Education

B.S. from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Ron DeVries has been part of the medical device industry since 1980 when he joined DLP, Inc. in Grand Rapids, Michigan as one of the first three employees of the startup company. DLP's early products concentrated on cardioplegia delivery disposables, then grew to include venous and arterial cannula for the extracorporeal circuit and by 1990 offered a complete line of products for the cardiac surgery suite. DeVries' responsibilities began as Sales Manager with a need to develop a distribution channel, starting with 10 U.S. distributors and seven international distributors. In 1986 DeVries became General Manager of INRAD, a division of DLP focused on developing products for interventional radiology. As both of the product lines began to expand, DeVries converted the distributor network into a direct sales force of 24 U.S. sales personnel and 10 international employees. DeVries was also instrumental in starting Sales and Marketing offices in London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dusseldorf.

By 1994 DLP's sales revenue had increased to over 40 million dollars with 375 employees worldwide. Early in 1994, DLP was purchased by Medtronic Inc., a Minneapolis-based medical device manufacturer. DeVries then assumed the role as Director of Sales for the Medtronic Heart Valve Division and new Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery products, as well as continuing to represent the DLP cannula line. During that time Medtronic launched the FreeStyle Valve, its first new valve available in the United States and also launched the Octopus stabilizer device for beating heart surgery.

DeVries has been issued several U.S. patents and numerous awards for international trade and exporting. 

Personal

Ron has been married to his wife Luann for 30 years and they have two daughters: Amy, a graduate of Hope College in Holland, Michigan and Emory University Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia; and Jill, a graduate of Hope College.

Fun times are spent with the family at their cottage in Northern Michigan, or at their condo in South Florida. Most activities center around water sports, downhill skiing and golf.
 

Steven R. Gundry M.D., Chief Technical Officer

Education

B.A. cum laude, Yale University, 1977
M.D., Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine

Residencies and Fellowships:

1977-1978 Straight Surgery, University of Michigan Hospitals
1980-1983 General Surgery, University of Michigan Hospitals
1983-1985 Thoracic Surgery, University of Michigan Hospitals

Fellowships

1978-1980 Clinical Associate in Cardiac Surgery, National Institutes of Health
1985-1986 Senior Registrar, Cardiothoracic Surgery: The Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormand Street, London, England

Board Certifications

1984 General Surgery, American Board of Surgery, Re-certified 1994
1986 Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery, American Board of Thoracic Surgery, Re-certified 1995

Fellow

Fellow, American College of Surgeons (FACS)
Fellow, American College of Cardiology (FACC)
Fellow, American College of Pediatrics (FAAP)

Appointments

1993-2001 Professor and Head, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Loma Linda University School of Medicine.
2002 – Chief Techonology Officer of the International Heart Institute of Palm Springs, California.
2002 - Head of the Center for Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery at Desert Regional Medical Center Palm Springs, California.

Clinical and Research Specialties

Congenital heart surgery, heart transplantation, cardioplegia, minimally invasive surgery, and mechanical support devices for the failing heart.

Steve Gundry decided to become a physician at age 10 when he found the book All About You in the library of his Omaha, Nebraska school. His 4th grade science project was a poster, "How to do an Appendectomy," complete with illustrations copied from medical textbooks. His course was set but still he had time in high school to become the Nebraska State Champion in both Debate and Original Oratory. He later was a member of the Yale Debate Team and the Yale Glee Club.

Dr. Gundry is the inventor of the "Gundry Retrograde Cardioplegia Cannula" which is the world's most widely used device to infuse heart tissue with a preservative solution during surgery. His interest in pediatric heart transplantation began while at the University of Michigan where he was a member of the team which successfully performed heart transplantations in the world's youngest children until the Loma Linda program began. Dr. Gundry is now the Executive Director of the International Heart Institute of Palm Springs, California. Also currently Head of the Center for Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery at Desert Regional Medical Center at Palm Springs.

Personal

Dr. Gundry is married to Penny Mays. He has two daughters: Elizabeth, a Graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and Melissa, who attends Crafton Hills College in Redlands, California. After surgery, Dr. Gundry's favorite hobby is caring for his collection of 75 orchids, as well as skiing and running.