As part of the mission of the World Society for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery, a Research Committee has been created with the goals of encouraging, developing and overseeing clinical research in pediatric and congenital heart surgery across the world. There will be an emphasis on regional and long-term outcomes involving lesions or pathologies in different geographical areas. In addition, the Research Committee will work to define the resources available for these types of outcomes research in all regions of the world.

Chairs

James D St.Louis MD
Kansas City, USA

George Sarris MD
Athens Greece

The Fundraising Committee of the World Society shall be responsible for planning fundraising activities in order to support the work of the World Society to achieve its goals and fulfill its mission. The Fundraising Committee shall be composed of one to three members per continent in addition to the President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary and Executive Director. The Chair of the Fundraising Committee shall be designated by the President and approved by the Governing Council.

Co-Chair
Christo I. Tchervenkov, Montreal, Canada

Co-Chair
Giovanni Stellin, Padova, Italy

The Publications Committee of the World Society shall oversee the development and maintenance of a website for the World Society, shall also oversee the establishment of a scientific journal, shall find a publisher for the journal, and shall oversee the business relationships between the World Society and a publisher. The Publications Committee shall have advisory oversight for all official publications of the World Society and shall make recommendation to the Editor and the Governing Council. The Publications Committee shall be composed of one or two members per continent in addition to the President, First Vice-President and Secretary of the World Society. The President shall designate a Chair to the Publications Committee, to be approved by the Governing Council. The Publications Committee shall seek and recommend an Editor of the scientific journal of the World Society when such a journal becomes established. The Editor shall then selected by a vote of the Governing Council.

Chair
Richard A. Jonas, Washington, D.C., USA

The Membership Committee shall consider all applications for membership and report its recommendations to the Executive Committee and the Governing Council (Board of Directors) of the World Society. The Membership Committee is responsible for researching pertinent information on a specific candidate. However, it shall be the responsibility of the candidate for membership to ensure that all pertinent information needed for the application reaches the World Society offices. The Membership Committee also shall oversee the recruitment of new members. The Membership Committee shall be composed of one to two members per continent in addition to the President and the Secretary of the World Society. The Chair of the Membership Committee shall be designated by the President and approved by the Executive Committee.

Chair
Kirsten Finucane, Auckland, New Zealand

The Program Committee shall arrange, with instructions from the Governing Council and/or Executive Committee of the World Society the scientific program for the meetings of the World Society. The membership of the Program Committee shall consist of at least one but no more than three members per continent in addition to the President, First Vice-President and Secretary of the World Society. The President shall designate a Chair of the Program Committee, which shall be approved by the Executive Committee.

Chair
Jeffrey P. Jacobs St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

Co-Chair
Marshall L. Jacobs Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Hafil Abdulgani Jakarta, Indonesia

Zohair Al-Halees Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Obaid Aljassim Dubai, UAE Osman

Al-Radi Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Miguel Arboleda Lima, Peru

Erle Austin Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Emile Bacha New York, New York, USA

Carl L. Backer Chicago, Illinois, USA

David J. Barron Birmingham, UK

Pedro A. Becker Santiago, Chile

Drissi Boumzebra Marrakesh, Morocco

John W. Brown, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Luiz F. Caneo Sao Paulo, Brazil

Jorge L. Cervantes-Salazar Mexico City, Mexico

Sertac M. Cicek Rochester, Minnesota, USA

Joseph A. Dearani Rochester, Minnesota, USA

Roberto Di Donato Dubai, UAE

Tjark Ebels Groningen, Netherlands

Frank Edwin Accra, Ghana

Adel Elgamal Mansoura, Egypt

Kirsten Finucane Auckland, New Zealand

Jose Fragata Lisbon, Portugal

Beatriz Furlanetto Sao Paulo, Brazil

Kristine Guleserian Dallas, Texas, USA

Viktor Hraska Milwaukee, USA

Hajime Ichikawa Osaka, Japan

Vladimir Ilyin Moscow, Russia

Krishna S. Iyer New Delhi, India

Jeffrey P. Jacobs St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

Marshall L. Jacobs Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Marcelo B. Jatene Sao Paulo, Brazil

Richard A. Jonas Washington, DC, USA

Tae-Gook Jun Seoul, Korea

Tom R. Karl St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

James K. Kirklin Birmingham, Alabama, USA

Martin Kostolny London, United Kingdom

Bernard Kreitman Marseilles, France

Christian Kreutzer Buenos Aires, Argentina

Hiromi Kurosawa Tokyo, Japan

François Lacour-Gayet Muscat, Oman

Stojan Lazarov Sofia, Bulgaria

Jinfen Liu Shanghai, China

Ignacio Lugones Buenos Aires, Argentina

Hendrick Mamorare Johannesburg, South Africa

Bohdan Maruszewski Warsaw, Poland

Arata Murakami Tokyo, Japan

Hani Najm Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Ericka Perez-Albrecht La Paz, Bolivia

Christian Pizarro Wilmington, Delaware, USA

Kisaburo Sakamoto Shizuoka, Japan

Piya Samankatiwat Bangkok, Thailand

Eduardo J.V. Sancho Campinas, Brazil

Nestor F. Sandoval Bogota, Colombia

George E. Sarris Athens, Greece

Rajesh Sharma New Delhi, India

Sivakumar Sivalingam Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Giovanni Stellin Padova, Italy

James St. Louis Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Si Chan Sung Pusan, Korea

Christo I. Tchervenkov Montreal, Canada

James S. Tweddell Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Susan Vosloo Cape Town, South Africa

Henry L. Walters Detroit, Michigan, USA

Qing-Yu Wu Beijing, China

Masaaki Yamagishi Kyoto, Japan

Gerhard Ziemer Chicago, Illinois, USA

The Nominating Committee shall prepare the slate of nominees for Officers of the World Society and for members of the Governing Council (Board of Directors). The last four living Presidents, First Vice-Presidents and Second Vice-Presidents, and Executive Directors of the World Society shall compose the Nominating Committee. The Chair of the Nominating shall be the most senior President.

Chair
Christo I. Tchervenkov Montreal, Canada

Richard A. Jonas Washington, DC, USA

Hiromi Kurosawa Tokyo, Japan

Giovanni Stellin Padova, Italy

Marcelo B. Jatene Sao Paulo, Brazil

Zohair Al-Halees Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The Global Council on Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery Services shall be responsible for assessing the current distribution of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery services across the world. It shall be responsible for creating a comprehensive global plan for establishing a network of continental and regional hub centers with well-defined responsibilities for training, education, support and services to patients. This will set the foundation for the World Society fulfilling its central mission.

Chair
Joseph A. Dearani, Rochester, Minnesota, USA

The Global Council on Training and Education Standards shall be responsible for establishing global standards for training in Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery. It shall also be responsible for establishing global education objectives during training and with respect to maintenance of competence for the practicing pediatric and congenital heart surgeon. The Global Council on Training and Education Standards will work to collaborate to coordinate its standards and objectives with existing continental organizations working to establish similar standards. This ultimate goal is to establish global portability for the precious commodity that is the highly skilled pediatric and congenital heart surgeon. This portability will facilitate the provision of services is areas of dire need of pediatric and congenital heart surgeons.

Chair
Tom R. Karl St.
Petersburg, Florida, USA