Prof Salvatore Pepe is Editor in Chief of Heart Lung and Circulation and the co-Leader of the Heart Research Group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. His research is focused on safe translation of cell therapy protocols to augment cardiac intervention outcomes, targeting metabolism, immune response and cardiac remodelling in myocardial injury, heart failure, and perioperative complications of cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.

Filippo Crea was born in Cosenza, Italy on 19 September 1953. He graduated from Pisa Medical School with full honours in 1977 and passed the postgraduate Boards in both Pulmonary and Cardiovascular Diseases, again with full honours, at Pisa Medical School in 1980 and 1983 respectively. During the whole of 1984 he was Research Fellow at the Division of Cardiology of the University of Florida, directed by Professor Richard C. Conti. From 1985 to 1991 he was Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant at the Cardiovascular Research Unit of the Hammersmith Hospital in London, directed by Professor Attilio Maseri. He returned to Italy upon his appointment as Chief of the Catheterization Laboratory at the Institute of Cardiology of the Catholic University of Rome. In 2000 he became Associate Professor of Cardiology and Chief of the Intensive and Sub-Intensive Care Unit. In 2001 he became Professor of Cardiology, Director of the Institute of Cardiology, Director of the Postgraduate School in Cardiology and of the PhD program in Clinical Research in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the Catholic University of Rome. From October 2008 to January 2020 he was Director of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences. From February 2020 to October 2023 he was Director of the University Department of Cardiovascular and Pneumological Sciences. Since November 2023 he is Director of the Centre of Excellence in Cardiovascular Medicine at the Gemelli-Isola Tiberina Hospital. He is Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology, founder and Past Chairman of the Working Group on Coronary Pathophysiology and Microcirculation, Past Member of the Education Committee, Past Member of the ESC Congress Program Committee, co-author of Guidelines on chronic coronary syndromes (2013), NSTEMI (2017), UDMI (2019). Since 2020 he is Editor-in-Chief of the “European Heart Journal” and since 2022 Chairman of ESC Publications Committee. In 1992 he received from Nobel Prize Professor Rita Levi Montalcini the Newburg Prize for his scientific contribution to the cardiovascular research. In 2013 he received the Arrigo Recordati International Prize for lifetime achievement in researching the pivotal role of microcirculation in systemic and organ diseases. In 2015 he delivered the 7th annual Robert L. Krakoff International Lecture in Cardiovascular Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard University Medical School. His main field of interest is the study of mechanisms, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of ischemic heart disease. He is the author of more than 1500 publications in peer reviewed journals with an H-Index of 95.

Dr Katharine Bate completed her cardiology training and her PhD on novel cardiac biomarkers in 2023, and is now undertaking subspecialty training in electrophysiology. She is currently doing post-doctural research at the University of Sydney and working as a clinical cardiologist at Sydney Adventist and Northern Beaches Hospitals.

John Beltrame is the Michell Professor in Medicine at the University of Adelaide and Director of Research for the Central Adelaide Local Health Network. He has strong clinical and research interests in coronary heart disease, especially in relation to coronary vasomotor disorders, which has evolved from his postgraduate studies in Rome, Kyoto and Boston. Along with Prof Noel Bairey Merz, he co-founded and co-chairs, COVADIS (Coronary Vasomotion Disorders International Study group), which promotes the diagnosis and treatment of patients afflicted with these disorders. His specific areas of expertise include the coronary slow flow phenomenon, vasospastic angina, MINOCA (Myocardial Infarction with Non-Obstructive Coronary Arteries) and persistent angina after successful stenting (Post-PCI Angina). He is particularly interested in patient-related outcomes and developed the Coronary Angiogram Database of South Australia (CADOSA) to investigate the impact of these conditions upon patients.

A/Prof Paratz is a clinician-researcher, with a research programme focussed on sudden cardiac arrest and big data, and subspecialty expertise in cardiac imaging. She works primarily at St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research and St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne.

Ben Freedman is the Director of External Affairs at the Heart Research Institute Sydney, Honorary Professor of Cardiology at the University of Sydney, and former Head of Cardiology Department at Concord Hospital. Ben's major research interest is stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation. He was awarded an OAM in 2011 for service to medicine as a clinician, educator and researcher. He also received the 2023 NSW ministerial award for cardiovascular research excellence.

Filippo Crea was born in Cosenza, Italy on 19 September 1953. He graduated from Pisa Medical School with full honours in 1977 and passed the postgraduate Boards in both Pulmonary and Cardiovascular Diseases, again with full honours, at Pisa Medical School in 1980 and 1983 respectively. During the whole of 1984 he was Research Fellow at the Division of Cardiology of the University of Florida, directed by Professor Richard C. Conti. From 1985 to 1991 he was Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant at the Cardiovascular Research Unit of the Hammersmith Hospital in London, directed by Professor Attilio Maseri. He returned to Italy upon his appointment as Chief of the Catheterization Laboratory at the Institute of Cardiology of the Catholic University of Rome. In 2000 he became Associate Professor of Cardiology and Chief of the Intensive and Sub-Intensive Care Unit. In 2001 he became Professor of Cardiology, Director of the Institute of Cardiology, Director of the Postgraduate School in Cardiology and of the PhD program in Clinical Research in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the Catholic University of Rome. From October 2008 to January 2020 he was Director of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences. From February 2020 to October 2023 he was Director of the University Department of Cardiovascular and Pneumological Sciences. Since November 2023 he is Director of the Centre of Excellence in Cardiovascular Medicine at the Gemelli-Isola Tiberina Hospital. He is Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology, founder and Past Chairman of the Working Group on Coronary Pathophysiology and Microcirculation, Past Member of the Education Committee, Past Member of the ESC Congress Program Committee, co-author of Guidelines on chronic coronary syndromes (2013), NSTEMI (2017), UDMI (2019). Since 2020 he is Editor-in-Chief of the “European Heart Journal” and since 2022 Chairman of ESC Publications Committee. In 1992 he received from Nobel Prize Professor Rita Levi Montalcini the Newburg Prize for his scientific contribution to the cardiovascular research. In 2013 he received the Arrigo Recordati International Prize for lifetime achievement in researching the pivotal role of microcirculation in systemic and organ diseases. In 2015 he delivered the 7th annual Robert L. Krakoff International Lecture in Cardiovascular Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard University Medical School. His main field of interest is the study of mechanisms, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of ischemic heart disease. He is the author of more than 1500 publications in peer reviewed journals with an H-Index of 95.

Prof Salvatore Pepe is Editor in Chief of Heart Lung and Circulation and the co-Leader of the Heart Research Group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. His research is focused on safe translation of cell therapy protocols to augment cardiac intervention outcomes, targeting metabolism, immune response and cardiac remodelling in myocardial injury, heart failure, and perioperative complications of cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.