Mission

The Montalcino Aortic Consortium's mission is to enhance the care and improve outcomes for individuals with Hereitable Thoracic Aortic Disease (HTAD) via precision medicine through collaborative research and shared expertise.

MAC strives to advance the understanding of diagnosis, the natural history of disease, and genetic contributors and modifiers, to support the development of innovative treatments, and facilitate the dissemination and translation of research findings into clinical practice and patient care.

Dianna M. Milewicz, MD, PhD Executive Chair & Principal Investigator Montalcino Aortic Consortium

For more than 25 years, Dr. Dianna Milewicz has led groundbreaking research into the genetic causes of aortic disease, helping transform the diagnosis, management, and prevention of Heritable Thoracic Aortic Disease (HTAD).

In this featured perspective, Dr. Milewicz discusses how genetic discovery, collaborative research, and precision medicine are advancing patient care worldwide. She also shares the vision behind MAC and its role in translating data into evidence-based care that helps prevent aortic dissections and save lives.

The Objectives of the consortium are:

Diagnostics

To establish and update the diagnostic criteria for a growing list of conditions, now more than two dozen, that affect the thoracic aorta and its arterial branches;

Clinical History

To understand the natural and clinical histories of these conditions;

GENETIC VARIATIONS

To discover additional genetic variations that predispose to HTAD;

Explore Genetic VaRiations

To explore the reasons for variable expression of these genetic variations, especially modifier genes;

Treatment

To discover and test new approaches to treatment;

Collaborations

To facilitate collaborations in all of these endeavors.