Abstract
The current state of research and treatment on aortic diseases was discussed in the "3rd International Meeting on Aortic Diseases" (IMAD3) held on October 4-6, 2012, in Liège, Belgium. The 3-day meeting covered a wide range of topics related to thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections, abdominal aortic aneurysms, and valvular diseases. It brought together clinicians and basic scientists and provided an excellent opportunity to discuss future collaborative research projects for genetic, genomics, and biomarker studies, as well as clinical trials. Although great progress has been made in the past few years, there are still a large number of unsolved questions about aortic diseases. Obtaining answers to the key questions will require innovative, interdisciplinary approaches that integrate information from epidemiological, genetic, molecular biology, and bioengineering studies on humans and animal models. It is more evident than ever that multicenter collaborations are needed to accomplish these goals.