The Joseph Bavaria, M.D. - William Maul Measey Professorship in Cardiothoracic Surgery
The Professorship was established in 2025 through philanthropy from the Benjamin and Mary Siddons Measey Foundation, Michael and Ellen Kullman, Allen Wise, and other grateful patients of Joseph E. Bavaria, MD, FACS, FRCS. The Professorship honors Dr. Bavaria's contributions to Penn Medicine as former Vice Chief, Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Director of the Thoracic Aortic Surgery Program, Co-Director of the Transcatheter Valve Program, and Founding Director of the Penn Aorta Center. His research investigated the microbiology and pathology of the aortic wall in genetically triggered aortic conditions and disease, as well as neuro-cerebral metabolism and brain protection during cardio-aortic surgery.
William Maul Measey, a distinguished corporate attorney in Philadelphia, created the Benjamin and Mary Siddons Measey Foundation in 1958 to honor the memory of his parents. Since the Foundation supports several colleges, universities, schools of medicine, and hospitals in the Philadelphia area, the Measey name has become synonymous with the furtherance of medical education in the region.
The Aortic Surgery Program's research and patient care initiatives within Penn Medicine's Division of Cardiovascular Surgery have expanded thanks to the generous philanthropy of Ellen and Michael Kullman. The couple established the Kullman Family Foundation Endowed Aortic Disease Lectureship, which enhances the exposure and reputation of the aortic surgery program by bringing together faculty and fellows to hear from experts in the field. Fund Ellen served as President, CEO, and Chairman of E.I. Dupont De Nemours and Company (Dupont), before retiring in 2015. Ellen was the nineteenth executive and the first woman to lead DuPont in its 212-year history. Michael was the former director of marketing at DuPont, where he oversaw the DuPont brand, worldwide advertising, and managed the website and digital assets until retiring in 2013. Michael is currently a board member at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Current Chairholder
Nimesh D. Desai, MD, PhD
Dr. Nimesh D. Desai is a cardiovascular surgeon who serves as Co-Director of the Penn Aorta Center. He is also Associate Professor of Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and serves as Associate Director of the Cardiovascular Outcomes, Quality, and Evaluative Research (CAVOQER) Center at the Perelman School of Medicine. He received his medical degree from the Schulich School of Medicine at Western University in Ontario and his PhD in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Toronto. He completed an integrated Cardiac Surgery Residency at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Desai’s research interests include organizing large multi-center clinical trials to assess new cardiovascular technologies and health process evaluations using big-data and novel statistical approaches to improve quality of care for cardiac patients. He is the primary investigator of over 10 clinical trials currently ongoing at Penn, holds grants for database and registry development, and was recently awarded funding from the NHLBI to develop and direct a Clinical and Implementation Research Skills Program (CIRSP) for surgical trainees as part of a successful Penn U01 submission. Dr. Desai’s clinical focus is on both endovascular and open advanced aortic surgery, percutaneous valve replacement, complex valve surgery, multiple arterial grafting, and arrhythmia surgery.
He holds several national leadership positions in cardiovascular surgery including Co-Chair of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Aortic Surgery Task Force and Co-Chair of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons/American College of Cardiology Transcatheter Valve Therapies Registry Risk Modelling Sub-Committee. Dr. Desai is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada.