The William Harvey lecture at ESC Congress 2016.

Abstract

Prof Denise Hilfiker-Kleiner outlines the key role of interdisciplinary research in cardiovascular science using the example of STAT3 as she delivers the William Harvey Lecture on Basic Science at ESC 2016 in Rome ![Graphic][1] ![Graphic][2] STAT3 is a protein that plays a pivotal role in cardiac physiology and pathophysiology. Connected to different pathways and networks, it affects almost every biological mechanism in the heart. ‘If you move STAT3 it basically moves the whole network’, explains Professor Denise Hilfiker-Kleiner. ‘It is not the only gene in the universe of cell biology that has such a key function, but it seems quite essential for many different aspects of the heart including stress response, survival, growth, inflammation, metabolism, matrix composition and fibrosis, angiogenesis, contractile function, cell-to-cell communication, regeneration, and many more’. Through the William Harvey Lecture on Basic Science at ESC 2016 in Rome entitled ‘Renaissance of signalling modules: The role of STAT3 in the cardiac pathophysiology’, she will offer an introduction on signalling modules from today’s perspective; summarize the nature of STAT3, its regulation and biological roles; and the role of STAT3 in the heart with regard to development and aging. Prof Hilfiker-Kleiner, who is Dean of Research of the Hannover Medical School (MHH) and leads the Department of Molecular Cardiology within the Department … [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif [2]: /embed/inline-graphic-2.gif