Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of death in the world. Although advances have been made in our understanding of cardiac biology and pathobiology, significant conceptual and practical gaps remain. These two symposia address that gap by focusing on fundamental mechanisms that regulate cardiac structure, function, and repair and how they relate to human disease.

The major consideration in the design of these two symposia was integration. Accordingly, each symposium was designed in a very unconventional manner. All six organizers participated in the design of each symposium. Only after all sessions were designed was each “assigned” to one meeting or the other. Consequently, integration exists at multiple levels: the science, the speakers, and hopefully the attendees.

With respect to the science, the subject matter of the two symposia is linked at both the fundamental and medical level. The speakers themselves are linked with both symposia by virtue of their scientific interests and conference duties: e.g., some are even speaking in one symposium and moderating in the other. The attendees will be linked to both symposia by virtue of scientific interests and the multiple joint sessions.