Report:

Vascular Medicine and Atherosclerosis Congress (VMAC) 2026

This year, Cologne hosted the Vascular Medicine and Atherosclerosis Congress (VMAC). The annual meeting of the three professional societies—the Society for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases (DACH), the German Society for Lipidology (DGFL) – Lipid League, and our German Society for Atherosclerosis Research (DGAF)—has now been held for the 7th time since its premiere in 2019. Once again, it featured a Joint Session in Basic Science together with Working Group 41 of the German Cardiac Society (DGK), and for the first time this year also with the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the International Atherosclerosis Society (IAS). A successful format, with further Joint Sessions planned.

The congress was held from Thursday, 05.02. to Saturday, 07.02., at the Leonardo Royal Hotel, about 15 minutes by tram from the city center. The hotel is on the edge of Cologne’s Stadtwald, overlooking a small lake. Talks and posters were held at the hotel—a congress with everything close at hand. As usual, the Career Workshop (led by Prof. Dr. Claudia Göttsch, Prof. Dr. Holger Winkels, and Prof. Dr. Norbert Gerdes) was on the program on Thursday morning, before the congress was officially opened by the presidents of the three societies. The program committee had put together a varied program for the next two days, with parallel and single-track sessions covering basic science and clinical topics.

As always, the topics were diverse: extracellular vesicles, risk factors, prevention, new therapeutic approaches, personalized medicine, and much more. One highlight of the congress was once again the Young Investigator Award Session, featuring excellent presentations by six early-career researchers. This was followed by the presentation of the DGAF’s Schönheimer Medal to Prof. Dr. Ralf Kinscherf from Marburg, who gave an overview of his research findings on the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis over the past 30 years. Next came the Hauss Prize, awarded this year to three early-career researchers from Aachen. We would also like to thank Prof. Dr. Winfried März, who personally provides financial support for this prize.

Another highlight was the evening Poster Session with “Wine & Cheese,” which flowed seamlessly into a relaxed evening. Friday’s program included, among other things, the Keynote Lecture by Prof. Dr. Jan Boren on “Lipoprotein Metabolism and Its Role in Atherogenesis,” followed in the evening by the Conference Dinner at Peters Brauhaus, in its rustic setting and with a touch of carnival spirit. After another packed program on Saturday morning and the eagerly anticipated awards for the Young Investigator Award and the poster prizes (see below), the presidents of the societies gave the closing remarks.

We can look back on a successful congress, with almost 200 attendees and 49 abstract submissions—a record! As always, the event was expertly organized by Ms. Walther and Mr. Karsch of SAW-Tagungsmanagement; many thanks to them. The venue was very well received, so VMAC 2027 is planned to take place at the Leonardo Hotel in Cologne again. Please continue to promote our congress so we can reach 200 registrations next year.

Our society’s membership grew last year. The DGAF General Assembly was also held during VMAC, where, for example, the key updates, including VMAC 2027, were presented and discussed, and elections were held. We are delighted to welcome two new faces to the advisory board: Heidi Noels and Emiel Van der Vorst.

The VMAC 2027 will take place February 18–20 in Cologne . SAVE THE DATE!

The final announcement will be posted on our website and on LinkedIn. FOLLOW US!