Governance

Becky Rock, RN, President-elect
Nurse Clinician and Program Coordinator, Patient Blood Management Program, Alberta Health Services; Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Becky Rock’s career as a Registered Nurse includes over 33 years of practice within Canada and the United States, covering critical and intensive care, including clinical leadership, peer training, and mentoring roles.

She’s been involved in perioperative blood conservation and patient blood management (PBM) since 2007, leading implementation of anemia management services, development of clinical resources, as well as education and training resources for patients and providers alike. Her career interests include advancing PBM initiatives by interdepartmental collaboration and encouraging nursing contributions within the multidisciplinary framework.

Becky has co-authored peer-reviewed publications and supported numerous initiatives to advance PBM and comprehensive anemia management locally and globally, including within SABM, the Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine ‘PBM Sub-Committee’, and Nurse Education & Training in IV Iron Infusions. She’s been a volunteer and public speaker for these organizations, as well as ImmUnity Canada, Anemia Summit, the Bloodless Medicine & Surgery Society, and more.

Within SABM, Becky has served on the Board of Directors and supported numerous initiatives including the PBM Certificate Course, resource development, and mentorship. She’s a co-author of the ‘PBM Nurse Scope and Standards of Practice’, earning official recognition of “PBM Nursing” by the American Nurses Association in 2026.

Majed Refaai, MD, Secretary
Professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY

Dr. Refaai is a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY. At Strong Memorial Hospital, he serves as the Director of the Thrombosis and Hemostasis Lab and Director of the Blood Bank/Transfusion Medicine Division, and he holds an appointment as an Associate Director of the Therapeutic Apheresis Unit in the Internal Medicine/Hematology Department, Wilmot Cancer Center, Rochester, NY. Dr. Refaai is also the medical director of a few CSL plasma centers in upstate NY. Dr. Refaai received his medical degree from the Aleppo University School of Medicine in Syria. He then joined Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard Medical School in Boston as a research fellow in a special coagulation research lab.

Dr. Refaai completed a residency in clinical pathology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO and held a fellowship in transfusion medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, TX. His research focuses on the in vitro and in vivo effects of ABO antibodies and ABO immuno-complexes on platelet function, coagulation processes, and endothelial cell integrity. Dr. Refaai is also working on developing a platelet micro-particles lysate that can be used to control bleeding. This product has been patented. Another patent that Dr. Refaai’s research lab is developing currently is an ABO point-of-care testing device. He is also involved in pharmaceutical clinical trials of emergency reversal of coagulopathy, as well as treatments for deep vein thrombosis and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. Dr Refaai is board-certified in clinical pathology and has published more than 150 peer reviewed articles and book chapters.

Gagan Mathur, MD, MBA, CPE, Treasurer
Medical Director, Transfusion Medicine & Blood Banking, UCI Health, Orange, CA
Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology, UC Irvine School of Medicine

Dr. Gagan Mathur is a board-certified Transfusion Medicine and Blood Banking physician who oversees transfusion services across UCI Health’s campuses. He also serves as Associate Program Director of the UC Irvine Pathology Residency Program. He earned his MBA from the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business and holds the Certified Physician Executive (CPE) credential from the American Association for Physician Leadership.

Dr. Mathur leads system-wide patient blood management initiatives, using informatics and clinical decision support to deliver safe, efficient, and cost-effective care. He is committed to advancing SABM’s mission of making PBM the standard of care.

Linda Shore-Lesserson, MD, FAHA, FASE, Immediate Past President
Professor of Anesthesiology, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell; Vice Chair for Academic Affairs, Northwell Health; Cardiovascular Anesthesiology, Northshore University Hospital, Manhasset, NY, USA

Dr. Linda Shore-Lesserson is Professor of Anesthesiology at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra-Northwell, Vice Chair for Academic Affairs, and is a Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology at North Shore University Hospital, Northwell Health.

After training, Dr. Shore-Lesserson spent a specialty year in cardiothoracic anesthesia fellowship at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology, and National Board of Echocardiography.

Dr. Shore-Lesserson is a clinical and an academic cardiac anesthesiologist who is a Past President of the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA) 2015-2017.  She is currently serving on the SCA Board of Directors as a Founding Officer Successor. She is also a long-standing member of the Board of Directors of the National Board of Echocardiography. As an educator she has been Program Chair for numerous national meetings including general chair of the New York Society of Anesthesiologists’ – PGA Annual Meeting 2022, 2023.  This year she is Section Chair of the Annual Meeting Oversight Committee of the ASA and she was chair of the 2026 ASA meeting.

In the cardiology community, Dr. Shore-Lesserson is a fellow of the American Heart Association (AHA) and has served many years in leadership for the Surgery and Anesthesia Council (CVSA) of the AHA.  In 2025-2027, she serves as the Immediate Past Chair of the CVSA council.

Research interests lie in the field of hemostasis and thrombosis as it relates to cardiovascular disease. The results of her research have been published in high impact peer reviewed journals and she lectures frequently at national and international scientific meetings.

Jennifer Andrews, MD, MSc
At-Large Director
Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology & Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN

Dr. Jennifer Andrews is a Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology (Division of Transfusion Medicine) & Pediatrics (Division of Hematology/Oncology) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she serves as the Division Director of Transfusion Medicine and the Medical Director of the Blood Bank. She is board-certified in General Pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine and Clinical Informatics. Dr. Andrews is an internationally recognized expert in a niche field called Pediatric Transfusion Medicine. Her clinical practice and research focus on benign hematology in children, including red cell exchange procedures for patients with sickle cell anemia, as well as directing safe transfusions for the most vulnerable children, those with hemolytic disease of the fetus/newborn, who need intrauterine transfusions prior to birth. She has an interest in optimizing informatics to ensure safe and efficient blood transfusions and has experience in designing and implementing electronic health record tools, including dashboards and best practice alerts to guide the clinical user around best transfusion therapies. Dr. Andrews has helped build a Patient Blood Management program at Vanderbilt that includes 2 Transfusion Safety Officers, analytics and utilization teams and tools to ensure optimal blood utilization across a large academic medical center that includes a busy level I trauma program, solid organ transplantation, a free-standing tertiary children’s hospital and a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-accredited cancer and bone marrow transplantation program.

Gee Mei Tan, MB.BS., MMED
At-Large Director
Professor of Clinical Practice (Anesthesiology) and practicing pediatric anesthesiologist, Children’s Hospital Colorado

Gee Mei Tan, MBBS, MMED Professor of Clinical Practice (Anesthesiology) & Pediatric Anesthesiologist Children’s Hospital Colorado Aurora, CO  Gee Mei Tan is currently a Professor of Clinical Practice in Anesthesiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Colorado. Throughout my career, I have dedicated my academic, clinical, and leadership efforts to advancing patient blood management through education, quality improvement, research, and multidisciplinary collaboration. As Co-Chair of our institutional Patient Blood Management Program and Chair of the Blood Utilization Review Team, I have led initiatives focused on perioperative anemia management, blood conservation, transfusion stewardship, and implementation of evidence-based PBM practices across our pediatric health system. My commitment to SABM has been longstanding and multifaceted. I have served on the SABM Annual Meeting Planning Committee since 2015, co-chaired the Society’s first virtual Annual Meeting in 2020, and served on the SABM Nominations Committee. I currently serve as Medical Director of the SABM Patient Blood Management Certificate Course, helping to educate the next generation of PBM leaders. In addition, I have been an invited speaker, moderator, workshop faculty member, and panel participant at numerous SABM Annual Meetings, sharing practical strategies for implementing patient blood management across diverse clinical settings. Receiving the Society’s Volunteer Leadership Award in 2024 was an especially meaningful recognition of these contributions. Beyond SABM, I have sought to advance the field nationally through service on the American Society of Anesthesiologists Committee on Patient Blood Management, as Secretary of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia Patient Blood Management Special Interest Group, and through scholarly work focused on pediatric PBM, transfusion safety, cell salvage, perioperative anemia, and blood conservation. My research, educational activities, and invited presentations have consistently emphasized translating evidence into practical clinical improvements that enhance patient safety and outcomes.

Guilherme Rabello
At-Large Director

Guilherme Machado Rabello is an engineer from the Polytechnic School of São Paulo University and has been working in the health sector since 2011. Currently is Head of Innovation at Instituto do Coração (São Paulo, Brazil). Has been a certified member of SABM since 2015. Also serves as Coordinator of the PBM program at the Brazilian Association of Hematology and Hemotherapy (ABHH) and as Vice-president of the Executive Board of Ibero-American Society of PBM (SIAPBM) for 2025-2027 term. MBA Professor in areas of HealthTech and Healthcare Innovation.

Jacob Raphael, MD, FAHA
At-Large Director
Professor of Anesthesiology, Thomas Jefferson University

Dr. Raphael Completed his medical school education and Anesthesiology training in his native Israel. He is currently a Professor of Anesthesiology and Director of Clinical Research at the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. His clinical practice involves providing care to patients undergoing cardiac and thoracic surgical procedures. In addition, he has extensive experience in the perioperative care of children with congenital heart disease. His research focuses on improving outcomes after cardiac surgery, particularly in relation to optimizing patient blood management practices in cardiac surgery, mainly focusing on optimization of preoperative anemia and reducing hemodilution during cardiopulmonary bypass. In addition he is studying how to reduce the incidence of AKI after cardiac surgery. He has served on many SCA and ASA committees and is currently the chair of the SCA Patient Blood management Subcommittee.

Jenny Kwak, MD
At-Large Director
Associate Professor Chief, Division of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia, Loyola University Medical Center

Jenny Kwak, MD, FASE, FASA is Chief of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology and Professor at Loyola University Medical Center. She is also Co-Chair of the hospital’s Blood Utilization Committee, Vice-Chair for the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists Blood Management Sub-Committee, and a member of the American Society of Anesthesiology Committee on Patient Blood Management. Dr. Kwak’s research and writing covers the broad scope of cardiac anesthesiology, and as a hemophilia mom, she has a special interest in coagulation and patient blood management. She supports the Bleeding Disorders Alliance of Illinois and the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation as a mother and a volunteer. She also serves on the Research Committee of the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation. Her involvement with SABM has grown with her interests, and she has been a member of the Annual Meeting Planning Committee since 2022.

Erin Suydam, MD, FACS
At-Large Director
Trauma, Acute Care, Critical Care Surgeon
Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA

Erin Suydam, MD, FACS is a trauma/acute care/critical care surgeon at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA since 2014. She attended medical school at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and went on to complete General Surgery residency at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA. She completed a Surgical Critical Care fellowship at the University of Hawaii and started her career at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, HI for several years prior to returning home to Pittsburgh.

She is the Medical Director for Patient Blood Management and Bloodless Medicine for Allegheny Health Network’s 14-hospital health system since 2016. She first attended the SABM annual meeting in 2016, completing the PBM Certificate Course and has become involved in the SABM Annual Meeting Planning Committee from 2020 through present as well as the SABM Membership Committee since 2021, presenting and moderating at the Annual Meetings and submitting multiple abstracts with her surgical residents and PBM team. Dr. Suydam has also been a featured speaker for the Annual Meetings of the Bloodless Medicine and Surgery Society and the Asia-Pacific Society for Patient Blood Management.

Dr. Suydam’s clinical research areas include Massive Hemorrhage management, management of coagulopathy and optimization of anemia. She serves on the Performance Improvement Oversight Committee for Allegheny General Hospital and leads AHN’s PBM committee.

She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at Drexel University College of Medicine and is a core faculty member of the General Surgery residency and Surgical Critical Care fellowship at AGH. She also serves as the Medical student Surgical Clerkship Co-Director for Drexel University students rotating at AGH as third year medical students.

Sarah Walbolt, BSN, RN
At-Large Director
Patient Blood Management Specialist

Nursing is a second career following fourteen years as a flight attendant where I learned a love for travel and culture. In the short ten years as a nurse, five have been spent developing Patient Blood Management for ProMedica’s health system in Toledo OH. In September 2017 I was charged with the task of turning a concierge Bloodless Care program serving roughly thirty five patients monthly into a comprehensive system-wide patient blood management service line. Today patient blood management at ProMedica serves the entire acute care population with a focus on reversal of patient anemia, continuation of therapy after discharge, and a vibrant ambulatory rapid access anemia clinic that serves 1500 clients yearly.

I credit my success to many things. First, my passion, drive, and focus enabled me to pursue multiple avenues when meeting challenging obstacles. Second, being left to my own devices with little direction, I looked to SABM standards and mentorship as my guide. This was paramount to correct development of the service line that spans across twelve hospitals. Thirdly, when the program became too large for our medical director to manage, executives finally saw the need to increase staff and to include a Nurse Practitioner. Finally, my own naivety that all PBM programs nation-wide had outstanding blood utilization metrics, inpatient rounding to include intervention of anemia, and anemia clinics, gave me the sense of urgency that I needed to catch up. Ignorance is sometimes an ally.

My passion for patient blood management cannot be contained to one hospital system and is one reason I support SABM by serving in various committees and projects.

Thorsten Haas, MD
At-Large Director

Thorsten Haas, MD University of Florida, College of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology Gainesville FL I am a Professor of Anesthesiology whose research focuses on perioperative bleeding management, Patient Blood Management (PBM), the use of purified coagulation factor concentrates, and viscoelastic testing to guide hemostatic therapy. During my tenure at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich, Switzerland, I established a pediatric Patient Blood Management program, laying the foundation for multidisciplinary blood conservation strategies in children. Building on this experience, I developed longstanding collaborations with Boston Children’s Hospital and Weill Cornell Medicine. I have served as a member and author of the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) Task Force on Severe Perioperative Bleeding, contributing to all three editions of the international evidencebased guidelines published in 2013, 2017, and 2023. I was also selected as a member of the Transfusion and Anemia eXpertise Initiative – Control/Avoidance of Bleeding (TAXICAB), where I co-authored international recommendations on the use of plasma and platelet transfusions in pediatric bleeding management. In 2022, I joined the University of Florida as Director of Patient Blood Management, where I have been leading the development and implementation of a comprehensive PBM program across multiple surgical specialties. I also chair our Viscoelastic Bleeding Management Task Force. In addition, I serve on the External Steering Committee for the World Health Organization’s Patient Blood Management Implementation Guidance to Improve Global Blood Health and currently serve on the Board of Directors of the Network for the Advancement of Patient Blood Management, Haemostasis and Thrombosis (NATA). Having recently transitioned my academic career to the United States, I am enthusiastic about contributing to the Society for the Advancement of Patient Blood Management (SABM) as a Board member. I would welcome the opportunity to support SABM’s mission to advance evidence-based Patient Blood Management through education, research, advocacy, and collaboration, helping to expand its impact across the United States and internationally.

Joseph Thomas, BSN, RN
At-Large Director

Joseph Thomas, BSN, RN National Director, Strategic Partnerships HemoSonics Raleigh/Durahm, NC For more than two decades, Joseph Thomas, BSN, RN has devoted 25 years of his career to advancing Patient Blood Management—not only as a clinician and healthcare executive, but as an educator, collaborator, and long-time advocate for the mission of SABM. A member of the SABM since 2002, Joseph has served SABM in numerous leadership roles, including the Nursing Committee, Membership Committee, and Industry Council. He’s presented at several SABM Annual Meetings and contributed to the advancement of PBM through publications, book chapters, and national educational initiatives. Throughout his career, Joseph has supported the implementation and expansion of PBM programs at more than 300 hospitals across the United States.   His leadership has spanned the Cleveland Clinic, Strategic Healthcare Group, Accumen, and HemoSonics, combining clinical expertise with executive leadership to build innovative programs and support the continued growth of Patient Blood Management nationwide. Joseph is passionate about ensuring SABM remains the leading voice for Patient Blood Management by strengthening member engagement, fostering multidisciplinary collaboration, and supporting the next generation of PBM leaders. If elected to the SABM Board, he is committed to building on SABM’s strong foundation while helping guide the Society’s continued growth, innovation, and impact on patient care.