Dr Vallejo-Vaz is a Research Fellow at the Dept. of Medicine, University of Seville, and Research Group of Clinical Epidemiology and Vascular Risk, Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBiS), Spain, as well as an honorary lecturer at the Imperial Centre for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at the School of Public Health, Imperial College London, United Kingdom. He is a specialist in Internal Medicine and PhD in Biomedical Research. Dr Vallejo-Vaz is the Chief Scientist of the EAS Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Studies Collaboration (FHSC), an international study involving investigators from over 65 countries worldwide and registry of FH including over 68,000 cases.

Prof. dr. Bart van de Sluis graduated in Biology from the Utrecht University, the Netherlands. In 1998, he was appointed as a PhD student at the Department of Human Genetics at the Utrecht University, the Netherlands, under the supervision of Prof. Cisca Wijmenga. He received his PhD degree (cum laude, highest distinction in the Netherlands) in 2002 on the basis of the identification of a copper toxicosis gene in Bedlington terriers. As a postdoctoral fellow, he continued his scientific career in the lab of Dr. Paul Liu at the Genetics and Molecular Biology Branch at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NIH, Bethesda, USA). He worked on a project to identify novel players in leukemogenesis and hematopoiesis. Mid-2004, he returned back to Utrecht as a post-doc on a joined project of Dr. L. Klomp and Prof. C. Wijmenga. In March 2008, Prof. dr. van de Sluis moved to Groningen to set up his own research group to better understand how the trafficking of receptors (including members of the LDLR family) in the cell is regulated, and how inflammation is kept under control, with the focus on the NF-kB signaling pathway. He is using cellular and mouse models to study these different processes in great detail. In addition, Prof. dr. van de Sluis runs a mouse transgenic mouse facility at the RUG/UMCG to generate new mouse models using different approaches, such as the CRISPR/Cas methodology. In the recent years, he is awarded with several grants, including a Dutch NWO-ALW grant, ITN trainingsnetwork grant and participates as a PI in a Dutch and European consortium.

During my PhD-studies, I especially focussed on the role of HDL in vascular cells and macrophages. After my PhD in 2015, I moved to Munich (Germany) for a postdoctoral research stay in the lab of Prof. Christian Weber. Here, I particularly investigated the role of chemokine receptors in atherosclerosis. Additionally, I was able to obtain personal funding to start my independent line of research focussing on the role of the Calcium-Sensing receptor in atherosclerosis. After moving to Maastricht/Aachen in 2019, I also remained active in Munich as group-leader. The main focus of my research group is Immune-Lipid Crosstalk, combining my expertise obtained during my PhD-studies and Postdoctoral research. Since my start as group leader, I have independently conceived and conceptualised several innovative ideas focussing on the interplay between lipids and immune cells, especially in the context of atherosclerosis, resulting in various grants. Currently, I am also focussing on the interplay between chronic kidney disease and atherosclerosis as part of a recently established research institute called Aachen-Maastricht Cardiorenal Research Institute (AMICARE). Furthermore, we have established novel state-of-the-art techniques in my lab, for example Kinase activity profiling, enabling the measurement of 340 kinases in your sample.

My name is Suzanne van Wouw. Currently, I am a fourth-year PhD student in the lab of Prof. Noam Zelcer. My research is focused on Cholesterol Metabolism and Biochemistry. The project I am presenting during the EAS meeting is about the interplay between cholesterol metabolism and phospholipids. There is a really interesting dynamic and feedback between the two and with my project, I hope to unravel a new part of this. I am also a host of the Struggling Scientists Podcast, a Podcast by Scientists for Scientists. Next to the topics I enjoy working on myself, I also enjoy reading and talking about Science in my free time. Together with my co-host, we have started the Struggling Scientists Podcast. A Podcast by Scientists for Scientists, anyone Science adjacent and perhaps even Hobbyists. We discuss really interesting scientific topics, life as a scientist, and just try to have some fun!

My name is Willemien van Zwol. I become enthusiastic when topics comprise molecular genetics, lipids and health. I am currently a 4th year PhD-student working in the UMCG in the department of Pediatrics. Coming back from a adventurous 6-month stay at Columbia University in the lab of Prof. Dr. Ginsberg, I'm motivated to finish my project entitled; the assembly and secretion of ApoB-containing Lipoproteins. I am eager to learn and active in daily life, so besides Atherosclerosis and Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, I like to talk about sports and traveling.