he was awarded the James A. McFarland, MD, FACP Award by the SC Chapter of the American College of Physicians for his scholarship and teaching. Dr Weart served on the Board of Directors of the SC Pharmacists Association and as President and Chairman of the Board for 2010-2011. He served on the Board of Directors for the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy from 2009-2013 and President of the Waring Library Society for 2014-2015. He is one of many Hot Dog Ministry volunteers involved with serving the homeless of Charleston.

Jan N. Basile, MD, FACP, FASH, FAHA
Professor of Medicine
Division of Cardiology
Medical University of South Carolina
Ralph H Johnson VA Medical Center
Previous Vice-Chair of Clinical Programs AHA Council of Hypertension
US National Leader SURPASS-CVOT
Charleston, SC

Dr. Jan N. Basile earned his medical degree in 1978 from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. He then completed his internship and residency at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, where he was also Chief Resident. He is board certified in internal medicine and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP), the American Society of Hypertension (FASH), and the American Heart Association (FAHA). For many years he served on the American Society of Hypertension (ASH) Board of Directors and has served within the AHA as Vice-Chair of Clinical Programs on the Council of Hypertension.

His honors and awards include the MUSC School of Medicine Excellence in Teaching award, the Golden Apple award, and, in 2014, he was the first recipient of the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control Hypertension Physician of the Year award. In 2019, he received the Marvin Moser Clinical Hypertension Award from the American Heart Association Council on Hypertension. He was President of the Southern Medical Association from 2008-2009.

Currently, he is Professor of Medicine at MUSC in the Division of Cardiology. He spent 31 years at the Ralph H Johnson VA Medical Center while faculty at MUSC, having retired from federal service as Chief of Primary Care in 2009. He remains a volunteer at the VA, his 45th year at that hospital. At MUSC, he continues to teach all 3rd year medical students clinical hypertension during their 3rd year core medicine rotation and currently sees clinical patients enrolled in research trials on the role of renal denervation in controlling hypertension.

Dr. Basile’s career research interests include outcome-based clinical trials involving hypertension, lipid disorders, and diabetes. He has been involved in many large hypertension trials that have defined how we treat hypertension including the NHLBI sponsored ALLHAT, ACCORD, SPRINT and SPRINT-MIND trials. In addition, he has been a principal investigator for the ACCOMPLISH, VALUE, ONTARGET, and TRANSCEND trials. Most recently, he has been involved in diabetes outcome trials with GLP1RA's including REWIND and is the US National Leader for the SURPASS-CV Outcome Trial comparing Dulaglutide with the dual-agonist Tirzepatide.

Dr Basile was a contributing reviewer of the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) and the 2017 ACC-AHA Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults. He has published more than 400 original papers, abstracts, and book chapters, as well as a textbook, Hot Topics: Hypertension. He continues to be a contributing author for the hypertension section of “Up To Date”.

Nihar R. Desai, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine
Vice Chief, Section of Cardiovascular Medicine
Investigator, Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation
Yale New Haven Health System
New Haven, CT

Dr. Nihar R. Desaiis an Associate Professor of Medicine and Vice Chief of the Section of Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, an Investigator at the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, and Medical Director for Value Innovation at the Yale New Haven Health System Heart and Vascular Center. His interests focus on cardiovascular health services and comparative effectiveness research, examining patterns of care, identifying opportunities to improve clinical outcomes, and evaluating the impact of novel care delivery systems on cost and quality. In addition, he serves as a clinical consultant on the CMS acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery readmission and mortality measures. He graduated with highest honors from Lehigh University before completing an internship in the Clinton White House. He then attended the University of Connecticut School of Medicine where he received his Doctorate in Medicine and the Harvard School of Public Health where he received his Master’s in Public Health. Dr. Desai completed his residency training in Internal Medicine as well as his clinical fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He then completed a research fellowship at the TIMI Study Group with Dr. Eugene Braunwald. His scholarly work has been published in New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, Circulation, and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

George L. Higgins III, MD, FACEP
Emeritus Professor of Emergency Medicine
Maine Medical Center, Portland. ME
Director of Rural Education and Emergency Partner
BlueWater Health
Brunswick, ME

Dr. George L. Higgins III graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine, is board certified in both Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine, is a Fellow in the American College of Emergency Physicians, and currently holds the rank of Professor Emeritus in Emergency Medicine at Maine Medical Center, an academic medical center located in Portland, Maine. For many years, he chaired MMC’s Department of Emergency Medicine, where he was privileged to advance the academic mission of the department and to be involved with the establishment of a successful resident training program in Emergency Medicine. His career path also provided him with attractive administrative opportunities, initially as the Associate Vice President of Performance Improvement and then as the Chief Medical Officer and Vice President for Medical Affairs for the institution. Eventually he returned to his true passion of caring for patients; teaching residents, APPs and medical students about the exciting field of Emergency Medicine; and overseeing scholarly productivity as Director of Research. More recently he provided clinical services to small, rural, Critical Access hospitals, an experience he foiund challenging, meaningful and professionally rewarding. As a result, he now serves as Director of Rural Education for BlueWater Health and has developed an elective in Rural/Remote Acute Care and Emergency Medicine at three clinical sites in New England for medical students, residents and APPs.

Ania Jastreboff, MD, PhD
Associate Professor
Internal Medicine (Endocrinology & Metabolism) and Pediatrics (Endocrinology)
Yale University School of Medicine
Director, Weight Management & Obesity Prevention
Yale Stress Center
Co-Director, Yale Center for Weight Management
New Haven, CT

Dr. Ania Jastreboff is an Associate Professor in Medicine and Pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine. She is trained in both adult endocrinology and pediatric endocrinology, is an obesity medicine physician-scientist, and an international leader in research and clinical application of anti-obesity pharmacotherapeutics. Her work has included working to develop the 2016 AACE/ACE Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines, serving on the Board of Directors for the American Board of Obesity Medicine, educating the next generation of Obesity Medicine physicians by teaching at national and international obesity treatment courses, and conducting cutting-edge clinical-translational obesity research. Her research includes large, multi-center clinical outcomes trials using novel anti-obesity pharmacotherapeutics and studies examining the neurobiology underlying obesity and mechanisms of anti-obesity medications. Recently, she served as lead author for the NEJM manuscript reporting 22.5% average weight reduction with the novel GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist, tirzepatide, in individuals with obesity.

Cecilia Low Wang, MD, FACP, FACE
Professor of Medicine
Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Diabetes
Department of Medicine
University of Colorado School of Medicine
Aurora, CO

Dr. Cecilia Low Wang, (pronounced “lowwong”), is an endocrinologist and Professor of Medicine at University of Colorado, Clinician-Scientist at CPC Clinical Research, and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology. She earned her medical degree at the University of Rochester and did her residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Utah. She completed her fellowship in Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes at the University of Colorado (CU). Dr. Low Wang is Chairperson of the FDA Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee. She is the principal investigator for continuous glucose monitoring trials in the inpatient setting, and remote continuous monitoring to facilitate a dietary intervention in rural Colorado. She is a member of the Academy of Medical Educators, and founding Program Director for the primary care Diabetes Fellowship Program at CU. Dr. Low Wang also directs the Glucose Management Team at the University of Colorado Hospital. She has served on a number of committees for the Endocrine Society and currently chairs the Nominating Committee. She is past chair of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology Disease State Network in Diabetes and is on the Task Force for the 2023 Update of the AACE Consensus Statement Comprehensive Type 2 Diabetes Management Algorithm. She serves on the Lifestyle Diabetes Committee of the Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health for the American Heart Association. She is passionate about medical education and diabetes care, and does bedside teaching, as well as workshops and lectures locally, regionally, and nationally to clinicians and trainees at all levels.

Mary Maiberger, MD, FAAD
Assistant Clinical Professor of Dermatology
George Washington University School of Medicine
Chief of Dermatology
Washington DC VA Medical Center
Washington, DC

Dr. Mary Maiberger is the Chief of Dermatology at the Washington, D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Dermatology at George Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Maiberger attended Princeton University, where she received her AB in English, and completed medical school and Dermatology residency at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Maiberger is the Residency Program Site Director at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center for Dermatology residents from George Washington University and Howard University. She also oversees the Teledermatology Program. Dr. Maiberger possesses a particular interest in inflammatory skin conditions, systemic medications and their use in Dermatology as well as skin cancer. She has published articles, book chapters, and presented nationally on these topics. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology.

David M. Plourd, MD, FACOG
Staff Obstetrician & Gynecologist & Obstetric Hospitalist
Formerly Naval Hospital
San Diego, CA

Dr. David M. Plourd has been an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, and at UCSD, for two decades, before joining the Obstetrics Hospitalist Team at Scripps Hospital. Dr. Plourd has been teaching and lecturing nationally and internationally on numerous women’s healthcare topics. He was voted “Teacher of the Year” by the interns & residents at the Naval Medical Center. Dr. Plourd has been a Board Examiner for the American Board of OB/GYN. He is also an expert consultant for the Medical Board of California.

John H. Post III, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon
Martha Jefferson Hospital
Charlottesville, VA

Dr. John H. Post is an Orthopedic Surgeon from Charlottesville, Virginia with expertise in Sports Medicine, arthroscopy of the knee and shoulder, and knee replacement surgery. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, served as a U.S. Marine helicopter pilot and subsequent helicopter instructor for the U.S. Navy. He received his MD from the University of Miami School of Medicine. He is a Fellow in the Arthroscopy Association of North America and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. He enjoys outdoor exercise and has competed in the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim and the English Channel Swim and enjoys hiking with his family. His wife is the Director of Internal Medicine at the University of Virginia Northridge Clinic. His daughter Sarah is a first-year student at the University of Virginia School of Nursing. They have two other children, a 2-year-old granddaughter, and two labs.

Lisa VanWagner, MD, MSc, FAST, FAHA
Associate Professor of Medicine
Director of Clinical Research
Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX

Dr. Lisa VanWagner is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX. Dr. VanWagner received her medical degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. She then completed her Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Transplant Hepatology training at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL while concurrently obtaining her master’s degree in Clinical Investigation from the Northwestern University Graduate School before joining the Northwestern Faculty as Assistant Professor of Medicine in 2015. In July 2022, she moved to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX where she is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine and the Director of Clinical Research in the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases.

Dr. VanWagner is a clinician researcher who seeks to define and characterize cardiovascular disease risk prediction, prevention, and treatment approaches in patients with chronic liver disease in the broad field of cardio-hepatology. Her scientific work has been recognized by leading professional organizations, with awards from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), American Society of Transplantation (AST) and American Heart Association (AHA). She has published over 130 peer-reviewed manuscripts the results of which have been used to develop strategies for policymakers, such as the American Heart Association Annual Statistical Update on Cardiovascular Diseases, and for clinical practice guidance documents from AST, AASLD and AHA. Dr. VanWagner is a fellow of AHA and AST, past chair of the AST Liver and Intestine Community of Practice (LICOP) and just completed her term as an active member of the AASLD Practice Guidelines Committee. Her clinical practice focuses on patients with NAFLD/NASH and disorders of the heart-liver axis both before and after liver transplantation.

C. Wayne Weart, PharmD, FASHP, FAPhA
Professor Emeritus Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Outcome Sciences
Medical University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy
Professor of Family Medicine
MUSC Department of Family Medicine
Charleston, SC

Dr. Wayne Weart received his Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy in 1971 from the University of Georgia. He served his residency in Hospital Pharmacy at the Medical University Hospital in Charleston, SC in 1972. He received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science in 1974. Dr. Weart is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Outcome Sciences in the College of Pharmacy, Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), as well as Professor of Family Medicine in the College of Medicine, MUSC. Prior to his teaching at the Medical University, Dr. Weart instructed at West Virginia University in pharmacy and family medicine.

Dr. Weart has more than 100 publications and he has given scores of lectures to numerous professional groups and societies. He has received outstanding teacher awards at both West Virginia University and MUSC and has been named Hospital Pharmacist of the Year in both South Carolina and West Virginia.

In 1991, Dr. Weart was among the first pharmacists to become a Board-Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist. In 1992, he was honored for his excellence in pharmacy practice and designated a Fellow of the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists. Dr. Weart was named a Primary Care Policy Fellow for 1999 by the U.S. Public Health Service and he was honored by the Alumni Association of the MUSC College of Pharmacy as a Distinguished Alumnus in 2002. He also received the Bowl of Hygeia Award from the SC Pharmacy Association in 2003 for outstanding service to the community and the profession of pharmacy and the George D. Schwerin Mentor Award, from the South Carolina Society of Health System Pharmacists in 2004. In 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009, he was recognized by the MUSC College of Pharmacy student body for his excellence in education by the Golden Mortar and Pestle Award. In 2008, the MUSC Board of Trustees named Dr. Weart as a Master Teacher. In 2012 he received the Proctor and Gamble National Leadership Award from the Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Society. In 2014, he was awarded the Ralph M. Wilkie Distinguished Lifetime Service Award by the SC Pharmacy Association Board of Directors. In 2015, he received the Kenneth Flinchum Distinguished Service Award from the SC Society of Health System Pharmacists. In 2021, he was awarded the James A. McFarland, MD, FACP Award by the SC Chapter of the American College of Physicians for his scholarship and teaching. Dr Weart served on the Board of Directors of the SC Pharmacists Association and as President and Chairman of the Board for 2010-2011. He served on the Board of Directors for the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy from 2009-2013 and President of the Waring Library Society for 2014-2015. He is one of many Hot Dog Ministry volunteers involved with serving the homeless of Charleston.