Invited International Experts
Dr Carol J. Whelan
Dr Carol Whelan was appointed as Consultant Cardiologist with an interest in imaging, heart failure and, in particular, cardiac amyloidosis, in October 2009 at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.
She was appointed as Honorary Associate Professor at UCL in recognition for her work at the National Amyloidosis Centre.
She was appointed as Trust lead for heart failure and chairs a weekly cross site meeting of the dedicated Heart Failure Clinical Pathways Group. Through the CPG, the team aims to harmonise the experience for patients with heart failure to achieve excellence in a quality service across the Trust.
In November 2019, Dr Whelan was appointed as councillor on the board of the British Society for Heart Failure. She wrote the chapter on cardiac amyloidosis in the latest Oxford Textbook of Heart Failure and has published widely on this subject.
As a clinical expert, she assisted the NICE committee in their evaluation of two novel treatments, inotersen and patisiran, for hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis. These have both been approved in the UK.
Professor Claudio Rapezzi
Dr Claudio Rapezzi is a professor of cardiology at the University of Ferrara in Italy. He earned his medical degree from the University of Bologna in Italy, with additional training in cardiovascular diseases.
His primary research areas are congestive heart failure, myocardial diseases, systemic amyloidosis, electrocardiography, alternative therapies to heart failure, and the diagnosis and treatment of chronic disease relating to the thoracic aorta. Dr Rapezzi has published over 350 articles, including articles discussing cardiac amyloidosis in renowned publications such as Journal of the American College of Cardiology, European Heart Journal, Circulation: Heart Failure, and Journal of Heart Failure.
In the international amyloidosis community Claudio is viewed as a passionate and collegiate international colleague. He is a pioneer who has worked for decades in the field of cardiac amyloidosis and is the unsung hero of the recognition of the cardiac amyloid bone scan as a diagnostic tool in the detection of cardiac amyloidosis having first published on this very topic in 2005.
Professor Morie Gertz 
Dr. Gertz is the Roland Seidler Jr. Professor of the Art of Medicine and Chair Emeritus of the Department of Internal Medicine, at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He is a Master of the American College of Physicians. Undergraduate degree was awarded with highest distinction from Northwestern University graduating Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Gertz received his medical degree cum laude from Loyola Medical School in Maywood, Illinois and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha the medical honor society.
He completed a 3-year medical residency at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, and was voted Resident of the Year for 2 of those years. He completed training in hematology and oncology at the Mayo. He was awarded the Mayo Distinguished Clinician Award for his contributions to patient care. He served 1 year term as president of the Mayo clinic staff officers and counsellors. He has served as chair of the division of Hematology and chair of the department of Medicine at Mayo Clinic Rochester.
He was the first treasurer of the International Society of Amyloidosis and International Myeloma Society. He has authored over 800 peer reviewed publications and over 50 book chapters. He serves on the editorial boards of Amyloidosis, Acta Haematologica and Clinical Lymphoma & Myeloma. He is coeditor of Neoplastic Diseases of the Blood. In 2019 The Department of Medicine awarded him its lifetime research achievement award.
In the amyloidosis community Professor Gertz is known as a leading expert and thinker committed to providing guidance and education on a global level. He is an integral contributor to the international guidelines on the diagnosis and staging of AL amyloidosis.