Affiliation: Head, Division of Cardiovascular Surgery – Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, University Health Network
Associate Professor of Surgery – University of Toronto

Dr. Maral Ouzounian is Head of the Division of Cardiovascular at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, University Health Network, and Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto. She is the Munk Chair in Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics and the Antonio & Helga DeGasperis Chair in Clinical Trials and Outcome Studies at University Health Network.

Dr. Ouzounian received her MD from McGill University, her FRCSC from Dalhousie University, her PhD from the University of Toronto, and trained in advanced aortic surgery with Dr. Joseph Coselli in Houston at the Texas Heart Institute and Baylor College of Medicine. Her clinical and academic interests are in the understanding and management of valvular and aortic diseases. She has published over 250 papers in the field and is an author on multiple national and international guidelines and position statements. She has been invited more than 100 times internationally to present on her areas of expertise including aortic root reconstruction and valve repair, the Ross procedure, and the surgical treatment of complex aortic aneurysms and dissections.

Dr. Ouzounian is the Chair of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery Adult Cardiac Education Committee and serves on the AATS Membership, Leadership Academy, and Scholarship committees. She is Program Director for the 2025 Scientific Meeting of the AATS and serves on the program committee for the AATS Aortic Symposium. Dr. Ouzounian is the incoming President of the Canadian Society of Cardiac Surgeons and a founding member of the Canadian Thoracic Aortic Collaborative. She is a member of multiple international aortic consortiums including the Society of Thoracic Surgery Aortic Task Force, the International Registry for Aortic Dissections, and the Montalcino Aortic Consortium. She is the Chair of the Professional Advisory Board of the Genetic Aortic Disorders Association of Canada.