Dr. Sophia (Sophie) Strike

Dr. Ari Cedars is a cardiologist in Baltimore, Maryland. He also serves as director of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center at both the Johns Hopkins Heart and Vascular Institute and the Blalock-Taussig-Thomas Pediatric and Congenital Heart Center. Dr. Cedars is an associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.Dr. Cedars specializes in adult congenital heart disease.He is a member of the leadership committee for the Advanced Cardiac Therapies Improving Outcomes Network (ACTION), an organization focused on the improvement of outcomes for pediatric ventricular assist device (VAD) patients. He is an administrative board member of the Alliance for Adult Research in Congenital Cardiology (AARCC), a multi-institutional academic research network devoted to producing new research in adult congenital heart disease. He is also a member of the medical advisory board for the Adult Congenital Heart Association (ACHA). Dr. Cedars’ research focuses on patient-centered outcomes, mechanical circulatory support and ventricular assist devices, and the biological mechanisms underlying clinical disease progression in congenital heart disease.

Otolaryngologist Vaninder “Vinny” K. Dhillon specializes in endocrine surgery, laryngology, otolaryngology, parathyroid diseases and surgery, swallowing disorders, thyroid diseases and surgery, and voice problems. She treats both children and adults. After earning her medical degree from Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Dr. Dhillon completed a residency in otolaryngology at Los Angeles County and University of Southern California Medical Center. Dr. Dhillon’s research interests include the role of voice outcomes in patients after thyroid and parathyroid surgery when there is concern for vocal fold weakness or paralysis, evaluation of the role of office-based treatment on vocal fold paralysis, as well as neurogenic recovery of vocal fold paralysis. Dr. Dhillon is also interested in treatments for neurogenic chronic cough, which is refractory to other medical intervention.

Wojtek Mydlarz, director of Johns Hopkins Head and Neck Surgery in the National Capital Region, specializes in the treatment of benign and malignant tumors of the head and neck, including the upper aerodigestive tract, salivary glands, skull base, thyroid, skin and soft tissue. Dr. Mydlarz is a medical officer and a clinical and research collaborator in the head and neck surgery branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). His research interests include evaluating both surgical and nonsurgical treatment outcomes in patients with head and neck cancer. He is interested in the complex molecular biology of head and neck cancer, as well as potential clinical applications of novel targeted cancer therapies. He is actively involved in clinical trial development and implementation at the NIH and Johns Hopkins. After earning his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Mydlarz completed his internship and residency in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Additionally, he completed a Science of Clinical Investigation Training Program at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and specialized fellowship training in head and neck surgical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Mydlarz has contributed to numerous professional publications, authored a variety of articles and book chapters, and has been invited to give many lectures. He serves on the editorial board for Oral Oncology and Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology, and is a journal reviewer for Oral Oncology, Head and Neck, Laryngoscope and JAMA Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery.