Magnus Bäck is Professor of Cardiology in Stockholm, Sweden. He is the Director of Cardiovascular Research and Education at the Karolinska University Hospital and Head of Translational Cardiology at Karolinska Institutet. He holds an invited professorship at the University of Lorraine in Nancy, France. His present work combines clinical cardiology in coronary and valvular heart disease with translational research on aortic valve stenosis, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular risk factors, with emphasis on the role of inflammation. Professor Bäck is Editor-in-Chief for European Heart Journal Open.