Redefining cardiac care with next generation high sensitivity-Troponin (hs-Tn) assay

Prof Kristin Moberg Aakre is full Professor in Laboratory Medicine at the University of Bergen and a Consultant in Medical Biochemistry at Haukeland University Hospital. She is a specialist in medical biochemistry with a PhD focused on kidney biomarkers in primary care. Her research centers on cardiovascular biomarkers, diagnostic strategies for acute coronary syndromes, long-term prognostication and the implementation of high‑sensitivity troponin testing, including point‑of‑care solutions.

Aakre has authored more than 110 peer‑reviewed publications and holds an H‑index of 24. She leads major research initiatives such as the WESTCOR and WESTCOR‑POC studies, and has secured substantial competitive funding from the Western Norway Regional Health Authority, the Trond Mohn Foundation, and the Research Council of Norway.

Internationally, she contributes through key positions in the EFLM and is currently serving ac chair for the IFCC Committee on Clinical Application of Cardiac Biomarkers. She is a former Associate Editor of Clinical Biochemistry. She is an experienced supervisor of master’s and PhD candidates and frequently serves as an evaluator, reviewer, and opponent for academic institutions across Europe

Prof Martin Than has a strong interest in evidence-based diagnosis and has tutored at The Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine in Oxford. His research interest is centred on quality improvement initiatives for the emergency department, focusing on cardiac biomarkers. His work has had a major international impact on the diagnosis and management of patients presenting to emergency departments with suspected heart attacks and has enabled emergency physicians around the world to diagnose or rule out heart attacks more rapidly and safely.

Martin was the principal investigator of the 3,500 patient ASPECT study, involving nine countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and of a randomized controlled trial of a 2-hour diagnostic protocol for possible cardiac chest pain in the emergency department. Over the last two years he ran a 50,000+ patient implementation RCT using high sensitivity point of care troponin. Martin was an inaugural a member of the International Federation Committee on Clinical Applications of Cardiac Bio-Markers. He was the winner of the inaugural Beaven Medal for excellence in Health Service Delivery research and is currently undertaking a Health Research Council of NZ fellowship supporting cardiovascular disease research.

Associate Professor Jack Tan is the head of cardiology at the National Heart Centre Singapore. He is also the vice chairman at Singapore Heart Foundation.

He held the position of president of SCS (Singapore Cardiac Society), ISCP (International Society of Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy) and APSC (Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology).