Michael S. Conte, MD

• 2004–2008: Member, Research and Education Committee
• 2007–2010: Lead, CLI Objective Performance Goals
• 2010–2013: Member, Research Council
• 2013–2015: Chair, Research Council
• 2011: Member, Nominating Committee
• 2012–2014: Member, Document Oversight Committee
• 2013–2015: Member, Board of Directors
• 2013–2015; 2021–2025: Member, PAD Practice Guidelines Committee
• 2015: Member, MEDCAC Panel for PAD
• 2015–2019: Member, Global Vascular Guidelines
• 2018–2023: Member, SVS/ACS Verification Program Committee
• 2021: Reviewer, SVS AUC Claudication Panel
• 2023: Member, SVS Foundation VISTA
• 2023–Present: SVS Liaison, PAD Collaborative
• 2024–Present: Site Reviewer, SVS/ACS Verification Program

Please briefly describe your strategic vision for the future for vascular surgery and the key role SVS must play to realize that vision.

Vascular diseases are on the rise, with aging of the population and the increasing prevalence of risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, sedentarism and adverse social determinants. To best serve the public health, and thus ensure its future viability, vascular surgery must work strategically to promote greater access, quality and value of vascular care. SVS, as our primary professional society, must provide clarity of vision and cohesive leadership in an increasingly challenging healthcare landscape. It begins by staying true to our stated mission of improving vascular health for all-- through education, advocacy, research and public awareness.

First, SVS must lead in defining quality and value in vascular care. To do this well, we should build upon our existing programs such as VQI, expand the work on standards of care and resources required (ACS/SVS verification program), promote evidence-based care and incorporate metrics that are meaningful to our patients (patient-reported outcomes). Collaboration with other specialties and stakeholders in the vascular ecosystem will be critical to create sustainable gains with healthcare systems, governmental agencies and payors. Vascular surgeons are trained to provide comprehensive vascular care which must be fundamental to defining our 'brand'. Our long term relationship with patients is a critical asset in these efforts.

Ensuring the future of our specialty also means promoting innovation, science and education. Through its educational platforms, particularly the VAM and the JVS family of journals, the SVS should promote high quality science and lifelong learning. The SVS Foundation must be a sustainable vehicle for investment in the research mission, including a pipeline of young investigators. The SVS should inspire our most talented and creative members to answer important questions and drive positive change in our field. Recruiting and sustaining a talented, diverse workforce will be critical to meet these challenges. Prioritizing outreach to students, trainees and young surgeons is essential.

Please highlight key activities or initiatives that exemplify your commitment to the success of SVS.

I have served SVS in a number of roles related to research, quality, education and clinical practice. One critical area has been in the development of clinical practice guidelines (CPG) in peripheral artery disease (PAD). These are major, multi-year commitments requiring exhaustive literature review, debate and discussion among a working group of peers with complementary expertise. My experience in clinical trials and collaborative science has helped me to lead effectively in these efforts. I had the opportunity to co-chair the first SVS CPG for PAD published in 2015. Subsequently, I served as Co-Editor and SVS lead for the first Global Vascular Guideline on the management of chronic limb-threatening ischemia, a foundational document representing the work of nearly 60 authors from 24 countries and multiple societies. The GVG established a patient-centric approach to the management of CLTI and demonstrated SVS' leadership to improve care on a global footing. Related to these efforts, I played leading roles in the development of the SVS objective performance goals for CLTI (2009), the WIFI staging system (2014), and was among a group of SVS members presenting to MEDCAC on PAD care value in 2015. The CPG we have developed for PAD has a direct throughline to the standards adopted by the ACS/SVS Vascular Verification Program (VP) and the Appropriate Use Criteria for claudication treatment. I currently serve as a site reviewer on the VP task force.

I have also worked to strengthen the research and education missions of the SVS through service on committees, councils, and programs at the VAM. During my time on the Research and Education Committee and then the Research Council, we launched the SVS seed grant program, strengthened the career development programs and developed a sustained relationship with the ATVB council of AHA for the SVS Research Initiatives conference. I have worked to support the SVS mission as a liaison to the AHA PAD Collaborative, within NIH study sections, and now as chair of the SVS Task Force on clinical trials.

Please highlight key leadership positions you hold or have held, and/or significant leadership achievements you have accomplished in vascular surgery or organized medicine and summarize how these have prepared you for the position of SVS Secretary.

My preparation for this role is based on a career as an academic vascular surgeon, institutional leader, interdisciplinary collaborator and mentor. At my home institution (UCSF), I have served as division chief, program director, vascular laboratory director and co-director of the integrated cardiovascular service line for more than 15 years. During this time we have seen significant growth and expansion of services, requiring us to successfully compete for resources. I have also served in peri-operative governance, on departmental and system-wide finance committees, and on multiple search committees for critical roles. These experiences have provided a broad perspective on the competing demands of an academic healthcare enterprise and how consensus, compromise, and mission focus are required for success.

Within SVS, my leadership roles in practice guidelines (co-chair) and on the research council (chair) have allowed me to develop lifelong relationships with peers, staff and a familiarity with the administrative workings of the organization. As recorder and president of the Western Vascular Society, I promoted excellence in its annual scientific program and contributed to the mentorship and inclusiveness that characterize the WVS. My career-long involvement in the AHA, including multiple years on the Leadership Committee and then as Chair of the PVD Council, also provided critical skills and perspectives relevant to this role. Working within the complex structure of this multi-disciplinary organization, I developed an appreciation for its mission-driven focus, inclusivity, and brand recognition.

My position as a board member and Chief Medical Officer of the non-profit Foundation for Vascular Cures has also provided relevant skills and perspectives. Here, I have had the privilege of working with a group of dedicated lay individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds who share a common goal of improving the current state of vascular care. Communication, education and developing clear strategic priorities are requisite in this role.

Please highlight activities or initiatives that best exemplify your commitment to clinical and academic excellence in vascular surgery.

My career as an academic vascular surgeon has included maintaining a busy clinical practice, a productive translational research program spanning from bench to large clinical trials and a track record of cross-disciplinary collaboration across each of these domains.

My clinical area of greatest expertise is in PAD and limb salvage, however I have a broad referral practice including complex aortic and carotid disease. I have been recognized by Castle Connolly Top Doctors for more than a decade. I co-direct the UCSF Center for Limb Preservation and Diabetic Foot and have given numerous invited national and international lectureships on advanced PAD and limb salvage surgery.

Basic, translational and clinical research has centered around PAD and mechanisms of vascular repair. I have been continuously funded by NIH for > 25 years. Currently, I serve as PI for the UCSF Diabetic Foot Clinical Research Unit, one of five primary sites in the national Diabetic Foot Consortium funded by NIDDK. Among > 300 peer reviewed publications are a number in high impact scientific journals, and my work has been cited >25,000 times (h-index 79). I have been an invited scientific lecturer to the NY Academy of Sciences and the American Heart Association.

I was the lead investigator of the large multi-center PREVENT III clinical trial testing a genetic medicine for vein graft disease in patients with CLTI. I served as co-chair of the Executive Committee (EC) of the recently completed BEST-CLI trial and am on the EC for the IMPROVE-AD trial (both funded by NHLBI).

Among several awards, I am most proud of the Distinguished Achievement Awards from New York Weill Cornell Alumni, the American Heart Association, and the "Vascular Hero" award from the Foundation to Advance Vascular Cures.