Dear Colleagues from the Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology ESC Working Group,

As we approach the end of 2025, we would like to send you our warmest wishes for a productive and fulfilling final stretch of the year. We hope your scientific projects, clinical work, and collaborations continue to progress and inspire you.

We are pleased to see continued engagement on our X/Twitter page (@ESCWGAVBChair). If you have not done so yet, we warmly encourage you to follow, interact, and share our posts — your contributions are essential to amplifying the visibility and impact of our Working Group. Our new public LinkedIn group is now fully operative, so please stay connected with the community via #AtheroMatters. Our new group already has 170 members, and we hope to welcome many more.

Vascular Medicine and Atherosclerosis Conference (VMAC) 2026

We are looking forward to the Vascular Medicine and Atherosclerosis Conference (VMAC) 2026, which will take place from 5 to 7 February 2026, in Cologne, Germany. The conference offers an exciting mixture of clinically highly relevant and cutting-edge basic science sessions. For the first time, a joint session will be held together with the ESC on "Extracellular Vesicles and their Cargo". The meetings offer publication awards and travel awards. Please find more information here: https://www.vmac-2026.de/
The organising committee hopes to welcome many of you to Cologne!

Frontiers in CardioVascular Biomedicine (FCVB) 2026 - from 17 to 19 April - Leuven, Belgium

Meet colleagues from around the world for an exceptional edition of FCVB, with the programme covering the entire spectrum of cutting-edge basic and translational cardiovascular research with the latest and most exciting findings and ideas. More infos at https://www.escardio.org/Congresses-Events/Frontiers-in-Cardiovascular-Biomedicine/

Further suggested readings

• Direct Interleukin-6 Inhibition Blunts Arterial Thrombosis by Reducing Collagen-Mediated Platelet Activation. Ministrini S, Liberale L, Puspitasari YM, Han J, Kirmes K, Unkelbach LP, Tirandi A, Niederberger R, Bengs S, Beer JH, Montecucco F, Libby P, Lüscher TF, Bongiovanni D, Camici GG.Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2025 Aug;45(8):1432-1439. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.125.322533.
• Fibroblast-Specific Loss of TGF-β Signaling Mediates Lipomatous Metaplasia in the Infarcted Heart. Tuleta I, Venugopal H, O'Leary K, Zheng D, Frangogiannis NG.Circulation. 2025 Sep. 19:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.125.075676. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.125.075676.

Stay Connected & Contribute

Your engagement and your scientific voice define our Working Group. If you have suggestions for upcoming newsletters, new initiatives, featured members, or scientific highlights, please reach out to: luca.liberale@unige.it Subject line: WG Atherosclerosis Vascular Biology

Thank you for being a vital part of this vibrant global community.

We are looking forward to seeing many of you at upcoming meetings — and continuing our conversations online at @ESCWGAVBChair and #AtheroMatters.

Thank you all for your individual contributions to our scientific community. 

All the best,
Luca, Holger, Simon & Elena
On behalf of the ESC Working Group on Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology