Dr Vikas Ahlawat did his medical graduation from LLRM Medical College Meerut in 1994, Post-graduation in General Surgery from Army Hospital R&R, New Delhi and M.Ch-Cardiothoracic Surgery from SMS Medical College Jaipur. Thereafter he worked in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi before joining NHI in 2004. He was awarded G.C.Sharma Fellowship of the Indian Association of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons for the year 2006 and the Reeve H. Betts Fellowship of the Indian Association of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons for the year 2007. In 2007 he proceeded on Fellowship to Royal Perth Hospital, Australia, for advanced training in surgical management of Heart failure including ECMO, Ventricular Assist Devices and Heart and Lung Transplantation besides routine adult cardiac surgeries – Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery, Valvular surgeries, Lung resections and also Thoracoscopic procedures. There he also acquired training in Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve surgery. In June 2011, he attended Leipzig University Hospital, Germany under Dr Mohr, one of the pioneers of Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery for the same. In Australia he also worked in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth and Fremantle Hospital to further enhance his knowledge in Cardiothoracic Surgery. In February 2012, he returned to India and rejoined NHI. Dr Ahlawat has a keen interest in developing a successful Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery programme at NHI and is working towards achieving his goal. He has presented about 18 papers in national conferences.