World-Renowned Speakers Featured at the National Lipid Association Scientific Sessions in May

NEW ORLEANS, LA--(Marketwired - April 19, 2016) - Speakers from around the world will be presenting their latest research and science at the upcoming National Lipid Association (NLA) Scientific Sessions in New Orleans May 19-22, 2016. All the current "hot topics" in lipidology will be covered by the best educators and researchers in the field. Anne Tybjærg-Hansen, MD, DMSc, professor of Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Copenhagen, will discuss apoCIII as risk factor and target, and the pathophysiology of apoCIII in Friday's keynote address. She currently focuses her research on using human genetics to predict causality of biomarkers.

On Friday afternoon, May 20, W. Virgil Brown, MD, FNLA, Charles Howard Chandler Professor Emeritus at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, will address the role of hepatic endothelial lipase in the catabolism of very low density lipoprotein. "This is a new area for important research in determining the relationship between apoCIII concentrations and arteriosclerosis," said Dr. Brown.

One of the sessions focuses on lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], where Børge G. Nordestgaard, MD, DMSc, professor of Genetic Epidemiology at the University of Copenhagen, will speak about Lp(a) as a cause of cardiovascular disease. Dr. Nordestgaard has researched pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease for more than 25 years, and is a world-renowned speaker.

Anatol Kontush, BSc, PhD, research director at the research unit 1166 ICAN of the National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Paris, provided a key contribution to the discovery of distinct biological activities, structure and composition of small, dense, protein-rich high-density lipoprotein (HDL). His presentation is titled "New Frontiers of HDL Research."

Erik Stroes, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and chairman of the department of Vascular Medicine at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, is co-lead author of the GAUSS-3 study, which analyzed the use of PCSK9 inhibitors in statin intolerant patients. Dr. Stroes will be speaking to the more than 600 expected attendees about PCSK9 antibodies on Saturday, May 21.

Co-author of the 2016 ACC Expert Consensus Decision Pathway on the Role of Non-Statin Therapies for LDL-Cholesterol Lowering in the Management of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk, and NLA president, Carl Orringer, MD, FNLA will summarize the recommendations of the ACC Expert Panel in his presentation.

One of the leading researchers in the country in the field of inflammation and atherosclerosis, Stanley Hazen, MD, PhD, will be speaking about "Gut Microbes and Atherothrombotic Heart Disease" on Friday, May 19 at 1:30 PM CT. Dr. Hazen is section head of Preventive Cardiology & Rehabilitation, and chair of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic He and his colleagues published a study in Cell this past March with new data suggesting gut microbes are influencing heart health in previously unseen ways. "Our gut microbiome is a filter of our largest environmental exposure -- what we eat -- and functions fundamentally like an endocrine organ, producing differing levels of atherosclerosis promoting metabolites depending upon what we feed it," said Dr. Hazen.

The NLA Scientific Sessions will be a diverse and interactive learning experience. Attendees will learn about the latest scientific and clinical developments in lipidology through a wide-ranging and comprehensive agenda. Other confirmed speakers include Nathan O. Stiziel, MD, PhD, from St. Louis; Jacques Genest, MD, from Montreal; and Christie M. Ballantyne, MD, FNLA, from Houston.

On Saturday, May 21, the NLA and the Foundation of the NLA will honor Joseph L. Witztum, MD, with the newly established W. Virgil Brown Distinguished Achievement Award -- the highest honor conferred -- at its annual Scientific Sessions in New Orleans during the Honors and Awards Ceremony from 5:30-7:00 PM. This award is given to only one recipient per year, and it was established to honor one of the founding fathers of the NLA, Dr. Brown, whose contributions to the field of lipidology and the NLA are unparalleled. Dr. Witztum has worked in the field of lipoprotein metabolism and atherogenesis for almost 40 years, and currently serves as a distinguished professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego. He has made an immeasurable impact in the field of lipidology by providing an understanding of the role of oxidized LDL and immunological mechanisms in atherogenesis.

"On behalf of the National Lipid Association and the Foundation of the NLA, it is my pleasure to announce that Dr. Witztum will be honored for his extensive contributions to the field of clinical lipidology," said Dr. Orringer. "His research and work in the field of lipidology has greatly influenced all of us, and I look forward to seeing him in New Orleans."

Other top awards presented at the NLA's annual Honors and Awards Ceremony include the Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award, which goes to scientists or clinicians who lend prestige to the NLA by virtue of his/her extraordinary expertise and contributions to the field of clinical lipidology. This year, Jonathan Cohen, PhD; Edward Fisher, MD, MPH, PhD; and Helen Hobbs, MD, will receive the NLA Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award.

About the National Lipid Association

The NLA is a multidisciplinary specialty society focused on prevention of cardiovascular disease and other lipid-related disorders. The NLA's mission is to enhance the practice of lipid management in clinical medicine, and one of its goals is to enhance efforts to reduce death and disability related to disorders of lipid metabolism in patients. Members include physicians (MDs and DOs), as well as allied health clinical team members, including PhD researchers, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, exercise physiologists, and dietitians.

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