Graduated with distinction (Magna cum Laude) in Medicine & Surgery in 1983 and in General Surgery in 1992, PhD in 1990 at University of Rome "La Sapienza", Italy. He is currently Professor of Surgery at the National University of Singapore; Director of the Minimally Invasive Surgical Centre (MISC) and NUH Hernia Centra at the National University Hospital (NUH) and Director of the Advanced Surgery Training Centre (ASTC) at National University of Singapore. He received more than 15 Awards for his Scientific Studies; Editor of 5 Surgical Book including on Mobile App. Authors of more than 300 articles on peer-review journals. He is Associate Editor of: Hernia Journal; Asian Journal of Endoscopic Surgery. He is the Secretary-General, Past-President of the Endoscopic & Laparoscopic Surgeons of ASIA (ELSA), founding member and Advisory President Asia Pacific Hernia Society (APHS). Founding member and Past-President Asia-Pacific Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Society (APMBSS), President of Asia Endoscopic Task Force (AETF). He is President of the International Federation of the Societies of Endoscopic Surgeons (IFSES). He has been awarded the Honorary Membership of several Surgical and Endo-Laparoscopic Societies of Japan (JSES), India (IAGES), Indonesia (PBEI, PERHERI), Nepal Hernia Society (NHS) and Surgical Society (SSN), Philippines (Philippine College Surgeons PCS, PALES), Thailand (RCST), Europe (EAES, EHS) and Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburg, Scotland (FRCS Edin). He has been nominated (2021-23) Member of the International Committee of the Consortium of American College of Surgeons Accredited Education Institutes (ACS-AEIs). He is Honorary Professor at Samarkand State Medical University, Samarkand – Uzbekistan and Honorary Visiting Consultant at Cebu Doctors University, Cebu-Philippines. Professor Davide Lomanto attained knighthood by the Italian Government on December 26 2009.

Philip Chiu is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund Professor of Robotic Surgery, Director of Multi-Scale Medical Robotics Center, Director of Endoscopy Center, Institute of Digestive Disease of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is a member of the Steering Committee of Health and Medical Innovation Development of the Health Bureau of HKSAR Government, a member of Hospital Authority Board, and served as Former President of Endoscopic and Laparoscopic Surgeons of Asia (ELSA) from 2021-2023. In 2023, he was bestowed Honorary Membership of the European Association of Endoscopic Surgery and the Karl-Storz-Harold Hopkins Golden Telescope Award at the Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics by Imperial College London. He has published more than 400 peered reviewed articles with an H index of 74.

Horacio Asbun, MD, FACS, is Professor and Chief of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery at Miami Cancer Institute and the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University. He previously served as Chair of General Surgery and Director of the Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Program at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville (2008–2018), and as Professor of Surgery at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science through 2023.
Dr. Asbun is Past President (2020–2021) of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), President-Elect of the International Laparoscopic Liver Society (ILLS), and Secretary/Treasurer of the International Federation of Societies of Endoscopic Surgeons (IFSES). His leadership includes service with the Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (AHPBA), the NCCN Pancreatic Cancer Guidelines Panel, and multiple international surgical organizations.
He has played a leading role in numerous international consensus initiatives and guideline efforts in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery, frequently serving as chair or validation committee leader. These include global collaborations on minimally invasive liver and pancreatic surgery, periampullary neoplasms, bile duct injury prevention, and perioperative care for complex pancreatic disease. He is also a founding member of the International Minimally Invasive Pancreas Surgery Consortium (IMIPS) and has contributed to major efforts such as the Tokyo Guidelines and the International Study Group of Pancreatic Surgery (ISGPS).
An internationally recognized leader in minimally invasive hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery, Dr. Asbun has authored more than 230 peer-reviewed publications, over 140 surgical videos, and numerous book chapters and textbooks. He has delivered more than 950 invited presentations worldwide and has contributed to major international guidelines and consensus initiatives. In recognition of his global impact, he was awarded a Doctor Honoris Causa from UDABOL in 2022.

• Head of the Department of General and Digestive Surgery of the University Hospital "Virgen Macarena"
• Head of the Division of General and Digestive Surgery of the Hospital Quirónsalud Sagrado Corazón in Sevilla (Spain).

• Full Professor of Surgery. University of Sevilla (Spain)

• President of the European Hernia Society (EHS) (2025-2027)
• President of the European Association of Endoscopic Surgeons (EAES) (2021-2023)
• President of the Spanish Association of Surgeons (AEC) (2020-2022)
• General Secretary of the European Hernia Society (EHS) (2014-2020)

• Full Academic Fellow of the Royal Academy of Medicine and Surgery of Sevilla

• President of the National Commission for General and Digestive Surgery of the National Council of Specialties in Health Sciences of the Ministry of Health (2021-2025)
• Vice-Chairman of the Chapter of Abdominal Wall surgery of the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS)
• Director of the Training program of endoscopic surgery of the Spanish Association of Surgery (AEC)
• President of the Expert Committee of the Royal College of Medicine of Sevilla (2018-2024)
• Director of Research of the Royal College of Medicine of Sevilla (2013-2017)

• Honorary Member of the German Hernia Society (2026)
• Honorary Member of the Italian Society of Surgery (2024)
• Honorary Member of the Portuguese Society of Abdominal Wall Surgery (2024)
• Honorary Member of the Portuguese Society of Surgery (2022)
• Honorary Member of the Andalusian Society of Surgery (2021)
• Live-time Achievement Award by the Turkish Society of Endoscopic Surgery (2021)
• Honorary Member of the of the Society of Surgery of Venezuela
• Honorary Member of the Society of Surgery of Cuba
• Honorary Member of the Club Hernié (French Society of Abdominal wall)

• Papers published in peer-reviewed journals indexed in PubMed: 265
• H-index 50
• Author of different Clinical Guidelines and Consensus paper on different fields of surgery

• “Illustrious Doctor” by The Royal College of Medicine of Sevilla (2018)
• “Surgeon with best reputation” in Spain by MERCO 2023, 2024 and 2025
• One of the “Best 100 doctors of Spain” annually from 2017 to 2026
• “Andalusion Flag” for Research, Science and Health of the Andalusian Government (2022)
• “Medal of the city” of Sevilla 2025

Curriculum Professor Nicole D. Bouvy, MD, PhD
Nicole Bouvy is Professor of Surgery and Chair of the Department of Surgery at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. She currently serves as President of the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES). Before joining Leiden, she was Professor of Innovative Surgical Techniques at Maastricht University Medical Center.
Her clinical and academic work focuses on minimally invasive surgery, surgical innovation and the prevention of surgical complications. Throughout her career, she has been particularly interested in how new techniques and technologies can be translated into safer and better care for patients. She has contributed to more than 300 scientific publications and has supervised over 30 PhD candidates.
An important focus of her current work is the sustainability of surgery and healthcare. She is involved in the Dutch national Green Operating Room network and leads the multidisciplinary CAREFREE research programme on sustainable surgery. She believes that innovation in surgery should not only improve technical performance, but should also help prevent complications, reduce unnecessary variation and contribute to healthcare that remains sustainable for future generations.
Within EAES, she is committed to education, scientific collaboration and the responsible introduction of new technologies in surgery. She is particularly committed to connecting surgeons across countries and continents, believing that international collaboration and mutual learning are essential to improving the quality of surgical care worldwide. She greatly values strengthening the dialogue and collaboration between European and Asian surgical communities, learning from each other and working together towards the highest possible standards of care for every patient, wherever they live. A recurring theme in her work is that progress in surgery is a collective effort, with a shared responsibility to care for our patients, each other and our planet

General Surgeon with 35 years of experience in minimally invasive techniques, including robotics, transanal endoscopic surgery, and operative digestive endoscopy
Chair of the Multi-Disciplinary Treatment (MDT) team for ColoRectal Cancer at the University of Turin, Città della Salute e della Scienza Hospital
Elected General Secretary of the European Association of Endoscopic Surgery (EAES), which has around 5,400 members
On April 4th, 2025, nominated President-Elect of the European Association of Endoscopic Surgery (EAES)
On May 1st, 2025, appointed a member of the European Surgical Association (ESA)
Educated and trained at the School of Surgery of the University of Tuebingen (Germany), under the guidance of Prof Gerhard Buess, pioneer of minimally invasive and robot-assisted surgery
Worked as Assistant Professor first and Associate Professor then, at the University of Turin, Department of Surgical Sciences under the guidance of Prof Mario Morino, also a pioneer of minimally invasive and robot-assisted surgery
Nominated Distinguished Full Professor of Surgery by the Rector of the University of Turin
Principal Investigator in 8 European Projects in FP5, FP6, FP7, H2020, and HEU, 4 of which are ongoing (CLASSICA, PALPABLE, TENTACLE, and DAEDALUS)
Co-Principal Investigator of a HEU ERC Synergy Project (ERC SyG-2023 #101118626), ENDOTHERANOSTICS (Multi-sensor Eversion Robot Towards Intelligent Endoscopic Diagnosis and Therapy) in collaboration with King's College London, Queen Mary University London, and Federico II University of Naples (www.endtheranostics.com).
Awarding of approximately 85 million euros in funding for his research proposals, of which more than 23 million euros for his institution
6 international patents registered or pending on microrobotics and endoluminal therapies
Author of 359 publications on Scopus (ID: 6701795382), H-index 57, 10.687 citations.
ORCID: 0000-0002-2110-4082
Editor-in-Chief of Minimally Invasive Therapy and Allied Technologies Journal (Impact Factor 2.0)
Coordinator of the Doctorate Course in Bioengineering and Medical-Surgical Sciences, inter-university in collaboration with the Polytechnic of Turin
Coordinator of the research activities of the Minimally Invasive Therapy and Innovation Center (MITIC) at the Department of Surgical Sciences of the University of TURIN (www.mitic-lab.com).

Dana A. Telem, MD, MPH is the Lazar J. Greenfield Professor and Chief of General Surgery at the University of Michigan, where she leads seven surgical divisions with more than 50 surgeons and 100 staff. A practicing abdominal wall, foregut, and bariatric surgeon, Dr. Telem is a nationally recognized surgeon–scientist whose work bridges implementation science and policy. Her federally funded research focuses on improving the quality and efficiency of surgical care specifically by developing and testing implementation strategies through hybrid effectiveness trials. She has authored over 220 peer-reviewed publications and serves as Associate Editor for Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, American Journal of Surgery, and Hernia, as well as on the Annals of Surgery editorial board. A committed leader and mentor, Dr. Telem is the incoming president of SAGES, founder of the Michigan Women’s Surgical Collaborative, and Director of the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative Core Optimization Hernia Registry (MSQC-COHR), advancing statewide quality improvement across 70 hospitals. She also advises the Food and Drug Administration and Leapfrog Group and is an elected member of the American Surgical Association.

Jon C. Gould, MD, MBA is Tenured Professor of Surgery and Chief of the Division of Minimally Invasive and Gastrointestinal Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He holds the Walker Endowed Chair in General Surgery, serves as the Vice Chair for Quality in the Department of Surgery, and as the Froedtert Theda Care Health System Associate Chief Quality and Safety Officer for the South Region. In this role, he serves as the Medical Director for Supply Chain and leads the Value Analysis program.
He is a nationally renowned Foregut and Bariatric Surgeon. He is on the editorial board of 7 major surgical journals and serves as the Associate Editor for the surgical textbook, Mastery of Surgery. He is the author of over 200 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters on topics such as clinical outcomes and surgical quality. For SAGES, he has been on the Board since 2014 and has served the society as chair of the Foregut, Program, Technology, and Digital Surgery committees and councils. He was Secretary of the Society from 2023 to 2026 and is currently President-Elect of SAGES.

Dr. Ehlers is Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Michigan where she served as the Division Chief for Minimally Invasive Surgery. Her research focuses on implementation of evidence based care for hernia, and is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Dr Sujith Wijerathne is a Senior Consultant in General Surgery, Endocrine Surgery, Hernia and Minimally Invasive Surgery at the Department of Surgery, National University Hospital (NUH), Singapore. He serves as Head and Senior Consultant of the Department of General Surgery at Alexandra Hospital, where he also leads Surgical Services Planning within the Clinical Services Planning Office.
He obtained his MBBS from the University of Colombo, followed by MRCS (Edinburgh), MMed (Surgery, NUS), and FRCS (Edinburgh), and was accredited as a specialist in General Surgery in Singapore in 2017. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, with a strong commitment to surgical education and training.
Dr Wijerathne has a keen interest in minimally invasive and complex hernia surgery. He is a Section Editor and Reviewer for the Hernia Journal, Chair of the Sustainability and Green ELSA (SAGE) Committee under ELSA, and Joint Secretary of the Asia Pacific Hernia Society (APHS). He has contributed extensively to regional and international surgical education, research, and service development.

Graduate of the General Surgery program of the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center in Manila in 1999. He took his General Surgery specialty board in 2000 and is a Diplomate of the Philippine Board of Surgery. He is a fellow of the Philippine College of Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons, the Philippine Society of General Surgeons and the Philippine Association of Laparoscopic and Endoscopic Surgeons (PALES). He was awarded an honorary membership to the Japanese Society for Endoscopic Surgery (JSES). He is also a co-founder of the Philippine Hernia Society. He has special interest in Minimally Invasive Surgery.
At present, he holds several positions in his country notable of which, as the Executive Director of the Philippine Center for Advanced Surgery of the Cardinal Santos Medical Center. It is the first and foremost MIS training center in the Philippines. And Chairman of the Department of Surgery and MIS Institute, Cardinal Santos Medical Center. He also serves as one of the board of Directors for PALES and heads the Committee on Surgical Training. Section Chief of the Minimally Invasive Surgery of the Rizal Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center and Batangas Medical Center and at the same time runs the fellowship program for minimally invasive surgery (UMIST) as its Program Director.
Internationally, He sits as one of the Board of Directors of the Asia Endo Surgery Task Force (AETF) and Asia Pacific Endo Laparoscopic Surgery Group (APELS), Asia Pacific Hernia Society (APHS) and he is Past President of Endoscopic and Laparoscopic Surgeons of Asia (ELSA).
He was awarded the 2020 PMA (Philippine Medical Association) Most Outstanding Physician in Modern Medicine. He also received the Master of the Knife of the Philippine College of Surgeons – Southern Tagalog Chapter.

EDUCATION

1995	M.D., The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
2000	M.S., The Graduate School, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
2009	PhD. The Graduate School, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT

1995-2000	Resident in Surgery, Catholic Medical Center, Korea
2000-2003	Military Hospital, Korea
2003-2005	Clinical fellow, Department of Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
2005-2009	Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
2008-2009	Visiting Investigator, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, NY, USA
2010-2013	Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
2013-	Professor, Department of Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea

LICENSURE AND CERTIFICATION

Korea Medical License No.55914, 03/1995
The Korean Surgical Society’s Certificate N0.4622, 03/2000

AWARDS AND HONOR

2005	GSK Academic Award, Korea Cancer Association, Seoul, Korea
2006	Best Video Award, European Association of Endoscopic Surgery, Berlin, Germany
2007	Travel award, 7th International Gastric Cancer Congress, Sao Paulo, Brazil
2008	Young investigator award, Catholic Cancer Center, Seoul, Korea

CONGRESS APPOINTMENTS

Member, Korean Surgical Society
Member, Korean Gastric Cancer Association
Member, Korean Society of Gastrointestinal Surgery
Member, Korean Society of Gastroenterology
Member, Korean Society of Endoscopic & Laparoscopic Surgeons
Member, Korean Cancer Association
Member, Korean Society of Surgical Oncology
Member, Korean Association of Robotic Surgeons
Member, International Gastric Cancer Association
Member, Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES)
Member, European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES)
Fellow, American College of Surgeons (ACS)
Member, The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT)

SPECIALIZED FIELDS

Surgical Oncology, Gastric Cancer
Minimally Invasive gastrointestinal surgery
Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery
Robot Assisted Surgery
Flexible endoscopy

Present Academic & Hospital Appointments

Professor
Division of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery.
Department of Surgery, Severance Hospital.
Yonsei University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

EDUCATION

1992. 3. 1 - 1998. 2. 28	Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
2006. 3. 1 - 2008. 2. 28	Master Degree, Graduate School, Yonsei University
2009. 3. 1 – 2013. 2. 28	Doctoral Degree, Graduate School, Yonsei University

WORK EXPERIENCE

2006. 3. 1-2007. 2. 28	Clinical and research fellowship, Department of Surgery, Severance Hospital,Yonsei University College of Medicine
2008. 3.1 -2009. 2. 28	Full-time Faculty Instructor Department of Surgery, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine
20093. 1 – 2013. 2. 28	Assistant Professor Department of Surgery, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine
2014. 9. 1-2015. 8. 30	Visiting associate professor, University of California, SanFrancisco, USA.
2014. 3. 1- 2019. 2. 28	Associate Professor Department of Surgery, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine
2019. 3. 1-	Professor Department of Surgery, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine

Professor Charles Chung-wei Lin, MD, FACS is a distinguished hepatopancreatobiliary (HBP) and surgical oncology surgeon with extensive expertise in minimally invasive and robotic surgery. He serves as Vice Dean of IRCAD-Taiwan, Deputy Superintendent of Show Chwan Memorial Hospital and Cancer Center, and is the current President of the Taiwan Association of Endoscopic Surgery (TAES).
Professor Lin is internationally recognized for his contributions to robotic HBP surgery, surgical oncology, and advanced minimally invasive surgical education. As a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS), he is actively involved in clinical innovation, surgical research, and international training programs, promoting the safe adoption of cutting-edge robotic technologies. Through his leadership in both clinical practice and surgical education, Professor Lin continues to advance the development of precision surgery and foster global collaboration in minimally invasive surgery.

Yu-Yin Liu, MD, is an Associate Professor of Surgery at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan, and Chairman of the General Surgery Division at Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital . He earned his medical degree from Kaohsiung Medical University and completed his surgical residency at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. He subsequently received advanced fellowship training in minimally invasive and robotic surgery at the University of Strasbourg, IRCAD, and IHU (France).
Professor Liu specializes in gastrointestinal surgery, gastric cancer, hepatopancreatobiliary surgery, minimally invasive surgery, robotic surgery, and bariatric and metabolic surgery. His research interests include robotic surgery, image-guided surgery, fluorescence image guided surgery, surgical innovation, and precision surgery. He has published in peer-reviewed international journals and has presented his work at numerous international scientific meetings.
Professor Liu is committed to advancing minimally invasive surgery through clinical innovation, translational research, and surgical education. His current work focuses on integrating robotic technology, fluorescence imaging, and emerging digital technologies into surgical practice to improve precision, patient safety, and clinical outcomes. He actively promotes international collaboration and is dedicated to training the next generation of surgeons while contributing to the continued evolution of modern gastrointestinal and robotic surgery.