Mauro Amato is researcher at the Unit for the Study of Arterial Morphology and Functionality of the Centro Cardiologico Monzino, IRCCS, Milan Italy. Main research topics: • identification of new atherosclerosis risk factors on the basis of their effect on carotid intima media thickness (C-IMT) and endothelial function. • development of new tools for the study of atherosclerosis and for improving predictability of vascular events. • assessment of the association between C-IMT, carotid plaque volume (and their changes over-time), and conventional and emerging risk factors and the incidence of cardiovascular events. • assessment of the effects of pharmacological treatments on morphological and functional properties of superficial arteries. • identification of innovative methods for image processing based on artificial neural networks analyses. • use of novel statistical models able to account for the complex patterns of interconnections between the different variables affecting cardiovascular disease. • epidemiological studies aimed at identifying subjects at high risk of cardiovascular diseases. • Analysis of genetic and environmental risk factors of interest for atherosclerotic disease • Creation and management of related databases in Access environment. Dr. Amato has also been involved in the organization, coordination and data management of scientific activities of a number of mono and multi-center clinical trias.