Speakers
Join an international panel of leading orthopedic experts and thought leaders as they share groundbreaking research, innovative techniques and forward-thinking strategies. This free, online event gives you direct access to the voices driving the future of orthopedic care.
Mike Edmonds
Keynote Speaker (UK)
Professor Michael Edmonds is a Consultant Physician at King’s College Hospital, London, specializing in diabetic foot care and amputation prevention. In 1981, he founded one of the world’s first multidisciplinary diabetic foot clinics, achieving a 50% reduction in major amputations and helping shape the 1989 St. Vincent Declaration goal to halve diabetes-related amputations.
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A past Chairman of the Diabetic Foot Study Group of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, Professor Edmonds is a co-author of Managing the Diabetic Foot and A Practical Manual of Diabetic Foot Care, named BMA Book of the Year in 2004. He has received multiple international honors, including the Karel Bakker Award and the DFSG Achievement Award, in recognition of his contributions to diabetic foot care and advocacy.
Joseph Mills
MD (USA)
Dr. Joseph Mills is the Reid Professor of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine and Director of the BCM STEP (Save The Extremity Program) in Houston, Texas. A past President of the Peripheral Vascular Surgery Society, he is the first author of the SVS WIfI classification, which helped redefine chronic limb-threatening ischemia, particularly in patients with diabetes.
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Dr. Mills is a co-editor of Rutherford’s Vascular Surgery (7th–9th editions), serves on multiple editorial boards, and is a Vascular Surgery Section Co-Chief Editor for UpToDate. As principal investigator on more than 45 clinical trials focused on limb salvage, chronic limb-threatening ischemia, and diabetic foot ulcers, he is widely recognized as a leading authority in vascular surgery and limb preservation.
Alexander Kirienko
MD (Italy)
Professor Alexander Kirienko is Head of the Division of External Fixation and Bone Lengthening at Humanitas Research Hospital and a direct disciple of Professor Gavriil Ilizarov. With more than 30 years of experience, he is internationally recognized for his expertise in the Ilizarov method and the treatment of complex orthopedic and traumatologic conditions.
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His clinical focus includes circular external fixation, bone deformity correction, limb lengthening, fracture complications, infections, congenital conditions, and complex foot deformities. Professor Kirienko trained in Russia under Professor Ilizarov himself and is an active member of leading international orthopedic societies, including the AAOS, LLRS, EPOS, and SIOT.
Christopher E. Attinger
MD (USA)
Dr. Christopher E. Attinger is a board-certified plastic surgeon at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, and a world-renowned expert in limb reconstruction, wound care, and limb salvage. He serves as Director of the Center for Wound Healing and Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, where he has spent more than three decades advancing patient care and surgical innovation.
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Dr. Attinger is the recipient of the prestigious John Boswick Award for global leadership and lifelong achievement in wound care. He has authored numerous book chapters, delivered hundreds of invited lectures worldwide, and led widely cited research that has significantly advanced the fields of wound healing and limb preservation.
Vinod Panchbhavi
MD (USA)
Dr. Vinod Panchbhavi is Editor-in-Chief of Techniques in Foot and Ankle Surgery and serves on the editorial boards of leading publications, including Foot and Ankle International and FootEducation.com. He is also a reviewer for major orthopedic journals such as The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research.
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Dr. Panchbhavi is Chairman of the Postgraduate Training Committee of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society and is a Fellow of both the American College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Surgeons of England, reflecting his leadership and influence in foot and ankle surgery education and research.
Dane K. Wukich
MD (USA)
Dr. Dane K. Wukich is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Prosthetics and Orthotics at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Associate Dean for Innovation and Advancement at the UT Southwestern School of Health Professions. He is Editor-in-Chief of the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot Charcot guidelines and a recognized leader in Charcot foot reconstruction.
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Dr. Wukich has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and multiple book chapters, served as co-editor of The Foot in Diabetes, and lectured internationally. His contributions to diabetic foot research and care have been recognized with the Roger E. Pecoraro, MD Award from the American Diabetes Association.
Rodica Busui
MD, PHD (USA)
Dr. Rodica Busui is Professor and Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Clinical Nutrition, and Director of the Harold Schnitzer Diabetes Health Center at Oregon Health & Science University. She served as the 2023 President for Medicine and Science of the American Diabetes Association and is an internationally recognized leader in diabetes and diabetes-related complications.
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Dr. Busui’s research focuses on diabetic neuropathy, diabetic foot complications, cardiovascular and kidney disease, and the use of novel technologies in diabetes care. She has led and contributed to numerous landmark clinical trials, published more than 300 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and is widely recognized for her leadership in advancing research, clinical practice, and education in diabetes care.
Lawrence Lavery
DPM (USA)
Dr. Lawrence A. Lavery is Professor and Director of Clinical Research in the Department of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He is Editor of Clinical Care of the Diabetic Foot and has published over 320 peer-reviewed papers and textbook chapters. His research, funded by organizations including the NIH, ADA, Veterans Administration, and professional societies, focuses on advancing the care of patients with diabetic foot complications.
Sicco Bus
PhD (Netherlands)
Sicco Bus is a human movement scientist and a professor of clinical biomechanics and principal investigator at the Amsterdam University Medical Center in the Netherlands. Sicco completed his doctoral dissertation on the structural and functional aspects of the neuropathic foot in diabetes. In his work at the department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Amsterdam UMC, Sicco leads and supervises research on lower-extremity biomechanics and injury prevention in diabetes and sports.
Sicco is member of the board and program leader for Rehabilitation & Development of the Amsterdam Movement Sciences research institute. He is also member of the editorial board and of the ulcer prevention and offloading working groups of the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF) on guideline development. Sicco is the chair of the International Symposium on the Diabetic Foot (ISDF) 2027 and chair of the study group of Neurovascular Complications of Diabetes in the Netherlands.
QiKai Hua
MD (China)
Dr. Qikai Hua is Director and Professor at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University and a recognized pioneer in the management of severe diabetic foot disease using Transverse Tibial Transport (TTT). Since 2014, he has played a leading role in advancing and refining this innovative limb salvage technique.
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Dr. Hua holds numerous national and international leadership positions in orthopedic surgery, external fixation, and limb reconstruction, and is widely recognized for his contributions to diabetic foot treatment, microcirculation regeneration, and bone transport methodologies.
Venu Kavarthapu
FRCS (UK)
Professor Venu Kavarthapu, FRCS (Tr&Orth), is the immediate past President of the International Association of Diabetic Foot Surgeons and a Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon specializing in lower limb reconstruction. He practices at King’s College Hospital in London, where he leads a nationally recognized multidisciplinary complex foot surgery service.
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Professor Kavarthapu holds academic appointments at King’s College London and the University of Southern Denmark and serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Clinical Orthopedics and Trauma. He is widely respected for his expertise in complex foot and ankle surgery and diabetic limb reconstruction.
Nina Petrova
MD, PhD (UK)
Dr Nina Petrova is a Clinical Researcher in the Diabetic Foot Clinic at King’s College Hospital and a Senior Lecturer at King’s College London. She has more than 25 years of experience in research in diabetic foot disease with a special interest in the field of Charcot osteoarthropathy. Her work has been supported by grants from Diabetes UK, the Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation, the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes and the National Institute for Health Care Research.
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Dr Petrova is a member of the Charcot Guidance Group of the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot. She is regularly invited to lecture at esteemed national and international meetings, conferences and courses. She has recently developed and launched King's Diabetic Foot Unit “Global Online Research Afternoon" webinar series, focused on advancing research and clinical practice in diabetic foot disease.
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Geno Tai
MD (USA)
Geno Tai, MD, MBA, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases and completed fellowship training at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Tai’s clinical and academic focus is orthopedic infectious diseases. He is an active member of the Musculoskeletal Infection Society and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications on the diagnosis, microbiology, and optimal antimicrobial management of complex musculoskeletal infections.
Armin Koller
MD (Germany)
Dr. Armin Koller, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in technical orthopedics, diabetic foot reconstruction, and complex lower limb disorders. He currently serves as Chief of the Division of Technical Orthopaedics and Co-Chief of the Interdisciplinary Diabetic Foot Centre at Mathias-Hospital Rheine in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
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Dr. Koller completed his medical education at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster and has been a board-certified orthopedic surgeon since 1998. His clinical expertise includes congenital lower leg deformities, neuromuscular disorders, amputation medicine, and diabetic foot syndrome. A founding member and past President (2014–2017) of the International Association of Diabetic Foot Surgeons, Dr. Koller is widely recognized for his leadership in diabetic foot care and his contributions to international education and guideline development.
