Joan Zhang is Senior Director, Global Medical Excellence, General & Specialty Medicine at Merck. She brings over 30 years of experience in pulmonary hypertension, cardiology, and medical affairs, spanning clinical practice and biopharmaceutical leadership. She began her career as a Nurse Practitioner at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where she helped build a multidisciplinary pulmonary hypertension program and cared for patients with PAH and advanced heart failure.  

Since joining industry, she has held leadership roles at United Therapeutics, Acceleron Pharma, and Merck, where she has led both global medical affairs teams and MSL organizations, advancing medical strategy across the product lifecycle. She is widely recognized for her deep expertise in the pulmonary hypertension therapeutic landscape and strong global scientific partnerships.  Joan holds an MSN and an MBA.

Dr. Luke Howard is a Consultant Pulmonologist and Lead Clinician for the Pulmonary Hypertension Service, based at Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. He is also Lead Clinician for Exercise Physiology services at Imperial College Healthcare. Areas of research interest include cardiopulmonary physiology, and early and late phase clinical trials, particularly in the field of Pulmonary Hypertension and Pulmonary Embolism. The Pulmonary Hypertension Service is one of the designated units in the National Pulmonary Hypertension Service which is a clinical and research network which aims to deliver excellent clinical outcomes and promote basic, translational and clinical research in the field of pulmonary vascular disease.

Dr. Gil Golden brings over 20 years of leadership in biopharma, with broad experience spanning product development, medical education, regulatory affairs, and corporate strategy. His work has supported drug, device, and biologics development from preclinical through Phase IV, often in collaboration with government, academic, and industry partners to address unmet medical needs. He currently oversees strategic contributions to all development phases and supports around 36 investigator-sponsored studies. Before joining United Therapeutics, he held executive roles at Guilford Pharmaceuticals, Pharmion, and Azur Pharma. Dr. Golden earned his Ph.D. in neuroendocrinology from the University of Pittsburgh and trained at the Medical College of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Sandeep Sahay is a pulmonary and critical care physician specializing in pulmonary vascular diseases. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and serves as Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program at Houston Methodist Hospital.

A nationally recognized leader in pulmonary hypertension, Dr. Sahay is the Principal Investigator for multiple phase II and III clinical trials evaluating novel therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension. He is frequently invited to serve on scientific steering committees, national leadership bodies, guideline panels, and in advisory roles with industry and regulatory agencies. He served as Chair of the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) Pulmonary Vascular Diseases Section.

Dr. Sahay holds editorial leadership roles as Associate Editor for Pulmonary Circulation, JHLT Open, and Respiratory Medicine. He also serves on data and safety monitoring boards and endpoint adjudication committees for NIH-funded clinical trials.

An accomplished clinician and educator, Dr. Sahay is deeply committed to teaching and learning alongside the Houston Methodist faculty and fellows, as well as collaborating with colleagues worldwide. In recognition of his excellence in patient care, he received the American Thoracic Society Outstanding Clinician Award in 2025.