Professor Andrew Coats was born in Melbourne, Australia. He studied at St Catherine’s College, Oxford, where he earned a B.A. in Physiological Sciences with First-Class Honours, and then completed his medical degree (M.B. B.Chir.) at Clare College, Cambridge. He later obtained higher doctorates (D.M. and D.Sc.) in recognition of his substantial contributions to cardiovascular medicine, and he also completed an MBA at the London Business School. Professor Coats serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Cardiac Failure Review journal.

Career Overview

Andrew Coats is an internationally renowned academic cardiologist, inventor, and university leader with a career spanning more than three decades. He is currently the Scientific Director and CEO of the Heart Research Institute in Sydney, Australia. He also serves as Dean of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Affiliate Professor at Deakin University, and Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Monash University.

Giuseppe Rosano was born and raised in Vibo Valentia, Italy, where he developed an early interest in medicine and cardiovascular science. While detailed information about his family and early childhood is not widely published, his Italian background and international academic career reflect strong cultural roots combined with global engagement in cardiovascular medicine.

Academic History

Professor Rosano obtained his Medical Degree in Medicine and Surgery with full honours from La Sapienza University of Rome in 1988. He subsequently completed his specialisation in Cardiology in 1992. Following his clinical training, he pursued advanced academic and research qualifications in the United Kingdom, earning both an MSc and a PhD in Medical Sciences from Imperial College London. His postgraduate research focused on cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology, forming the foundation of his future work in heart failure and cardiac metabolism.

Prof Eberhard Standl is an Endocrinologist and Angiologist at Munich Diabetes Research Group, Munich, DE.

His main areas of interest include diabetology, action and degradation of insulin, and epidemiology of cardiovascular diabetic complications.

Prof Standl was previously Director of the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Metabolism at the Academic Hospital Munich-Schwabing and also worked at the world-renowned Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Massachusetts.

Dr María José Soler is a Nephrologist and and principal investigator of the Nephrology group at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, ES.

She is also editor-in-chief of the specialised publication Clinical Kidney Journal (CKJ).

Prof Stefan D Anker is a German cardiologist born in Berlin, Germany. He studied medicine at Charité Medical School of Humboldt University Berlin, where he completed his medical degree in 1993. He later pursued research training at the National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, completing his PhD in 1998. Following his return to Germany, Prof Anker held academic and research positions at Charité Berlin and later at University Medical Center Göttingen before returning to Charité in 2017 to serve as Professor of (Tissue) Homeostasis in Cardiology & Metabolism. His work has taken him across multiple institutions and countries through long-standing international collaborations.

Academic History

Prof Anker began his medical education at Charité Medical School, graduating in 1993. He then continued postgraduate academic training in both Germany and the United Kingdom, completing his PhD at the National Heart & Lung Institute in London…