Advisory Board

Alberico Catapano is Full Professor of Pharmacology, Director of the Center of Epidemiology and Preventive Pharmacology (SEFAP) as well as Director of the Laboratory of Lipoproteins, Immunity and Atherosclerosis at the University of Milan (Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences) and PhD coordinator from 2017 to 2020.

Moreover he is Director of the Center for the Study, Prevention and Therapy of Atherosclerosis of the University of Milan, at the Bassini Hospital, Head of Cardiovascular Research Line at Multimedica IRCCS Sesto San Giovanni (Mi), President of the Italian Society of Clinical and Sperimental Therapy (SITeCS) and General Director of the SISA Foundation.

His main research, from 1972, interests include the study of atherosclerosis, lipids, lipoproteins and genetic dyslipidaemias, and he has made landmark observations regarding heat shock proteins and pentraxins in atherogenesis, on high-density lipoproteins in the modulation of the immune response, and on the identification of possible therapeutic targets by exploiting genetic information. Past President of the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS), Professor Catapano is currently Co- Chairman of the EAS/European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for the treatment of dyslipoproteinaemias. Editor of Atherosclerosis Supplements, Co-editor of Atherosclerosis and Associate Editor of other scientific journals, he has authored more than 590 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals average IF 10.929 and is among the highly cited scientists in 2019, 2020 and 2021 according to Clarivate.

Dr. Helms is a specialist in internal medicine and cardiology with many years of clinical experience. He also has outstanding expertise in the field of telemedicine. Since 1998 he has been the managing partner and director of the Peri Cor Working Group on Cardiology GmbH / Ass. UCSF – with focus on clinically invasive electrophysiology and invasive cardiology, clinical and experimental research, education, training and consulting in the healthcare sector.

Since 2004, Dr. Helms is also Chairman of the Board of the non-profit German Foundation for the Chronically Ill, which is particularly dedicated to providing scientific answers to health care research questions. Dr. Helms is currently the spokesman for the eCardiology "Society and Politics" committee and a member of the committee for cardiological care in the German Society for Cardiology (DGK). He is a member of the Commission for Digital Transformation in Internal Medicine of the Telemedicine Working Group of the German Society for Internal Medicine e.V. (DGIM) and he is a member of the Committee "Digitalization in Health Care" of the German Medical Association (BÄK) Department V. He is a member of numerous international and national societies such as the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA).

Prof. Dr. Beatriz G. Lopez-Valcarcel, PhD in Economics and Professor of Quantitative Methods in Economics and Management at the University of Las Palmas de GC, Spain. Professor in postgraduate and doctorate courses in several universities in Spain and abroad. Research in Health Economics.

Former President of the Health Economics Association of Spain (2004-2006) and the Public Health Economics section of the European Public Health Association, EUPHA (2011-2012). President of SESPAS (Spanish Society of Public Health and Health Administration) between 2015 and 2017. Member of the Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Health, Spain. Advisory scientific committee of the Foundation Gadea para la Ciencia.

Member of the Royal Academy of Science of Galicia since January 2020. Trustee of the Ernest Lluch Foundation (since March 2021). Member of the scientific committee for Covid-19 of the government of Canarias, member of the Multidisciplinary Working Group for Covid of the Ministry of Science and Innovation, member of the scientific committee COVID Asturias, and member of the Medical Council of Spain (Organización Médica Colegial) Covid-19 group. Member of the advisory council of AIREF (since March 2021).

Prof. Dr. Susanne S Pedersen has a strong, international research profile in health and medical psychology in general and cardiac psychology in particular – i.e. the interface between psychology and cardiology – which focuses on the role of behavioral, psychosocial, and psychological factors and how they interact with clinical variables (and through which mechanisms) to influence patient reported and clinical outcomes.

She has a considerable network in the field of cardiac psychology both nationally (i.e., both in Denmark and the Netherlands) and internationally.

Prof. Prof. h.c. Dr. med. Markus van der Giet is expert for arterial hypertension, internal medicine and nephrology. He is ESH Clinical Hypertension Specialist. He is a leading expert in pulse wave analysis and member of the most relevant European societies for hypertension and nephrology.

Furthermore, Prof. Dr. van der Giet is director of the DHL certified hypertension center at the Charité Berlin and head of the nephrologic outpatient department. He is head of the Renal und Vascular Research Group (RVRG) at Charité Berlin. He is author of over 190 publications in high-ranking international journals and leading investigator of the Berlin Initative Study (BIS).