The Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease Council Founders’ Award recognizes continued major scholarly contributions to the field of pediatric echocardiography. This biennial award is presented during the annual ASE Scientific Sessions. This award is rotated with the Excellence in Teaching in Pediatrics Award and is presented every other year.

Criteria for the award include:

  • An individual with documented lifelong exemplary contribution to the advancement of the field of Echocardiography in Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease.
  • This awardee is selected by the Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease Council.
Congratulations 2026 Awardee, Luc Mertens, MD, FASE

Dr. Luc Mertens has been the Medical Director of the Cardiovascular Program at CHEO since April 2025. He graduated with a medical degree from the University of Leuven,  in Belgium and acquired a doctoral degree in Medical Sciences. He went on to complete specialized training in Pediatrics and Pediatric Cardiology at the University Hospitals Leuven and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, USA. From 1998 to 2008, Dr. Mertens worked as a consultant pediatric cardiologist for the University Hospitals Leuven, in Belgium. He moved to Toronto in 2008 where he became the Medical Director of the Echocardiography Laboratory and later also Co-Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program at the Labatt Family Heart Centre at the Hospital for Sick Children. He was promoted to Full Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto in 2013. He worked as a Senior Associate Scientist in the Translational Medicine Program at the SickKids Research Institute.

He has held numerous leadership positions within different professional organizations including ASE and has been on the editorial boards of different journals. His research work focused on developing novel non-invasive imaging techniques for assessing cardiac and vascular function in children with congenital and acquired heart disease. His main research interest is in novel technology including strain imaging, ultrafast ultrasound, and more recently in artificial intelligence. He co-edited a leading textbook in pediatric and congenital echocardiography and organized courses on pediatric and congenital echocardiography.

 

Past Awardees

2026 Awardee: Luc Mertens, MD, FASE