Ulrike Bauer studied human medicine at the Humboldt University of Berlin. After finishing her doctorate on echocardiography in congenital heart disease, she was a resident for internal medicine at the county hospital in Chemnitz, after which she transferred to the Institute for Cardiovascular Diagnostics at the Charité Berlin. From there she transferred to the department of pediatric cardiology at the German Heart Center, Berlin (Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin). Under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Peter E. Lange, Ulrike Bauer started setting up a nationwide register for congenital heart disease. The initiative by Prof. Dr. Peter E. Lange lead to the founding of the association of the National Register for Congenital Heart Defects. It was jointly supported by the board of trustees of Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin and the cardiac societies, as well as by parent and patient associations. The same year was also the kick-off for creating the Competence Network for Congenital Heart Defects, which could took place thanks to government grants. Ulrike Bauer is a member of the German Society of Paediatric Cardiology (DGK), the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the German Cardiac Society (DGK) and the Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology (AEPC).

Helmut Baumgartner studied at the medical faculty of the University of Vienna. After spending time as a visiting researcher at institutes such at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, University of California, Los Angeles (USA), he directed the Echocardiography Lab, as well as additional different research programs, at the University of Vienna. He was also a member of the Ethical Review Board of the medical faculty at the University of Vienna until 2007, when he accepted a call to the University of Münster. He was granted with numerous awards for his research activities in the field of heart valve disease in adults with congenital heart disease, which include clinical and experimental research on echocardiography and catheter interventions in congenital and acquired heart valve defects, as well as on myocardial vitality. For many years, Helmut Baumgartner was the president of the Austrian Society of Cardiology. For the German Cardiac Society, he acted as a member of the guideline committee for the treatment of heart valve disease and congenital heart disease in adults. He is a member of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and an associated editor of the European Heart Journal. Helmut Baumgartner is both a member and deputy chair of the Competence Network for Congenital Heart Defects Management Board. He also acts as a member of the research network’s Steering Committee.

Gerhard-Paul Diller studied medicine at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich and he received much of his clinical training in Great Britain, at the Royal Brompton Hospital, London. In his research, the certified ACHD expert focuses on adults with congenital heart disease and pulmonary hypertension. In addition, he holds a Master’s degree (M.Sc.) in Health Economics Policy and Management from the London School of Economics, London, UK. Gerhard-Paul Diller has been Director of the Clinic for Cardiology III: Congenital Heart Defects (EMAH) and Valvular Heart Disease at the University Hospital Münster since July 2024. Gerhard-Paul Diller is an executive board member of both the European Heart Rhythm Association and the ESC-Working-Group Grown Up Congenital Heart Disease. Furthermore, he is the deputy chair of the AG 9 Kongenitale Herzfehler (working group on congenital heart disease) of the German Cardiac Society (DGK). Gerhard-Paul Diller is a member of the Competence Network for Congenital Heart Defects where he is also a member of the Review Board.