Inflammation and Atherosclerosis

Cecilia Grundtman, PhD. Studies in Biomolecular Chemistry at the Södertörn Högskola in Stockholm, Sweden, graduation in 2002. In 2008, PhD from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Department of Medicine, Rheumatology Unit, on “Pathogenetic Mechanism in Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies”. Since 2008 Lab Chief at the Laboratory of Autoimmunity, Division of Experimental Pathophysiology and Immunology, Biocenter, Medical University Innsbruck (MUI), Austria. Specialization in the field of immunological tolerance and the development of novel vaccines against atherosclerosis.  Georg Wick, MD, Professor. Medical Studies and Doctorate at the University of Vienna, Austria. Postdoctoral studies at the Center of General and Experimental Pathology and at the Department of Virology in Vienna. Research fellow at the Center for Immunology, State University of New York, Buffalo, USA. From 1975 to 2007 Professor and Chairman, Division of Experimental Pathophysiology and Immunology, Biocenter, Medical University Innsbruck (MUI), Austria. Achievements and specialization: autoimmunity, the immunology of aging, connective tissue immunopathology. Additional appointments among others as Founding Director of the Institute for Biomedical Aging Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Innsbruck (1991 to 2003). President of The Austrian Science Fund (FWF, 2003-2005). Currently Professor emeritus and Head of the Laboratory of Autoimmunity, Biocenter, MUI.

1 Historical Reflections on the Inflammatory Aspects of Atherosclerosis.- 2 Morphology and Clinical Manifestations.- 3 The Vascular System as an Immunological Tissue and an Immunopathological Target.- 4 Animal Models of Atherosclerosis.- 5 A Darwinian-Evolutionary Concept for Atherogenesis: The Role of Immunity to HSP 60.- 6 Mediators of Inflammation and Their Target Cells.- 7 Innate Immunity.- 8 Adaptive Immunity.- 9 Immunity to Low-Density Lipoprotein.- 10 Extracellular Matrix and Smooth Muscle Cells.- 11 The Role of Infection in Atherosclerosis and in Plaque Stability.- 12 Inflammatory Biomarkers.- 13 Atherosclerosis in Rheumatic Diseases.- 14 Anti-Inflammatory Therapeutic Approaches.- 15 Vaccination Against Atherosclerosis.- 16 Endocrinological Aspects of Atherosclerosis.- 17 Imaging of Atherosclerosis.- 18 FutureDirections of Atherosclerosis Research and Translation into Clinical Application.- 19 Controversies and Open Questions.