The Educational Foundation of GAS

2014

Step Zero

The Gulf Aorta journey began with what its founders call Step Zero: a foundational push to launch focused workshops and educational training in aortic medicine, hosted at Al Qassimi Hospital and Cardiovascular Centre in collaboration with leading institutions across the UAE and GCC.

Driven by growing regional demand for advanced expertise and standardised practice, Step Zero — developed with prominent regional and international experts — set the stage for the educational framework that followed.

2014–2019

The Gulf Aorta Initiative

Twenty-eight Aorta–Peripheral Vascular workshops and masterclasses transformed regional vascular care, led by faculty including Prof. Bernhard Reimers, Prof. Gianpaolo Carrafiello, Prof. Dierk Scheinert, Dr. Ayman Alsibaie, Dr. Arne G. Schwindt and Dr. Ayman Salih, under the guidance of Prof. Arif Alnooryani, Head of Interventional Cardiology and CEO of Al Qassimi Hospital.

Founders Prof. Adel Aswad, Dr. Zaki Khalifa, Dr. Hussein Ahmed and Dr. Wael Alabbasi laid the groundwork for the Focused Aorta-Vascular Interventional Framework Group — later joined by vascular interventionists from across the GCC, whose expertise grew the initiative into a global mission spanning Gulf cardiovascular hospitals, specialised centres and societies: the Gulf Aorta Initiative.

In parallel, an academic fellowship at the University of Cologne, Germany (2015–2017) — led by Prof. Jan Brunkwall, Prof. Payman Majd and Prof. Mohamed Sharkawy — helped build a robust algorithm for managing aortic disease, setting a new standard for aortic education.

2023

Gulf Aorta Summit — GAS2023

The Aortic Summit GAS2023 became a premier event within the Gulf Aorta framework — a platform equipping participants with cutting-edge knowledge and practical, personalised approaches to aortic disease. Interactive sessions led by expert faculty underscored a shared commitment to progress and innovation, and set the precedent for the Gulf Aorta Educational Foundation to annually recognise the leading contributors and co-believers shaping the event.

Its success was built on genuine partnerships with renowned experts, whose collaboration helped integrate the latest scientific advances into the summit's framework.

2024–2026

Gulf Aorta Summit — GAS2024 to GAS2026

GAS2024 extended that collaboration further, organised as a global expert hub with a curriculum spanning the latest advances in aortic and vascular interventional management. Globally renowned faculty and highly engaged interactive scientific sessions carried the summit to its strongest edition yet, deepening the international scientific contribution behind Gulf Aorta.

The summit has held an edition every year since — GAS2025 and GAS2026 following in successive years — cementing its place as an annual fixture on the region's aortic and vascular calendar.