Our Team

Dr. L. Wiley Nifong is a Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the East Carolina Heart Institute. He is the Director of Surgical Robotics. He has trained over 900 surgical teams in the use of minimally invasive and robotic surgery.

Dr. Nifong is a pioneer of new technology to aid minimally invasive procedures including atrial fibrillation ablation energy sources, anastomotic devices, adherence devices, sutureless technology, and intracardiac retraction. His surgical specialties are minimally invasive and robotic mitral valve surgery, coronary revascularization, and TAVR.

Dr. Walter Boyd is a Professor of Cardiac Surgery at East Carolina Heart Institute. He is also the Vice Chair of Surgical Operations and Innovation. Dr. Boyd completed the first robot-assisted valve repair surgeries in the U.S along with the world’s first closed-chest beating heart robotic coronary bypass. His surgical specialties include adult cardiac surgery, cardiac regenerative medicine, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, robotic cardiac surgery, and the development of catheter based mitral valve repair devices.

Candace A. Hoo, MHA, BSBA
Business Service Coordinator
hooc@ecu.edu

Candace A. Hoo is the Business Service Coordinator for the Robotics lab here at East Carolina Heart Institute. Candace runs all aspects pertaining to the lab such as scheduling labs, processing paperwork, and ordering supplies needed for trainings. Candace has a BS degree in Business Administration and a Masters in Health Administration. She is married with two daughters, (who she says are her greatest accomplishments).

Mailing address:
Robotic Surgery Center for Training and Education
East Carolina Heart Institute at East Carolina University
115 Heart Drive
Mail Stop 723
Greenville, NC 27834