Medical School:        
1977-1983: Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki

Training:
06/24/85-30/06/88: Resident in Pediatrics, St Louis Children’s Hospital at Washington University Medical Center, St Louis, Missouri, USA
07/01/88-30/06/91: Fellow in Pediatric Cardiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N. Carolina, USA
07/01/91-30/07/92: Fellow in Cardiac Pathology, Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
09/01/95-08/31/96: Fellow in Pediatric Cardiac Electrophysiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, USA

PhD/ Thesis:  
2004: University of Patras, Greece: “Definitive treatment of supraventricular tachycardia in children with radiofrequency current.”

Board Certification:
Diplomate, American Board of Pediatrics: 02/06/89
Diplomate, American Board of Pediatrics and Sub-Board of Pediatric Cardiology, 11/10/91, Recertified 6/2014
International Board of Heart Rhythm Examiners: Certification in Clinical Electrophysiology, Pediatric Electrophysiology, Certified 2014
International Board of Heart Rhythm Examiners: Certification Cardiac Rhythm Device Specialist, Certified 2015
Diplomate, Adult Congenital Heart Disease, American Board of Internal Medicine, Certified 2019

Academic titles:         
08/01/03-07/01/04:    Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. 
08/12/2013-08/1/2016: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics University of Missouri in Kansas City.
08/01/2016-now: Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Missouri in Kansas City.

Editorial Boards
AD-HOC REVIEWER for peer-reviewed international journals: Circulation, PACE, Europace, Heart Rhythm, Heart Rhythm Case Reports

Professional Experience:
09/01/92-11/30/93:    Pediatric Cardiologist, Athens Medical Center, Athens, Greece.
12/01/93-12/31/97: Attending Pediatric Cardiologist, Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, Athens, Greece.
01/01/98-07/30/03:    Associate Director, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, Athens, Greece
08/01/03-07/01/04:    Director, Pediatric Electrophysiology, Division of Cardiology, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
07/01/04-12/31/2007: Associate Director, Division of Pediatric Cardiology and Director of Pediatric Electrophysiology, Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, Athens, Greece
1/1/2008-7/30/2013: Director, Pediatric Cardiology and Electrophysiology, Mitera Children’s Hospital, Athens, Greece
08/12/2013-07/30/2020: Director of Electrophysiology, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
08/01/2020-now: Director, Division of Pediatric Cardiology and Adult Congenital Heart Disease, Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, Athens, Greece

Professional Society Membership:  
Association of European Pediatric Cardiologists: 1994-now.
Hellenic Society of Pediatric Cardiology: 1992-now.
Hellenic Society of Pediatrics: 1994-now.
Hellenic Society of Cardiology: 1993-now.
President of Working Group of Congenital Heart Disease of the HSC (2002-2004).
Pediatric and Congenital Electrophysiology Society: 1999-now.
Heart Rhythm Society: Member since 2003-now, Fellow of Heart Rhythm Society (FHRS).
American Heart Association: Premium Professional Member, 2014-now.

Clinical Interests:
Pediatric electrophysiology: transcatheter ablation of supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias; pacemaker and defibrillator implantation and follow-up; non-invasive electrophysiology testing; investigation and follow-up of genetic arrhythmia syndromes (Long QT, Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia, Brugada syndrome, Hypertrophic and Dilated Cardiomyopathy, Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy).
General Pediatric Cardiology: Clinical cardiology, echocardiography, cardiac catheterization in infants, children, adolescents and adults with congenital heart disease.

Research Interests:
Pediatric Cardiology: New clinical and diagnostic findings in congenital heart disease.
Cardiac Pathology:  Clinical-pathologic correlations, with echocardiographic and angiocardiographic findings in congenital heart disease.
Pediatric Cardiac Electrophysiology and Pacing:
Effects of radiofrequency lesions on the immature myocardium.
Treatment of pediatric cardiac arrhythmias with radiofrequency ablation. Non-fluoroscopic imaging in pediatric catheter ablation.
Cryoablation in the treatment of pediatric arrhythmias.
Treatment of postoperative cardiac arrhythmias in patients with congenital heart disease with radiofrequency ablation.
Impact of the permanent ventricular pacing site on left ventricular function in children
Cardiac Resynchronization in Children and Patients with Congenital Heart Disease.
New clinical and molecular genetic findings in patients with genetic arrhythmia syndromes.

Publications
69 articles in peer-reviewed medical journals and 8 book-chapters

Dr. Aikaterini Giannakopoulou, MD, MSc, PhD, is a Cardiologist and Pediatric Cardiologist. She is the President of the Hellenic Association of Pediatric Cardiology. Dr. Giannakopoulou serves as one of the directors of the Cardiology Clinic and the Hemodynamic Laboratory at the General Children's Hospital "Aghia Sofia," National Health System, in Athens, Greece. She obtained her Medical Degree, Master’s Degree, and PhD from the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She holds a specialist title in hypertension from the European Society of Hypertension. Additionally, she has been trained in advanced techniques in pediatric cardiology at the CHARITE University Hospital in Berlin. Dr. Giannakopoulou has many years of specialized experience in pediatric cardiology.

Sanket Shah is currently an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City and Medical Director of Echocardiography and cross-sectional imaging at Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City MO. My clinical and research focus in pediatric cardiac imaging, specifically transthoracic and trans-esophageal echocardiography, and Cardiac MRI.  >
After my medical degree in India, I pursued a Master of Health Science at the School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, USA. I completed General Pediatrics and Pediatric Cardiology training in the State of Michigan and since 2010 have been a faculty member at Children’s Mercy Hospital, an affiliate of University of Missouri in Kansas City.

Dr Maria Kiaffas is currently an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Missouri School of Medicine and the Director of Fetal Cardiology at Children’s Mercy Hospital (CMH), Kansas City MO. Dr Kiaffas, a native of Greece, after completing her studies at the Aristotelian University School of Medicine in Thessaloniki, pursued further training in the US. She completed her pediatric residency at the University of Connecticut Medical School Pediatric Residency Program, followed by a Cardiac Pathology Fellowship with Drs Stella and Richard Van Praagh at Boston Children’s Hospital-Harvard Medical School. She did her core Pediatric Cardiology fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh – University of Pittsburgh Medical School. Following a short return to Greece and working at the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center as a Non-invasive Imager and Pediatric Cardiac Intensivist, she came back to the US and completed a Cardiac MRI fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital-Harvard Medical School. She then became staff at the Department of Pediatric and Adult Congenital Cardiology Department at the Onassis Cardiac Center in Athens Greece, dividing her time between the general pediatric cardiology services, the pediatric echocardiography laboratory and leading the fetal cardiology program. During that time, she earned a PhD from the Kapodistrian University School of Medicine, magna cum laude, with her thesis focusing on Fetal Cardiology. Since 2016 she has been a faculty member at Children’s Mercy Hospital, member of the Non-invasive and Advanced Cardiac Imaging team, with her clinical and research interests focusing on Fetal Cardiology, Pediatric Cardiac Imaging (echocardiography, cardiac CT and MRI) and Pathology of Congenital Heart Disease.