Our Team

Dr. Shi-Joon Yoo

Dr Yoo is a cardiac radiologist and clinical director of the 3D printing program at the Hospital for Sick Children. He is a professor in the Departments of Medical Imaging and Paediatrics at the University of Toronto. His main clinical and research activities are MR and CT applications in children with cardiovascular disease and fetal echocardiography. He has developed a unique training program for cardiac imaging where both radiology and cardiology fellows collaborate closely together in a harmonious and productive manner. He has introduced 3D printing technology to the program. This technique allows preoperative simulation of the surgical procedures in patients with complex congenital heart disease.

Dr. Israel Valverde

Dr. Valverde was appointed as the Section head of the Cardiac MR program and the Director of the 3D Printing program of the Hospital for Sick Children in 2023. He received his medical degree and residency training in Seville, Spain, and pediatric cardiology fellowship in London, UK. He achieved a postgraduate research degree, MD(Res), at the Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences department of King's College London, UK. His PhD thesis in 2022 was Evaluation of Multimodal Imaging for 3D Printing in Congenital Heart Disease.

Brandon Peel

Brandon is the Manager of the 3DHeartLab and Advanced Surgical Planning and Training programs at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). He leads initiatives that integrate 3D printing, surgical simulation, and personalized surgical planning to advance patient-specific care. Brandon also manages the Hands-On Surgical Training (HOST) Program, an internationally recognized platform that provides surgeons with high-fidelity simulation-based training in congenital heart surgery.

Dr. Osami Honjo

Dr Honjo is the chief cardiovascular surgeon at the Hospital for Sick Children. His clinical practice focuses on open heart surgery in neonates and infants, surgical palliation for single ventricle patients, mechanical cardiopulmonary support in the pediatric population, and surgery for patients with adult congenital heart diseases.

Dr Honjo is one of the lead surgical proctors for the HOST program at Sickkids and developed the In-House curriculum alongside Dr Yoo and Dr Hussein. He is an integral part of the teaching and validation of the surgical models used in the HOST simulation.

Dr. Rachel Vanderlaan

Dr. Rachel Vanderlaan is an attending Cardiovascular surgeon at the Hospital for Sick Children and also preforms adult congenital cardiac surgery at Toronto General Hospital. She is Course Director for the HOST congenital training bootcamp and the monthly HOST course.

Dr Vanderlaan completed a combined MD/PhD in Molecular Genetics and cardiac surgery residency at the University of Toronto, followed by fellowship training in congenital cardiac surgery at SickKids and additional clinical training at Columbia University before joining staff at SickKids.

Dr. Christoph Haller

Dr Haller is a staff cardiovascular surgeon at the Hospital for Sick Children. His clinical practice focuses on open heart surgery in both pediatric and adult patients with congenital heart disease. Dr Haller attended the inaugural HOST course in 2015 as a delegate whilst a fellow at Sickkids and now is one of the proctors of the course.

In addition to his other research interests, Dr Haller is exploring the use of 3D-printing to gain further insight into complex aortic arch reconstruction. He is collaborating with the 3D printing team to expand the HOST program to minimally invasive congenital cardiac surgery.

Dr. Francesco Bertelli

Dr Francesco Bertelli graduated from the University of Padua, where he also attended the Galilean School of Higher Education. He is currently focused on 3D printing applications, surgical simulation, intraoperative guidance, and advanced surgical education.

Francesco joined SickKids as the 3D Research Fellow in July 2024, with his fellowship running through April 2026. He will begin his Clinical Fellowship in May 2026, continuing through June 2027.

Dr. Ross Foley

Dr. Ross Foley is a pediatric cardiologist and current 3D fellow with a background in engineering and medical image analysis. Trained in Dublin and Belfast, he completed an MD at University College Dublin focused on the use of 3D printing in congenital heart disease. His interdisciplinary expertise supports the advancement of 3D visualization and modeling for clinical decision-making in complex cardiac cases.

Hannah Seatle

Hannah is a Program Manager at the Hospital for Sick Children. Her research is focused on developing computational models to improve surgical training and optimize preoperative planning. Model platforms range from computer- and web-based software to Virtual and Mixed Reality applications. With a background in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, Hannah was a co-founding member of a medical device startup, and has designed several novel medical devices at SickKids.

Macy Johnston

Macy is a Biomedical Engineering student at the University of Guelph and a co-op student at The Hospital for Sick Children. She supports the design and production of congenital heart models for the Hands-on Surgical Training (HOST) Program. Her research focuses on developing a high-fidelity mitral valve simulator to enhance surgical training.

Alumni - Staff

Dr. Glen Van Arsdell

Dr Van Arsdell is the Chief of Congenital Cardiovascular Surgery at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and former head of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children. His clinical focus is on neonatal repairs, complex palliations and adult congenital surgery.Along with Dr Yoo, he pioneered the introduction of 3D printing into congenital cardiac surgery with its implementation into hands-on surgical training. Dr Van Arsdell continues to be an integral part of the HOST program, proctoring at the annual sessions.

Dr. David Barron

Dr Barron was a staff cardiovascular surgeon and head of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children. His clinical practice focuses on open heart surgery in both pediatric and adult patients with congenital heart disease. His interests include hypoplastic left heart syndrome, congenitally corrected transposition and complex pulmonary atresia.

Dr Barron is one of the lead surgical proctors for the HOST program at Sickkids and is involved with curriculum and model development.

Eul Kyung Kim

Ms Kim led the post-processing and quality control aspects of the program. With her educational background of nutritional science and education, she worked as a cytogenetic technologist in Seoul National University Hospital in Korea and SickKids. She is an active advocate of education of congenital heart diseases and surgery using 3D print models. With her exceptionally versatile and fine hands, she makes the aesthetic touches on the models. Her pioneering vision and support has been instrumental to the development of the 3D-printed heart program.

Alumni - Research Fellows

Dr. Nabil Hussein

Dr Nabil Hussein is a cardiothoracic surgery resident from the UK with a strong interest in congenital cardiac surgery and medical education. Nabil completed a research fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto between 2018-2020 and was awarded a PhD for his research. His thesis was on creating 3D printed heart models to help train congenital heart surgery residents and fellows in complex pediatric heart procedures. He has a keen interest in surgical simulation and its incorporation into dedicated training programmes.

Dr. Ankavipar Pam Saprungruang

Dr. Ankavipar Pam Saprungruang is a pediatric cardiologist from Thailand. She received her medical degree from Chulalongkorn university, Bangkok, Thailand in 2011. Pam completed her Pediatric Residency at the Chulalongkorn University followed by her Pediatric Cardiology training at the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. She was working as a pediatric cardiologist at the Cardiac Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital prior to coming to Toronto. She completed advanced cardiac imaging fellowship at SickKids in 2020-2021, and a 3D research fellowship in 2021-2022

Alumni - Students

Pascal Voyer-Nguyen

Pascal is a graduate from mechanical engineering at The University of Waterloo and was a co-op at SickKids. His research work involves the 3D modelling of heart valves and surgical patching for aortic repair. Pascal also has experience with mechanical design and motor control for surgical robots.

Dr. Dustin Tanaka

Dr. Tanaka is an anesthesiology resident at Stanford Health Care with a strong interest in congenital cardiac anesthesia and anesthesia for adult congenital heart disease. He received his medical degree from the University of Toronto in 2024. During medical school at the University of Toronto, Dustin became a crucial part of the Hands-On Surgical Training (HOST) team. Dustin also completed multiple clinical rotations with the Labatt Family Heart Centre at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in pediatric cardiology, congenital heart surgery, and congenital cardiac anesthesia. These formative experiences have inspired him to pursue congenital cardiac anesthesia and simulation-based medical education.

Alexander Mhanna

Alexander is a second-year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto studying Life Sciences. He aspires to pursue a career in medicine and has a strong interest in cardiology, particularly in congenital heart disease. Alexander is especially drawn to understanding the developmental and physiological mechanisms underlying structural heart conditions and how 3D research and innovation can improve long-term outcomes for pediatric patients. He has also contributed to the design and development of a neonatal VA-ECMO neck cannulation simulator, which has been integrated into the Bootcamp curriculum.

Kaelyn Pluimers

Kaelyn was a summer student with the 3D Heart Lab from May–August 2025. During her placement, she supported the development and production of patient-specific models and surgical training simulators, contributing to both clinical case work and the HOST program through model preparation and fabrication.

Josephine Lui

Josephine was a summer student with the 3D Heart Lab from September–December 2025. During her placement, she supported the development and production of patient-specific models and surgical training simulators, contributing to both clinical case work and the HOST program through model preparation and fabrication.