My name is Akram Zaaqoq, I am an associate professor of medicine at Georgetown University and the medical director for adult Extracorporeal Membrane oxygenation (ECMO) at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC. I am a board-certified critical care physician; I was trained at the University of Pittsburgh (UPMC) from which I graduated in 2013. I have a passion for all aspects of critical care which include clinical care, teaching, and research. My first exposure to mechanical circulatory support devices was at Houston Methodist- DeBakey Heart and Vascular Institute, which is one of the highest-ranking cardiac centers, and since then, I have been working exclusively in the cardiovascular ICU. Currently, I am the medical director for the adult ECMO at MedStar Washington Hospital Center which is a high volume ECMO center and busy ventricular assist device one.

Research is a major area of interest and focus. My research focus on complex inflammatory response and applying mathematical modeling to understand the potential targets for immune-modulators and monitoring of the clinical course. During the times of COVID pandemic, COVID critical care consortium (ECMOCARD) represented a spark for a bright future. By bringing collaborators from all over the world and conducting quality research, we were able to learn from each other and answer some of the hard questions, yet many remain unanswered

By being part of the extracorporeal life support organization (ELSO)- scientific oversight committee, I hope to facilitate answering some of these questions, mainly the ones related to organization and regionalization of ECMO center, clinical decision making and translation of evidence into clinical practice, and quality measurement and benchmarking. ​
Email akramzaaqoq@gmail.com

Prof. Dr. Justyna Swol is an ecmologist, intensivist and emergency physician affiliated at the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Paracelsus Medical University Nuremberg, Germany. She is a member of Scientific Committe of EuroELSO, European branch of ELSO. Previously, she served as a Member at Large of EuroELSO Steering Committee between 2015-2023. Her primary interests include research based on ELSO Registry. She led the development of Trauma Addendum, which is now opened for data entry. Passionate about teaching and education, she delivered ECPR simulations and education courses during the past EuroELSO conferences and served as coordinator for Educational Corner. She is involved in publishing activities as Associate Editor, Editorial Board Member and reviewer of Artificial Organs, Perfusion and ASAIO J; that underpins her scientific practice.​

Dr. Matthew L Friedman is a pediatric intensivist who works in the PICU and CVICU at Riley Hospital for Children. He is an Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care. Dr. Friedman's main research interests are mechanical ventilation practices on pediatric VV-ECMO and neurological monitoring and complications on pediatric ECMO. ​
Email friedmml@iu.edu ​.