The Election Committee (ELCOM) has carefully selected the following candidates from the nominations, using criteria based on qualifications, experience, and dedication to our Society. We firmly believe that they possess the necessary skills and expertise to guide EAS towards continued success. After Prof Alberto Zambon completes his term by the end of 2024, the incoming candidate will assume the role. Their term will span from 2025 to 2028.
We are pleased to announce the candidates for Ordinary Member Responsible for National Societies 2025-2028:
Professor Meral Kayıkçıoğlu
Ege University School of Medicine, Cardiology Department
Biography
Meral Kayikcioglu is a cardiologist and lipid specialist at Ege University Medical School. She has been running the Lipid & Prevention Clinic since 1996 and the Young MI Clinic since 2000.
Meral’s research interests include atherosclerosis, cardiovascular prevention, lipids, genetic dyslipidemias, premature myocardial infarction, hereditary thrombophilia, and cardiovascular involvement in rare diseases. Meral is leading several national registries on Cardiovascular and Rare Diseases, including familial hypercholesterolemia registries (A-HIT1 & A-HIT2), a registry of premature myocardial infarction in Turkey (A-HIT3), and TURK-MI.
Meral served as the National CVD Prevention Coordinator of Turkey for EACPR from 2009 to 2022. She presented Turkey in the Red Alert on Women’s Heart Project and worked as principal and co-investigator in many CV prevention projects including Euroaspire, FHSC, HICC Registry, lipid clinical network, and others. She is experienced in patient education programs on CVD prevention and has been involved in several prevention projects in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. Meral chaired the Turkish Atherosclerosis, Lipids, and Prevention Working Group (WG) (2014 2016). She served as an Executive Board member of the Turkish Society of Cardiology (TSC) (2016-2018). She has also been involved in several projects and WGs of TSC, including Women & Heart Health WG, Guidelines Committee Member, WG on Relationships between TSC and MoH, and Project Grants WG.
Vision statement
Dear Members of EAS,
I have been a passionate supporter of the EAS and have regularly attended EAS Congresses since 2014 and supported a diverse range of EAS activities. These include educational activities by delivering lectures at numerous EAS Courses, serving as an EAS Social-Media Ambassador since 2018, serving on the editorial board of Atherosclerosis since 2018 and more recently taking on leadership roles within the EAS as the chair of EAS Working-Group for funding External Joint Projects (including advocacy) and as a member of EAS-2025 Congress Committee, and the national lead for Turkey within the EAS FH-Studies Collaboration. Additionally, I’ve represented Turkey in EAS National Societies (NS) meetings and have served in organizing joint meetings with Hellenic Atherosclerosis Society for over 8 years. These serve as a testament to my unwavering commitment to the EAS and its mission. I’ve dedicated over 25 years to clinical practice and research in Atherosclerosis, Lipids, and CVD prevention and chaired the Turkish Atherosclerosis, Lipids, and Prevention Working Group.
The EAS has grown exponentially over the last decade and is now a truly global society with a membership that covers more than 60 countries representing every corner of the world. I believe there is no better time than now for National Societies to collaborate with the EAS to further improve the CV health of individuals around the world. These relationships do not happen by chance and require an immense amount of planning and dedication. I believe the EAS should reach-out and proactively foster existing collaborations with National Societies around the world as well as explore how National Societies yet to become EAS partner societies. I would like to explore what’s currently not being offered by other international societies and where the EAS might be a vehicle for knowledge, advocacy, and patient care.
I believe I’m suitably qualified and have the requisite track record and experience to take on the role as the Ordinary Member responsible for National Societies, having represented Turkey in EAS- National Societies meetings including large regional meetings with other national societies. I’ve seen first-hand the fruits of multi-national collaborations through participation in the Global Affairs Committee of the ESC and serving as the deputy ambassador of the ESC for MENA (Middle-East, North-Africa) and India regions. I traveled worldwide to represent the TSC Board and ESC-Team in many international meetings (such as Latin Countries, Balkan Nations, Ukraine, Africa, Middle and Far East, Asia including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan etc). These experiences and participation in a diverse range of activities provided me comprehensive understanding of the challenges and the opportunities for the EAS and its global membership.
My background and experience have afforded me extensive cross-cultural opportunities for the delivery of successful collaborations with colleagues across the world. I’m aware of the needs and expectations of the different National Societies but having built an extensive international network of collaborators through my work. I believe I can support the EAS to find common ground and ways of working collaboratively to enhance its mission. Furthermore, I believe we need to nurture opportunities for all; meaning providing opportunities for participation for younger EAS members and early career researchers, bringing in more diversity from different regions of the world and having greater gender parity with more women being involved in the EAS.
Although I’m applying for the position of EC member responsible for National Societies, I believe that as a dedicated scientist with my motivation and vision, I can contribute to different activities of the EAS contributing significantly to the society’s mission of promoting excellence in education, research, and policy in atherosclerosis and its prevention and management in collaboration with National Societies. I would appreciate your consideration of my candidacy and would be honored to receive your trust and support. If given the opportunity to serve on the Executive Board, I will devote the time and energy needed to the task in hand and leveraging my expertise and existing networks build upon the foundations and teams that exist in the EAS to further support the EAS’ initiatives.
Current positions
(Information on all positions, both within companies and other Societies)
Companies
- She has been serving as a medical advisor at several companies including LIB Therapeutics, Chiese, Novartis, Novanordisk, and Ultragenyx during the last 2 years.
Other Societies
- I have been a member or fellow of the several other societies including ACC, AHA, Turkish Society of Cardiology (TSC), Turkish Metabolic Syndrome Association, and Turkish Atherosclerosis Association.
- I also actively involved in the FH-Europe, Turkish Familial Hypercholesterolemia Patient Association (Founder and Board Member), National Rare Disease Association (Founder and Board member), and Clinical Trials Association.
- I also have been actively involved in the TSC as Executive Board Member from 2016 to 2019, Chair of Lipid Working Group from 2014 to 2016, Member of the Guidelines Committee from 2010 to 2015, Member of Women and Heart Disease Working Group from 2007 to 2017,
- Member of the Working Group on Relationships between Ministry of Health and TSC from 2021 to 2023, and Chair of the Committee of Grant Applications for Studies from 2016 to 2018.
- Furthermore, I’ve worked with the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) as a member of ESC Global Affairs Committee from 2018 to 2022, ESC-Deputy Ambassador for the MENA and India Region from 2018 to 2022, Member of the ESC European Observational Registries Program (EORP) Oversight Committee from 2018 to 2022, and National CVD Prevention Coordinator for Turkey from 2009 to 2020. All these collaboration and experience, undoubtedly will help me to improve the policies of EAS.
Maintaining Integrity in EAS Scientific and Clinical Activities
EAS manages conflicts of interest to maintain integrity in scientific and clinical activities organized by its members. This includes guidelines, consensus papers, journals, congresses, and educational content. Please see the complete disclosure of potential conflicts of interest below.
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Professor Giuseppe Danilo Norata
Full Professor of Pharmacology at the Department of Excellence of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
Biography
Giuseppe Danilo Norata, Prof, PhD, is Professor of Pharmacology at the Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences (DISFeB) and Coordinator of the Doctorate School of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences at the University of Milan, Italy. He held the positions of Adjunct Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia (2016-2018) and of Honorary Senior Lecturer, The Blizard Institute, Barts and The London, School of Medicine & Dentistry Queen Mary University, London (2012-2015). Previously he was Post-Doc at Atherosclerosis Research Unit, Karolinska Hospital, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden (2002-2004). His research activity is devoted to the investigation of molecular mechanisms involved in lipid and lipoprotein metabolism related to vascular and cardiometabolic diseases and their connection with immunometabolism from a translational perspective. He is the Head of the Laboratory of Pharmacology of CardioImmunoMetabolic Disorders at DISFeB, University of Milan. He serves as Editor for Cardiovascular Research and for Atherosclerosis and as a member of the editorial board of Atherosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (ATVB). He published more than 240 papers in the field of lipids and lipoprotein metabolism, atherosclerosis and immunometabolic diseases. He is Chair of the EAS Congress Committee and a member of the Nucleus of the AVB Working Group of the European Society of Cardiology.
Vision statement
Dear Members of the European Atherosclerosis Society,
Dear Friends and Colleagues
I am Giuseppe Danilo Norata, (Danilo), Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Milan, Milan, Italy, and this is to share with you my vision as a candidate for the position of Ordinary Member of the EAS Executive Committee overseeing National Societies.
I am a highly motivated person and I am used to working as part of a team with international peers. I have been deeply involved in EAS activities since 2012, when I started planning and coordinating the Science at a Glance Session during the EAS Annual Meeting.
Later, I became Co-Chair (2017) and then Chair (2021) of the EAS Congress Committee. In this position, I actively participated in the selection of the EAS Congress site and reported on the results during the EAS Executive Committee meetings.
Moreover, I have been involved in several EAS activities, including the Young Fellows Program training and have represented EAS at several National Society meetings.
I am part of the EAS Sponsor Meeting Team, which fosters collaboration with international stakeholders, and as Congress Committee chair I am part of the EAS PCO Selection Team.
As such, I have excellent knowledge of the EAS structure and function.
In my opinion, the interaction of the EAS with the National Atherosclerosis Societies is crucial to foster basic research, diagnosis and therapy of atherosclerosis. This comes together with the mission of the EAS to expand its global presence. To this end, it is important to improve the existing relationships with the 27 National Societies that are affiliated to the EAS and to build new links with others. This can be done by continuing to actively support the participation of young scientists from the National Societies to the EAS Congress through travel grants and by organizing joint EAS-National Society sessions at the annual scientific meetings of the National Societies.
I am already involved in maintaining EAS relations with several National Atherosclerosis Societies during the site inspection visits to evaluate bids to host the EAS annual meeting. During these activities, I have the opportunity to interact with the Presidents and Secretaries of the National Societies and present the EAS strategies to raise the awareness of dyslipidemia and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease through the annual Congress and other activities. As Chair of the EAS Congress Committee, I have also developed the ability to adapt to different cultural norms.
These aspects make me an ideal candidate to serve the EAS mission and contribute to the development and implementation of the EAS strategic plan as Ordinary Member of the EAS Executive Committee overseeing National Societies.
Current positions
(Information on all positions, both within companies and other Societies)
Companies
- None
Other Societies
- Adjunct member of the nucleus of the working group on Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology of ESC.
- Vice-President of the Lombardy branch of the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis.
- Danilo has been the treasurer of the European Society Working group of Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology and a member of the Committee of the European Lipoprotein Club. Moreover he coordinates the activity of the group of Cardiovascular Pharmacology of the Italian Society for the Study of Pharmacology.
Maintaining Integrity in EAS Scientific and Clinical Activities
EAS manages conflicts of interest to maintain integrity in scientific and clinical activities organized by its members. This includes guidelines, consensus papers, journals, congresses, and educational content. Please see the complete disclosure of potential conflicts of interest below.
You have to be full member and logged in to view Faculty Conflict of Interest Disclosures
Professor Gerard Pasterkamp
Professor Experimental Cardiology and Director of Focus area “Circulatory Health” of the UMC Utrecht.
Biography
Gerard Pasterkamp, MD, is Professor of Experimental Cardiology and his research is embedded in the laboratory of clinical chemistry, UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands. The laboratory houses researchers and technicians that cover a broad range of activities. His research interests are in the field of cardiovascular biology and more specifically innovation in biomarkers and drug targets. The research group houses the largest atherosclerotic plaque biobank worldwide: Arhero-Express including >4000 patients This biobank has generated new insights into determinants of plaque destabilisation. For example, it has been demonstrated that local plaque characteristics are strongly associated with long term outcome but also that plaque characteristics have rapidly changed in the last decade. The laboratory now invests in the excavation of genetic determinants of atherosclerotic plaque characteristics. Recent insights in the mechanisms of atherosclerosis progression have been obtained by executing whole genome SNP analyses and plaque DNA methylation as well as single cell sequencing.
Private public research projects are one of the main core-activities within the laboratory of experimental cardiology. Within the laboratories spin off activities are stimulated. He coordinates national and EU based consortia with the aim to unravel biomarkers and mechanisms of atherosclerotic disease. His translational profile is noted in the private public consortia he is involved in. He is supervising three public private grants that have been rewarded with the aim to develop novel biomarkers and imaging technology to detect cardiac ischemia and endothelial dysfunction. In 2018 he obtained a LeDucq grant together with Prof G Owens (Virginia University) on the role of smooth muscle cell plasticity in the atherosclerotic plaque.
Vision statement
A Vision for the European Atherosclerosis Society’s National Societies Portfolio
As a candidate for the board position of “National Societies” within the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS), I envision a future where collaborative efforts among member nations within Europe propel us toward groundbreaking advancements in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of atherosclerosis. The National Societies portfolio holds a pivotal role in fostering unity, knowledge exchange, and innovation across Europe. Atherosclerosis is a common disease that affects the health in all countries that endorse the EAS and in a joint effort we should discuss and develop strategies on prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
My vision extends beyond an approach that emphasizes the value of an European based approach but that also recognizes the strength and empowerment of individual National Societies. Each country may bring unique resources and (cultural) perspectives to the table that provide added value for our common strategy. The National Societies may flourish even more with a tailored approach that addresses the specific needs of their specific populations.
Education is a cornerstone of cardiovascular health, and National Societies may play a pivotal role in educating communities about atherosclerosis. By developing and implementing targeted educational programs in a joint effort with the board members “communication” and “education”, I would aim to facilitate the National Societies in their objectives to raise awareness about mechanisms of disease, therapeutic options and changes in lifestyle in order to reduce the overall burden of atherosclerosis across Europe.
The National Societies portfolio will be relevant for the advancements in research and innovation in the field of atherosclerosis. Data-sharing will be of utmost relevance to make the next step in understanding diagnostic and therapeutic determinants of disease development. The regulations for sharing privacy sensitive data are an enormous challenge but it will be critical to search for means to join data platforms that will allow development of AI based algorithms. Through collaborative research projects, shared databases, and joint initiatives, we aim to accelerate the pace of discovery and translation into clinical practice.
My vision includes a commitment to advocating for policies that promote cardiovascular health at the national and European levels. By discussing relevant challenges, such as data-sharing, with policymakers and healthcare professionals we can search for opportunities that will influence and prioritize atherosclerosis prevention and research initiatives.
My vision for the European Atherosclerosis Society’s National Societies portfolio is rooted in collaboration, empowerment, education, research, and advocacy. Where possible, by aligning our efforts across borders, we can contribute to a reduction of the burden of cardiovascular disease. I am eager to contribute my dedication, and vision to realize this ambitious and impactful journey as a board member of the EAS.
Current Positions
(Information on all positions, both within companies and other Societies)
Companies
- Past CSO of biomarker company Cavadis (2012-2017)
- Past Director of company “Signal to Noise” (sports data). (2018-2021)
- Currently author of “Painted Science” (www.paintedscience.com)
Other societies
- past member of the scientific committee of the Netherlands Heart Institute
- past chair of the working group “Atherosclerosis” in the ESC and subsequently member of the bBasic Science Council and program committee of the ESC
- current chair of the of the scientific council of the Rheumatoid Arthritis foundation in the Netherlands
- current director of the focus area “Circulatory Health” of the UMC Utrecht
- Member of the ERC committee, advanced grants, panel 4 (2018-2024)
Maintaining Integrity in EAS Scientific and Clinical Activities
EAS manages conflicts of interest to maintain integrity in scientific and clinical activities organized by its members. This includes guidelines, consensus papers, journals, congresses, and educational content.
Please see the complete disclosure of potential conflicts of interest below.