Board of Directors
President
Charles J. Love, MD, FACC, FHRS, FAHA, CCDS
Director of Cardiac Rhythm Device Services
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, MD USA
Dr. Charles Love is currently the Director of Cardiac Rhythm Device Services at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, he served as Director of Cardiac Rhythm Device Services at New York University. Before that, he was Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at The Ohio State University Medical Center, practicing medicine at OSU for over 20 years. Known around the world as an expert and leader in techniques of pacemaker implantation and especially in the area of lead extraction, Dr. Love is an internationally sought speaker on pacemaker technology. He has made hundreds of presentations in venues ranging from the World Congress on Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology in Hong Kong to the Advanced Didactic Course on Cardiac Pacing in France and the Japanese Heart Rhythm Society in Tokyo. He has been published a number of times in peer-reviewed journals such as Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology. He is a member of several professional societies including the American College of Cardiology, The Heart Rhythm Society, and the American Heart Association. Dr. Love is the current president of the Board of Directors of IBHRE. He has been a member of the IBHRE Board of Directors since 1992.
Vice President/Treasurer
Edward V. Platia, MD, FHRS, CCDS, CEPS-A
Washington Hospital Center
Washington, DC USA
Dr. Edward V. Platia is a Cardiac Electrophysiologist at the Washington Hospital Center. He is also a professor of medicine at Georgetown University and George Washington University School of Medicine. His research interests have focused on cardiac arrhythmias. He has been principal investigator of a number of major grants, including the American Heart Association and National Institutes of Health. He has served on the editorial board of several cardiology journals, and continues to be a reviewer for Circulation, American Journal of Cardiology, Annals of Internal Medicine, and PACE. Dr. Platia has been a member of the IBHRE Board of Directors since 2002.
Secretary
Esther Weiss, MSN, APN, CNS, FHRS, CEPS
Advocate Sherman Hospital
Elgin, IL USA
Esther Weiss is currently practicing as a Clinical Nurse Specialist at Advocate Sherman Hospital. She has worked for many years in the hospital setting, helping to create the Electrophysiology Department and holding the lead position in the Device and Electrophysiology Lab. Esther has served on several councils and committees including NASPE/CAP in 1999, several HRS Document Review and Development Committees and the Writing Committee for a Consensus Statement, as well as IBHRE's Electrophysiology Test Writing Committee since 2007. She received an HRS Fellowship in 2015.
Members of the Board
Deepak Bhakta, MD, MBA, FACP, FACC, FAHA, FHRS, CCDS, CEPS-A
Indiana University Health Physicians
Indianapolis, IN USA
Dr. Deepak Bhakta is a Cardiac Electrophysiologist at Indiana University Health Physicians, where he is Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Program Director of the Cardiovascular Disease fellowship program at Indiana University School of Medicine. He is an avid medical educator with focus on electrocardiographic interpretation, arrhythmia recognition and management, and cardiac rhythm device evaluation and troubleshooting. Dr. Bhakta served as the Vice-Chair for the 2022 HRS Expert Consensus Statement on Evaluation and Management of Arrhythmic Risk in Neuromuscular Disorders with continued volunteer efforts through Heart Rhythm Society, American College of Cardiology, and American Heart Association. He is also an editorial board member of Heart Rhythm. Dr. Bhakta's involvement with IBHRE began in 2014 where he contributes to the Physician EP and Allied EP Test Writing Committees; he became a member of its Board of Directors in 2022.
Christine Chiu-Man, MSC, FHRS, CCDS, CEPS
Centenary Hospital
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Christine Chiu-Man serves an Arrhythmia Specialist at the Centenary Hospital in Toronto, Canada. Ms. Chiu-Man currently co-Chairs the IBHRE Allied Professional Electrophysiology Test Writing Committee. In addition, she is a member of the Physician Electrophysiology Test Writing Committee. Ms. Chiu-Man has served on the IBHRE Board of Directors since 2000.
George H. Crossley, III, MD, FHRS, CCDS
Vanderbilt Heart & Vascular Institute
Nashville, TN USA
Dr. George Crossley is active in clinical research, teaching and clinical medicine at Vanderbilt University, where he is a Professor in the Cardiology section. He is also the Director of the Cardiac Research Enterprise and the Medical Director of the EP Lab. Dr. Crossley has been active in the governance of both the ACC, where he served on the Board of Governors, and the Heart Rhythm Society, was the president of the middle Tennessee chapter of the AHA, and has been involved with IBHRE since 1994 serving on the Pacing Test Writing Committee. He joined IBHRE's Board of Directors in 2022.
Kenneth A. Ellenbogen, MD, FHRS
Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center
Richmond, VA, USA
A native of New York, Dr. Ellenbogen's formal education began at Princeton University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in Biology. He earned his M.D. from Johns Hopkins University, where he also did his internship and residency training in Internal Medicine. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Societies. He did his Cardiology fellowship training at Duke University Medical Center. A member of the MCV Campus faculty since 1986, Dr. Ellenbogen achieved the rank of full Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) in 1997, was Vice-Chair of Cardiology from 2003 – 2009, and Chair of Cardiology from 2010-2021. He also serves as Director of Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology and Pacing at VCU's MCV Campus and holds the Kimmerling Chair of Cardiology.
Dr. Ellenbogen has served as a Chair of the Heart Rhythm Society Education Committee and as a member of the Board of Trustees. He received the Distinguished Teacher Award in May 2015 and has participated in the Board Review Course as faculty, Chair or Co-Chair for 16 years.
He has published more than 350 original scientific reports and over 200 book chapters, editorials and review articles. Dr. Ellenbogen is the editor or co-editor of five textbooks of cardiac electrophysiology and pacing. He has presented over 300 abstracts at major scientific meetings. Dr. Ellenbogen has served on the editorial boards of multiple journals, including Heart Rhythm. Dr. Ellenbogen has been an invited lecturer and speaker all over the world and has given over 450 talks at major national meetings.
Jay N. Gross, MD, CCDS
Montefiore Medical Center
Bronx, NY USA
Dr. Jay Gross is the Director of the Pacemaker Center at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York. He is Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He has been on the IBHRE Pacing Test Writing Committee since 1994 and joined the IBHRE Board of Directors in 2013.
Katsuhiko Imai, MD, PhD
National Hospital Organization Kure Medical Center and Chugoku Cancer Center
Kure, Hiroshima, JAPAN
Dr. Imai is Director of the Heart Center of National Hospital Organization Kure Medical Center and Chugoku Cancer Center. He is a board surgeon of cardiovascular surgery and serves as Director of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of his hospital. Dr. Imai earned his medical degree from Hiroshima University School of Medicine and has been involved in arrhythmia surgery, AF surgery, device therapy using CIED and lead extraction at Hiroshima University Hospital where he serves as a visiting professor. He is a Japanese Heart Rhythm Society Board member and has served on numerous committees and task forces including the Healthcare Insurance Committee, CIED Committee, as well as the Journal of Arrhythmia Editorial Board. For over a decade, Dr. Imai has been on the CDR Certification Committee/IBHRE Japan Test Translation Committee, and was assigned as Chairman in 2022.
Marleen E. Irwin, RCRT, FHRS, CCDS
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB CANADA
Marleen Irwin is currently practicing as a Device Specialist and Clinical Research Associate at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. Recognized as a leading expert in the device field, she is widely published and known as a prominent international lecturer. She has served on numerous committees for the Heart Rhythm Society and the Canadian College of Respiratory Therapists. She is also a practicing consultant specialist and director of CardioSys Knowledge Transfer Group Ltd. In 2005, Marleen Irwin received the HRS Distinguished Service Award, and in 2006 received an HRS Fellowship. She has served as a member of the IBHRE Pacing Test Writing Committee since 1985 and has been on the IBHRE Board of Directors since 2006.
Aparna Jaswal, MD, DNB, FACC, FHRS, FESC, CCDS
Fortis Escorts Heart Institute
New Delhi INDIA
Dr. Aparna Jaswal is an Additional Director at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute who completed medical school, her internship and residency with gold medals. She has completed many national and international research projects and was the first Indian resident to earn IBHRE' Certified Cardiac Device Specialist (CCDS) credential in September 2007. Dr. Jaswal was also the first electrophysiologist to start an EP program in Mauritius in November 2010 and has earned the following distinctions: Fellow of American College of Cardiology in 2014, FHRS in 2015, Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology and IBHRE Ambassador of the Year in 2017. Along with these accomplishments, she serves as an IBHRE Senior Ambassador, mentoring EP fellows at her hospital and internationally. Dr. Jaswal is also the Joint Secretary of the Indian Heart Rhythm Society.
Elsie M. Kelly, Public Member
Lake Tahoe, NV USA
Elsie Kelly is retired and still active in private investments. During her working years, she taught Science and Math in the California Public Schools and spent many years as a Real Estate Broker and Property Manager. She has served her community via several charitable board memberships including the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Merola Opera Program Finance Committees. Probably her best qualification for joining the IBHRE Board of Directors as a public member is the fact that she has a heart arrhythmia condition herself. She has a personal interest in helping the public receive quality care through the certification of heart rhythm professionals by this board.
Luke Shanahan, BS, MBA, FHRS, CCDS, CEPS
Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service
Gold Coast, Queensland, AUSTRALIA
Luke Shanahan is the Director of Clinical Measurements-Cardiac Investigations at Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, Australia He has been a member of IBHRE's Allied Professional EP test writing committee since 2014 and obtained HRS fellowship in 2016. Luke has a passion for education in cardiac electrophysiology and is a guest lecturer at multiple medical schools in Queensland, Australia. In addition, he has presented and chaired conference sessions at an international level. Luke obtained a Masters in Business Administration in 2016 and is involved in multiple cardiology-related committees and networks.
Elizabeth Stephenson, MD, FHRS, CCDS, CEPS-P
The Hospital for Sick Children
Toronto, ON, CANADA
Dr. Stephenson is Section Head of Cardiac Electrophysiology at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), where she is a Pediatric Cardiologist. She is also a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto. She served as an Associate Editor for HeartRhythm Case Reports from 2015 to 2019, and has served on many Heart Rhythm committees. She has been on the IBHRE Physician EP Test Writing Committee since its inception. Dr. Stephenson's clinical research is focused on several topics in the field of electrophysiology and heart function, particularly as related to pediatric use of pacemakers, cardiac resynchronization therapy, and implantable cardioverter defibrillators. She has been Chair of the SickKids Research Ethics Board since January 2015.
Staff Liaison
Tracy Lofty-Brown, MSA, CAE
International Board of Heart Rhythm Examiners
Washington, DC USA
Tracy Lofty-Brown is the Chief Executive Officer of the International Board of Heart Rhythm Examiners in Washington, DC. With more than 20 years of experience in professional development, she previously served as Executive Director for the Commission on Nurse Certification and as Director of Postdoctoral Residency Training Standards and Evaluation for the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland College Park and also Trinity College. In addition, she received a certificate from George Washington University’s School of Business and has earned the Certified Association Executive certification. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Institute for Credentialing Excellence and previously served as an advisor to the Board of Directors for the Clinical Nurse Leaders Association.