Gerard Pasterkamp, MD, PhD, is a Professor and head of the Experimental Cardiology Laboratory at the UMCU. In addition to being a medical doctor, he has a degree in clinical epidemiology. He serves on many national and international academic boards and institutes. Gerard has a strong scientific track record in the field of arterial remodelling. In 2002 he envisioned the strategic power of a large scale atherosclerotic biobank (the Athero-Express) containing plaque and plasma samples and associated long-term follow up data.