Aldo Maggioni received his medical degree from the University of Milan School of Medicine, where he also completed a fellowship in internal medicine. He performed a residency in cardiology at the University of Padua before becoming a clinical cardiologist in the Division of Cardiology at General Hospital Magenta, Milan, then at General Hospital Fatebenefratelli ed Oftalmico, in Milan. Dr Maggioni is a member of the Steering Committee of the GISSI studies and Director of the Research Center of the Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists in Florence. Since 2010 Dr Maggioni is the Scientific Coordinator of the EURObservational Research program of the European Society of Cardiology. Dr Maggioni has served as a member of the Steering Committee, Event Evaluation Committee, Data and Safety Monitoring Board of more than 60 clinical studies in areas including myocardial infarction, secondary prevention, diabetes, stroke and heart failure. Dr Maggioni is author of around 500 peer-reviewed papers and has been included in the list of highly cited researchers over recent years by Thomson Reuters.