Our World-Class Team
Our team of volunteers and staff is truly international, from many faiths, ethnicities and cultures. Their diversity reflects our commitment to cardiac care that we believe should be available to all. Their skills are world-class — the children who need us deserve the best.
Surgeons
Dr William Novick MD, MS, GCA Founder
Senior Pediatric & Congenital Cardiac Surgeon
Dr Novick is a graduate of University of Alabama School of Medicine and completed his General Surgical Residency at the Graduate Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania before entering the Cardiothoracic Residency at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Dr Novick chairs the management team.
Dr Marcelo Cardarelli MD, MPH
Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon – Global Cardiac Surgery Specialist
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and graduated from University of Buenos Aires. After his initial training in cardiac surgery in Argentina, Dr. Cardarelli completed a series of residencies and fellowships at some of the most prestigious cardiac care facilities in America. During his training in pediatric cardiac surgery, Dr. Cardarelli had the good fortune of working under some true giants in the field including Dr. Denton Cooley at Texas Heart Institute, Dr. William Norwood at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Dr. Aldo Castañeda at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Cardarelli was Director of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at University of Maryland Hospital for Children for nearly 18 years. This was followed by an 8-year tenure as congenital surgeon at Inova Children’s Hospital in Fairfax, Northern Virginia. Since 2023, Dr Cardarelli has been providing consulting pediatric cardiac surgery services at Acibadem Sistina Hospital in Skopje, North Macedonia while continuing traveling with his Foundation. Currently Dr. Cardarelli is a full time Clinical Associate and Interim Director of pediatric cardiac surgery at Johns Hopkins Children Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dr Vitaly Dedovich MD
Pediatric & Congenital Cardiac Surgeon
Dr Dedovich, MD, graduated from the Belarusian State Medical University in 2002 and completed his training in Pediatric General and Cardiac Surgery in Belarusian Pediatric Surgical Centre, followed by a fellowship in Christian-Albrecht-University, Kiel, Germany. In 2011-2017 he was chief of the Department of Congenital Heart Surgery at the Belarusian Cardiac Centre. Vitaly joined GCA staff in 2018 and now works full time sharing his knowledge and skill with colleagues in Low and Middle Income Countries.
Ali Dodge-Khatami MD, PhD
Professor of Surgery
Dr. Ali Dodge-Khatami graduated from medical school in 1991 and completed his cardiovascular surgery training in Switzerland in 1998, with fellowships at Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago and at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children in London, USA. He first volunteered for CGA in 2008.
Dr. Dodge-Khatami moved to the United States in 2012 after an international career, and has worked at the University of Mississippi and Herman Memorial Children’s in Houston, Texas, and was Chief at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York. He speaks fluent English, French and German, and is proficient in Persian, Dutch and Spanish.
Alex Golovenko, MD, PhD
Pediatric & Congenital Cardiac Surgeon
Dr Golovenko first volunteered for Global Cardiac Alliance in 2018 and has provided pediatric cardiac surgery in Libya (Tobruk, Benghazi and Tripoli), Iraq (Basra), and Democratic Republic of Congo (Lubumbashi). Alex is an accomplished statistician as well as pediatric cardiac surgeon and his special area of research is in pulmonary hypertension in congenital heart disease.
Affiliations:
- Global Cardiac Alliance (Memphis, TN, USA)
- Amosov National Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery (Kyiv, Ukraine)
Anesthesiology, Perfusion
& Therapy
Dr Vancho Jovanov, MD
Dr. Vancho Jovanov, MD, graduated from Medical Faculty, University of St. Cyril and Methodius, Skopje – Republic of Macedonia. Postgraduate specialization in Anesthesiology and Intensive Care he completed at Clinical Center – Skopje, where he worked for another five years. He continued to work at Specialized Hospital for Cardiac Surgery Phillip II for two years and from 2010 until February 2013 worked as an international staff at Salam Center for Cardiac Surgery Khartoum – Sudan.
Dr. Vancho started to volunteer for Dr. Novick and his team in November 2012 and from 2013 he joined NCA staff as a full time anesthesiologist sharing his knowledge and skills with colleagues in Libya, Lebanon, Iraq and other low-income countries.
Artem Pershai MD
Pediatric Intensivist and Anesthesiologist
Dr Artem “Archi” Pershai graduated from Belarusian State Medical University in 2015, and is dual-trained as a Pediatric Cardiac Intensivist and Anesthesiologist. After qualifying in the Belarusian National Pediatric Heart Centre. Throughout his training and after qualifying Artem volunteered regularly with GCA and in 2018 he took a staff position.
Major General (R) Prof Dr Iftikhar Ahmed, GCA Founder
Consultant Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesiologist and Intensivist
Iftikhar is currently Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Bahria International Hospital Lahore Pakistan and Head of Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Iftikhar was previously the Head of Department of Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesiology and Intensive Care at the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology and National Institute of Heart Diseases, Rawalpindi. He developed a specialized Cardiac Intensive Care Course for Nurses which is accredited in the National University of Medical Sciences. He first volunteered in 2010.
Jack Cornell, RRT
Respiratory Therapist
Jack completed his Associate of Science degree in Respiratory Care at Sandhills Community College in 1978. Jack has more than 30 years experience working in pediatric critical care and has specialized in cardiac care at Duke University Medical Center for the last 22 years. Jack first volunteered for CGA in 2008.
Jack is a member of the American Association for Respiratory Care, an Advanced Care Provider and is ECMO-certified. He is also Co-Director of Camp Kaleidoscope, a summer camp for patients of Duke Childrens.
Lazo Eremija
Senior Pediatric Perfusionist
Lazo graduated with a Certificate of Perfusion from Westminster Biomedical College for Biomedical Technology, London in 1997. He completed his training in Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, London, UK. He attended High Medical School Belgrade in 2009 and is a member of EBCP. From 2010 until 2012 Lazo worked as international staff at Salam Center for Cardiac Surgery, Khartoum, Sudan, and he was Chief Perfusionist at the Institute for Mother and Child, Novi Belgrade from 1995 until 2012. Lazo has traveled extensively with CGA, making his first volunteer trip with Dr. Novick in 2000 to Peru.
Logistics
Jean Towne
Director of Logistics
Jean began working with Dr Novick in 2010 as Medical Team Coordinator. Jean is now Director of Logistics with Global Cardiac Alliance, coordinating all projects from Memphis.
Donald Fitzgerald
Inventory Specialist
Don Fitzgerald is the Inventory Specialist at GCA. Donald was the Chief Inventory Specialist at the ICHF but joined NCA when it was chartered. Donald manages all incoming material donations and packs all outgoing supplies and pallet shipments that we make on our trips.
Nursing & Education
Lauren Gardiner RN, BSc
PICU Clinical Educator
Lauren Gardiner is a Registered Nurse and Clinical Educator. She graduated with a Bachelor of Nursing Sciences from James Cook University, Australia in 2004. She completed a Graduate Certificate in Adult Critical Care Nursing in 2008, and a Graduate Diploma in Paediatric Intensive Care Nursing at the University of Melbourne in 2014.
Martina Pavanic RN, BSc
Nursing Director Operating Room
Martina has over 24 years’ experience working as an operating room nurse, specializing in Pediatric Cardiac OR. She received a Nursing Diploma at the Mlinarska Nursing School, Zagreb, Croatia in 1996 and completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing at University of Memphis, Loewenberg School of Nursing in 2015. She received her training in OR at Hospital Rebro, KBC Zagreb between 1996-2000.
Founding Board
William M. Novick MD, MS
Medical Director: CEO Senior Pediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgeon
Humberto Rodriguez-Saldana MD
Pediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgeon
Frank Molloy NP, MSc
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Martina Pavanic RN, BSN
Director OR Nursing
Siarhei Liauchonak MD
Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesiologist
Igor Polivenok MD, PhD
Interventional Cardiologist
Marcelo Cardarelli MD, MPH
Pediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgeon
Jean Towne
Director of Logistics
Stacey D. Marr NP, MSc
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Pavel Shauchenka MD
Pediatric Cardiac Intensivist
Sri O. Rao MD
Pediatric Cardiologist
Farzana Shah NP, MSc
PICU Clinical Educator
Matthew Norridge RNC, MSc
Education Consultant
Kathleen Fenton MD
Pediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgeon
Elizabeth Novick RN, BSN
Social Media
Karen Bowtell RN, PGDip
PICU Clinical Educator
Evgeni Suslin MD
Pediatric Cardiac Intensivist
David Weiduwilt BME,CE
Biomedical Engineer
Brian Forsberg MPH, CCP, FPP
Chief Perfusionist