Ruben Anthony Salazar, MD

Dr. Noa Zemer Wassercug is a board-certified cardiologist with expertise in adult congenital heart disease. She is an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and an assistant attending cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP). Dr. Zemer Wassercug's clinical expertise is focused on adult congenital heart echocardiography and pregnancy management in women with congenital heart disease. She is an attending physician at Columbia’s Schneeweiss Adult Congenital Heart Center. Dr. Zemer Wassercug received her Doctor of Medicine from the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University. She completed a cardiology fellowship at Rabin Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in adult congenital heart disease at NYP/CUIMC. She sees patients in Washington Heights in Manhattan.

Bo Shen, MD, is one of the world’s pre-eminent leaders in interventional inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and pouch-related disorders due to his specialized expertise and experience treating a wide range of these conditions. Dr. Shen is the director of the IBD Center at Columbia and co-director of Columbia’s Global Center for Integrated Colorectal Surgery and IBD Interventional Endoscopy. He is also the Vice Chair for Innovation in Medicine and Surgery and a Professor of Medicine (in Surgery) and Edelman-Jarislowsky Professor in Surgical Sciences. In addition to pouchitis and pouch diseases, Dr. Shen specializes in critical diagnostic evaluation, and medical and endoscopic management of IBD, GI endoscopy and imaging technology. Dr. Shen is known as a pioneer in interventional endoscopic therapy for IBD and ileal pouch disorders - this includes postponing or eliminating the need for surgery in some cases. Dr. Shen comes to Columbia/NewYork-Presbyterian from the Cleveland Clinic, where he served as medical director for the Center of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and the Ed and Joey Story Endowed Chair, Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute. While there, Dr. Shen established a subspecialty Pouchitis Clinic and Interventional IBD Unite - the first and largest of its kind in the United States. He also created an IBD Board, modeled after oncology tumor boards, to help manage the most challenging cases with multiple specialists. A prolific researcher in the field with more than 600 peer-reviewed articles, Dr. Shen is funded by a number of government and philanthropic organizations, including the NIH, the American Gastroenterological Association, American College of Gastroenterology, the Broad Foundation, and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.

Prashant Vaishnava, MD, FACC, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and Co-Director of Inpatient Clinical Services for Columbia Interventional Cardiovascular Care. Dr. Vaishnava completed medical school at Michigan State University, where he was a junior inductee into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honorary Medical Society and inducted into the Gold Humanism in Medicine Honor Society. He completed his residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital, followed by his cardiology fellowship at Mount Sinai. He has held faculty positions at the University of Michigan and Mount Sinai, where he served as the Director of Quality Assurance for Mount Sinai Heart. Dr. Vaishnava is recognized for his editorial contributions, including his role as editor of the 15th edition of Fuster and Hurst's The Heart and as an assistant editor for the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. He has also authored numerous book chapters, notably on perioperative care in Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine.Dr. Vaishnava is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the New York Academy of Medicine. His professional achievements extend to the corporate sector, where he was formerly the Medical Director for Cardiovascular Medicine at Optum Health and received the United Health Group Diamond Innovation Award.At Columbia University, he is an advisor to the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise and has participated in healthcare projects at Harvard Law School's Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics. Dr. Vaishnava's expertise has been featured in various media outlets, including NBC News, Reuters, and Politico.