Yehuda Handelsman MD
Medical Director The Metabolic Institute of America Tarzana, CA
Yehuda Handelsman, MD, FACP, FACE, FNLA is an endocrinologist in private practice and Medical Director & Principal Investigator of the Metabolic Institute of America. He is a nationally and internationally-recognized authority on Diabetes and its comprehensive approach to management, obesity, insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, Lipid Disorders and the prevention of cardiovascular disease. He is a pioneer and leader in the understanding of the body’s metabolic and energy systems, fat, and the kidney role in Glucose homeostasis. A clinician, researcher and educator, he publishes and lectures extensively. He is IP president of the American College of Endocrinology; past President of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists; and Treasurer of the Pacific Lipid Association. He is Chair of AACE DM & Lipid scientific committees and a member of the Obesity Scientific Committee. He is Chair, Founder and Program Director of the acclaimed annual World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes & Cardiovascular Disease and Chair & Founder of the International Lipid Forum, an Associate Editor of the Journal of Diabetes, member of the editorial board of several journals and a frequent guest editor for publications such as the Journal of Clinical Hypertension. Chair of the AACE 2011 & 2015 Comprehensive Diabetes Guidelines and a member of the AACE 2013 & 2015 Comprehensive Diabetes Algorithm and the 2012 AACE lipid guidelines. He also Co-Chaired the consensus on diabetes & cancer, insulin resistance, lipodystrophy and on pre-diabetes. Handelsman has been listed repeatedly in “Top Doctors of Los Angeles,” “Southern California Super Doctors,” and “Best Doctors of America.”
Zachary T. Bloomgarden MD
Clinical Professor of Medicine Mount Sinai School of Medicine New York, NY
Zachary T. Bloomgarden, MD, MACE
Dr. Bloomgarden is a clinician in private practice with an international reputation for writing and lecturing on diabetes, having authored nearly 500 articles. He is Clinical Professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and is Editor of the Journal of Diabetes. He served on the Board of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the Journals Managing Subcommittee of the Endocrine Society, and the Editorial Board of Diabetes Care, has been principal investigator in numerous studies, and is a reviewer for many journals, including Diabetes Care, Endocrine Practice, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, the Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics, the Lancet, JAMA Internal Medicine, the Annals of Internal Medicine, BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the American Journal of Epidemiology, and Pediatrics. In 2012, Dr. Bloomgarden was awarded the title of Master of the American College of Endocrinology. He has been listed for many years in the “Castle Connolly Guide: The Best Doctors New York Metro Area.”
Dr Bloomgarden’s interests span the overall field of diabetes. He has carefully followed the development of therapeutic approaches over the past two decades, and for many years wrote a renowned monthly commentary in Diabetes Care, entitled “Perspectives on the News,” focusing on this and other aspects of clinical care. Currently, as the Editor of the Journal of Diabetes, he writes frequent commentaries addressing various aspects of treatment. He is interested in the epidemiology of diabetes with particular focus on cardiovascular disease, and has paid particular attention to questions of safety of therapeutic approaches and, even more important, to the potential for cardiovascular and microvascular benefit of diabetes treatment. He also is a frequent commentator on novel treatment approaches including insulin treatment modalities, incretin-based treatments, and inhibitors of glucose transport aimed at increasing urinary glucose loss.
Sonia Caprio MD
Professor of Pediatric Endocrinology New Haven, CT
I have been involved in patient-oriented research in the field of Childhood Obesity and Type 2 diabetes (T2D) in youth for the past 25 years. Realizing the need to understand the pathophysiology of T2D in Obese Youth I have been investigating the role of insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction at the earliest stage of T2D, namely Impaired Glucose Tolerance. My research in pre-diabetes in obese children and adolescents has brought into focus at the national level the magnitude of the obesity problem in children in the US. This research demonstrated a much faster tempo of progression of beta cell failure in obese adolescents, which helped to stimulate the funding of two NIDDK RCT in obese youth; The TODAY and RISE studies that are currently in progress. In recognition of the importance of this work in 2008 she was awarded the prestigious “Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award (DCSA) “ from the American Diabetes Association. This research spans both clinical and basic research in metabolism, genetics, neuroscience, and imaging and has been recognized by receipt of the “Distinguished Leader in Insulin Resistance” 2015 Award from the International Committee for Insulin Resistance (ICIR). .
I also bring to the program ongoing collaborations with international experts in genetics of T2D (Dr Leif Groop) and physiology and use of complex mathematical models for the analysis of beta-cell function (Dr Claudio Cobelli). Over the past few years, our group has assembled a large multiethnic cohort of children/adolescents (n=1100) and genotyped them for relevant gene variants found to be associated with T2D in adults from the GWAs. Our current and future approach is to capitalize on our clinical and translational research arena to recruit subjects from this cohort with specific genotypes of interest (such as the TCF7L2 snp) and to perform hypothesis-driven phenotyping to elucidate underlying mechanisms whereby gene variants exert their effects during adolescence, a critical time for youth onset T2D. Thus, based upon the focus of my research career, my expertise integrating relevant fields, my productivity, my experience as a collaborator and the impact of my work on the field, I am well positioned to lead this integrated effort to understand the genetic, and pathogenesis of causal defects that lead to disruptions of beta cell function and insulin sensitivity, in obese adolescents.
Ralph DeFronzo MD
Professor of Medicine San Antonio, TX
Ralph A. DeFronzo, MD, is Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Diabetes Division at University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSCSA) and Deputy Director of Texas Diabetes Institute, San Antonio, Texas. Dr. DeFronzo is a graduate of Yale University (BS) and Harvard Medical School (MD) and did his training in Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He completed fellowships in Endocrinology at National Institutes of Health and Nephrology at Hospital of University of Pennsylvania. He joined the faculty at Yale University School of Medicine (1975-88) as an Assistant/Associate Professor. From 1988 to present Dr. DeFronzo has been Professor of Medicine at UTHSCSA.
His major interests focus on the pathogenesis and treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and his work has been instrumental in defining the biochemical and molecular disturbances responsible for T2DM. For his work, Dr. DeFronzo received the prestigious Lilly Award (1987) by American Diabetes Association (ADA), Banting Lectureship (1988) by Canadian Diabetes Association, Novartis Award (2003) for outstanding clinical investigation world wide received the ADA’s Albert Renold Award (2002) for lifetime commitment to training young diabetes investigators, and many other national/international awards. Dr. DeFronzo received the Banting Award from ADA (2008) and Claude Bernard Award from EASD (2008). These represent the highest scientific achievement awards given by American and European Diabetes Associations, respectively. In 2008 Dr. DeFronzo received the Italian Diabetes Mentor Prize and Philip Bondy Lecture at Yale. With more than 700 articles in peer-reviewed medical journals, Dr. DeFronzo is a distinguished clinician, teacher, and investigator who has been an invited speaker at major national and international conferences on diabetes mellitus.
Daniel Einhorn MD
Clinical Professor of Medicine San Diego, CA
Daniel. Einhorn, MD
Dr. Einhorn is the past president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, past president of the American College of Endocrinology, Associate Editor of Journal of Diabetes, Medical Director of the Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute and Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCSD. He is an editor and contributor to numerous books and articles, including publications from the American Medical Association and the Royal Society of Medicine, and has been a teacher in graduate medical education throughout the world. He is most interested in training physicians regarding the value of the healing relationship between physician and patient.
Working periodically on a volunteer basis with Dr. Einhorn’s team is Chris Sadler, past president of the American Society of Endocrine Physician Assistants and currently working in industry. He has been a highly sought after teacher nationally, including on the most technically challenging aspects of endocrinology, but patients love Chris for his compassion and his thoroughness.
Vivian Fonseca MD
Professor or Medicine New Orleans, LA
Vivian A. Fonseca, MD, FRCP, is Professor of Medicine, the Tullis–Tulane Alumni Chair in Diabetes, and chief of the Section of Endocrinology at Tulane University Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. He serves on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE). He is a Past President for Science and Medicine of the American Diabetes Association (2012), and has a leadership role in several other organizations including the American College of Endocrinology and the American Board of Internal Medicine.
He is Editor in Chief of the Journal of Diabetes and its Complications. He was Editor in chief of Diabetes Care from 2007-2011, having formerly been associate editor. He was until 2006 Editor in Chief of the Journal of the Metabolic Syndrome and related disorders. He served on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (2003-2006), and is an ad hoc reviewer for several other journals, including New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Diabetes, etc
Dr. Fonseca is a fellow of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the Royal College of Physicians (London), and the American College of Physicians. Dr. Fonseca has served on and been chairman of the clinical practice committee of the American Diabetes Association, the ADA Disaster Task Force, ADA strategic planning committee and the joint ADA/ACC “Make the Link” Program. He serves on several national and international committees. He has played a significant role in developing guidelines for treating diabetes, managing chronic disease and clinical trials after a natural disaster and in drawing attention to the global epidemic of diabetes, particularly in Asia.
He has been awarded the ADA Banting Medal for Leadership and Service and the Seale – Harris award of the Southern Medical Association. He has received several teaching awards and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and has been listed among the Best Doctors in the USA, LA and AR.
Dr. Fonseca’s research interests include the prevention and treatment of diabetic complications and risk factor reduction in cardiovascular disease, particularly on the role of inflammation and other novel risk factors. He has a research program evaluating inflammation in diabetes, and using technology to improve diabetes care in underprivileged populations. He has been an investigator in several NIH and Industry funded clinical trials including the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD/ ACCORDION) study and TINSAL –2D trial. He is the co –PI of the Louisiana Clinical Data Research Network (LACDRN) , funded by PCORI/ PCORNET and serves on the PCORNET Clinical Trials Task Force. He serves on several Steering and Ancillary studies committees and Data Safety monitoring boards.
Dr. Fonseca has lectured in the United States and abroad.. He has published over 300 papers and is the editor of the textbook “Clinical Diabetes: Translating Research into Practice” (El Sevier) and several monographs and book chapters.
Peter J. Grant MD
Professor of Medicine Leeds, United Kingdom
Peter Grant is Professor of Medicine and Consultant Diabetologist in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Leeds and the Leeds Acute Teaching Hospitals Trust. His main clinical interest is in the management of young adult diabetes (aged 19-25) and the transition of care from the pediatric services.
Professor Grant has a research interest in vascular risk in patients with diabetes. His research focuses on understanding the molecular basis of the strong biological link between diabetes and cardiovascular (CV) disease, in particular the genetic and environmental determinants of thrombotic risk in relation to insulin resistance and CV disease. He has published over 200 original research articles in peer-reviewed journals including Diabetes, Blood, Circulation and The Lancet with an H-index of 61.
Professor Grant is founder and Editor-in-Chief of the international journal, Diabetes and Vascular Disease Research, a peer reviewed journal that publishes research that links these two conditions. Professor Grant was joint chair of the ESC/EASD guidelines committee (2010-13) which produced guidelines for the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease in diabetes that were published in the European Heart Journal in September 2013. He is a fellow of the European Society of Cardiology and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences
Disclosures: Diabetes Advisor for Synexus. Advisory board for BMS/AZ, GSK, Medicines Company. Lectures for AZ/BMS, Lilly, Medicines Company, Merck Lipha.
George Grunberger MD
Clinical Professor Bloomfield Hills, MI
George Grunberger, MD, FACP, FACE is the chairman of Grunberger Diabetes Institute (GDI) in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Dr. Grunberger is also Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine and of Molecular Medicine & Genetics at Wayne State University School of Medicine (Detroit, MI), Professor of Internal Medicine at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine (Rochester, MI) as well as Visiting Professor in the First Faculty of Medicine at Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic).
Before forming GDI in 2002, Dr. Grunberger established and directed for 16 years the Diabetes Program at the Detroit Medical Center and Wayne State University’s Comprehensive Diabetes Center. Between 1986 and 2002. Dr. Grunberger was tenured Full Professor of Internal Medicine and of Molecular Medicine and Genetics. Dr. Grunberger came to Detroit from the Diabetes Branch of NIDDK/NIH in Bethesda, MD where he trained in endocrinology/metabolism and then worked there as a basic and clinical researcher for six years. Dr. Grunberger received his internal medicine training at the University Hospitals of Cleveland at Case Western Reserve University, his medical (M.D.) training at the New York University School of Medicine and his bachelor’s degree (in biochemistry) at Columbia College of Columbia University, also in New York City.
Dr. Grunberger’s clinical and basic research endeavors have been well recognized. He has published well over hundred original peer-reviewed manuscripts, in addition to reviewing articles, abstracts, book chapters, and letters to journals. His research interests have spanned the spectrum of subjects related to diabetes and its complications, from basic studies on molecular underpinning of insulin action and insulin resistance to clinical research studies on many aspects of diabetes and its management. He has trained a generation of young basic and clinical research investigators. He is currently a co-editor of two international diabetes journals.
Dr. Grunberger has been active in several professional societies (American Diabetes Association, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, The Endocrine Society, European Associations for Study of Diabetes, etc.) where he has held elected positions of leadership. He now serves as President of AACE.
Robert Henry MD
Professor of Medicine San Diego, CA
Robert R. Henry, MD, is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism at the University of California, San Diego. He is also Chief of both the Section of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Diabetes and the Center for Metabolic Research at the VA Medical Center in San Diego.
Dr Henry received his medical degree from the University of Manitoba Medical School, Manitoba, Canada, where he also completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in endocrinology.
He is Past President of the American Diabetes Association Medicine and Science (2011) and is a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology, the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, the Obesity Society, the Endocrine Society, Western Society for Clinical Investigation, Western Association of Physicians, the American Federation for Clinical Research and the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh. His research is funded by the National Institutes of Health-NIDDK, the American Diabetes Association, the Department of Veterans Affairs and numerous pharmaceutical grants. Recent awards include the Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award from the American Diabetes Association, the Mary Jane Kugal Award of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, the Robert H. Williams-Rachmiel Levine Award from the Western Metabolism Club, Frontiers in Science Award from American Association of Clinical Endocrinology and the Banting Medal for Public Service from the American Diabetes Association.
Dr Henry has published more than 400 journal articles and chapters. His current clinical research interests involve the study of new therapies for type 1 and type 2 diabetes and obesity. Basic science interests include study of the metabolic and cardiovascular effects of human skeletal muscle and adipose tissue secretory products including adiponectin, signal interactions between skeletal muscle and adipose tissue and defects of insulin signal transduction in these tissues of obese and type 2 diabetic patients.
Samuel Klein MD
Professor of Medicine St Louis, MO
Samuel Klein M.D. is the William H. Danforth Professor of Medicine, Director of the Center for Human Nutrition, Director of the Center for Applied Research Sciences, Chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Sciences, and Medical Director of the Weight Management Program at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Klein received an MD degree from Temple University Medical School, and an MS Degree in Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed residency training in Internal Medicine and a Clinical Nutrition fellowship at Boston University Hospital, a Nutrition and Metabolism Research fellowship at Harvard Medical School, and a Gastroenterology fellowship at The Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, and Nutrition.
Dr. Klein is past-president of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity and the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, and inaugural chair of the Integrative Physiology of Obesity and Diabetes NIH study section. He was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 1996 and to the American Association of Physicians
in 2008. Dr. Klein has had consistent R01 funding from the NIH since 1990, and has published more than 380 papers in nutrition, metabolism, and obesity. He has received numerous awards for his research, including the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Miles and Shirley Fiterman Foundation Award in Nutrition, the AGA Masters Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic or Clinical Research in Digestive Sciences, the AGA Obesity, Metabolism & Nutrition Research Mentor Award, the Academy of Science-St. Louis Award for Outstanding Achievement in Science, and The Obesity Society TOPS Research Achievement Award and George A. Bray Founders Award.
Dr. Klein’s research activities are focused on understanding the mechanisms responsible for metabolic dysfunction associated with obesity, particularly nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and the therapeutic effects of weight loss.
Derek LeRoith MD
Director of Diabetes Research New York, NY
Dr LeRoith is currently Interim Division Director and Director of Research of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease Icahn School of Medicine at Mt Sinai New York, New York
Dr LeRoith received his medical and research training at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and completed his postgraduate training in London, United Kingdom. Subsequently, he was a member of the medical faculty at Ben-Gurion University Medical School in Israel.
Dr LeRoith worked for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1979 until 2005 in the field of endocrinology and diabetes, and he advanced to Diabetes Branch Chief at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland. His research interests include the role of insulin and insulin-like growth factors in normal physiology and in disease states, including obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and cancer. His clinical interests primarily involve the pathophysiology and management of T2DM. Dr LeRoith has published more than 600 research and review articles on these topics, as well editing numerous textbooks and is currently Editor in Chief of the AACE journal Endocrine Practice.
Philip Levy MD
Clinical Professor of Medicine Phoenix, AZ
Dr. Philip Levy is currently a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and practices at the Banner Specialty Clinic, both located in Phoenix.
Dr. Levy earned an undergraduate degree and his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine, as well as his fellowship in endocrinology and metabolism all at Michael Reese Hospital located in Chicago. He was a research fellow in endocrinology at Guys Hospital Medical School located in London England. Dr. Levy is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in internal medicine, endocrinology and metabolism. He is also board certified in nuclear medicine. He is a member of the American College of Endocrinology, the American College of Physicians, the American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the American Thyroid Association. Dr. Levy has been a principal investigator or co-investigator in clinical trials focusing on non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), as well as an invited presenter at national and international medical conferences. As author or co-author, his work has been published in peer-reviewed medical journals including Endocrine Practice.
He is past editor in chief of Diabetes Forecast and is currently editor of First Messenger. He is on the editorial board of Endocrine Today and Clinical Endocrinology News. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. He has been awarded a mastership in the American College of Endocrinology and is a past president of the American College of Endocrinology.
Nikolaus Marx MD
Professor of Medicine Aachen, Germany
Nikolaus Marx, born in 1968, is Professor of Medicine / Cardiology and Head of the Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Aachen, Germany. He received his medical training at the Universities of Mainz, Genf (Switzerland) and Düsseldorf, obtaining his MD in 1994. His thesis on growth regulation in human renal cancer cell lines was completed at the laboratory of Professor Gerharz at the Institute of Pathology, University of Mainz. After a postdoctoral fellowship
with Dr. Peter Libby and Dr. Jorge Plutzky at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Nikolaus Marx later became a board-certified internist, then cardiologist, before specializing in intensive care medicine in internal medicine at the University of Ulm. He was appointed Professor of Medicine / Cardiology and Head of the Department of Internal Medicine I at the University of
Aachen in 2009.
Professor Marx is a member of several organizations within the field of cardiology and diabetes, including the European Society of Cardiology, American Heart Association (AHA), German Diabetes Association and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. In addition to reviewing submitted manuscripts to numerous journals, including Circulation, Diabetologia, Diabetes, Diabetes Care, the Journal of Immunology and The Lancet, he is currently Associate Editor for Diabetes and Vascular Disease Research. Professor Marx was awarded the Servier Young Investigators Award in 1999 at the First European Meeting on Vascular Biology and Medicine more recently was winner of the Poster Award Competition in Epidemiological Science at AHA 2002, the 2004 Morgagni Young Investigator Award as well as the Rising Star Award 2005 of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). Professor Marx has served as President of the German Atherosclerosis Society (DGAF) from 2012 to 2015.
Christos Mantzoros MD
Professor of Medicine Boston, MA
Christos S. Mantzoros is full Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Professor at the Boston University School of Medicine. He has also served as Professor of Environmental Health at the Harvard School of Public Health (2005-2012).
He currently serves as the Chief of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the Boston VA Healthcare System. He is also the Director of the Human Nutrition Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Dr. Mantzoros sees patients, teaches and conducts research focusing on obesity and diabetes / metabolic diseases and associated comorbidities. His work has directly contributed to the development of new pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Mantzoros has authored two books and his research has resulted in more than 475 publications in Medline, more than 130 publications under the collaborative Look Ahead Research Group, more than 150 chapters and reviews and has received more than 26,000 citations with a Hirsch Index H=86 In Thompson Reuters and 35,000 citations with an H-index of 102 in Google Scholar. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Metabolism and is on the editorial board of several other scientific journals worldwide.
Dr. Mantzoros has been awarded several honorary PhDs and Professorships worldwide and has been elected a member of ASCI and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology.
He has been given several awards including but not limited to awards by: the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (Frontiers in Science Award), the American Diabetes Association (Novartis Award in Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases), the North American Association for the Study of Obesity / the Obesity Society (Lilly Award), the American Society for Nutrition (Mead Johnson Award), the HypoCCS award in Paris, France, the Humboldt Foundation of Germany (the Wilhelm Friedrich Bessel Award), by the American Federation of Medical Research (the Outstanding Investigator Award), by the American Physiological Society (FASEB, the Berson Award Lecture), etc. He has given many award lectures (e.g. SFRR Europe, American Society for Reproductive Medicine etc.) and has received the BIDMC, Harvard Medical School award for excellence in Mentoring.
Christian Mende MD
Clinical Professor of Medicine La Jolla, CA
Christian W. Mende, MD is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
Dr. Mende graduated magna cum laude from the University of Heidelberg, School of Medicine in Heidelberg, Germany. A medical internship was completed at County Hospital in Sanderbusch, Germany and was followed by an internship and internal medicine residency at Tucson Medical Education Program in Tucson, Arizona.
Postdoctoral training includes a National Institute of Health fellowship in nephrology at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Mende is board certified in nephrology, internal medicine and clinical hypertension. Among his medical affiliations, Dr. Mende is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Nutrition, the American and International Society of Nephrology. He is a fellow and charter member of the American Society of Hypertension.
Widely published, Dr Mende has made contributions to the medical press on experimental renal disease, hypertensive therapy, diabetes and various other medical topics.
Alan R. Sinaiko MD
Professor Department of Pediatrics Minneapolis, MN
Dr. Sinaiko is an established investigator of blood pressure/hypertension and insulin resistance in children and adolescents. These studies are focused on obesity, insulin resistance and cardiovascular (CV) risk factors during childhood and the tracking of these into CV disease in adulthood. He is a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics, Univ of MN. Dr. Sinaiko has had continuous research funding from the National Institutes of Health and currently is the Chair of an international collaborative cohort study of the relation between CV risk factors in childhood and adult CV disease.
Bart Staels PhD
Full Professor Lille, France
Bart Staels, PhD., is professor (‘classe exceptionnelle’) in the faculty of pharmacy at the University of Lille, Lille, France. He is director of the Inserm Unit UMR 1011 with laboratories (approx.100 persons) on the campus of the Institut Pasteur de Lille and the Research Pole of the University of Lille, Lille, France.
Pr. Staels earned his doctorate at the Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Leuven, Belgium. He completed postdoctoral work at the Metabolic Research Unit, University of California, San Francisco and was postdoctoral research fellow of the Reverse Cholesterol Transport/Atherosclerosis Project, BioAvenir, Vitry sur Seine, France.
Pr. Staels is a member of learned societies such as the European Atherosclerosis Society, the International Atherosclerosis Society (Distinguished Fellow), the Nouvelle Société Française d’Athérosclérose, the Société Française de Diabète, the American Heart Association (Premium Professional Silver Heart Member), the American Diabetes Association and European Association for the Study of Diabetes. He is past-president of the Nouvelle Société Française d’Athérosclérose (NSFA; 2009-2011).
Pr. Staels is also co-founder of the biopharmaceutical company Genfit SA, and president of its Scientific Advisory Board. He is co-founder and board member of the European Genomic Institute for Diabetes (EGID).
He was appointed European corresponding member of the National Academy of Pharmacy in June 2011; Senior Member of the Institut Universitaire de France in October 2011 and received the International Francqui Professor Chair in 2013.
Pr Staels has been awarded the Young Investigator Award of the European Atherosclerosis Society, the Bronze Medal of the CNRS and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the British Atherosclerosis Society, the pharmaceutical “Barré” 2007 prize from the Faculté de Pharmacie of Montreal, and the French “JP Binet” prize from the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale, Paris, in 2011. He is also the recipient of the 2012 “Distinguished Leader in Insulin Resistance” award from the International Committee for Insulin Resistance (ICIR).
Pr. Staels’ research focuses on molecular pharmacology of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, including dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes. He particularly studies the role of nuclear receptors (such as the PPARs, FXR, Rev-erb and ROR in the control of inflammation and lipid and glucose homeostasis as well as the transcriptional mechanisms involved. Pr. Staels was among the first to identify a crucial role for the nuclear receptor PPAR in the control of lipid and glucose metabolism as well as cardiovascular function in humans. He elucidated the action mechanism of the fibrate class of drugs that are currently used in the treatment of lipid disorders and worked also on the action mechanism of the glitazones, a class of anti-diabetic drugs. His work has identified the PPAR transcription factors as potential drug targets for the treatment of diabetes, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease and NAFLD, which contributed to the development of several novel therapeutic compounds, one of them is currently in phase IIb of clinical development.
To date, Pr. Staels has published more than 770 papers, including 199 review articles, and several book chapters.
He received the ISI citations award (citation number of 42529; h-index factor of 108 and average citation of 55/article). Based on the French 2007 Necker Institute dossier, Pr.Staels was between 2000-2005 among the 35 french researchers with the highest publication volume.
Pr. Staels is also reviewer for numerous international journals and has been invited speaker at many prestigious international meetings, including the IAS, AHA, ADA and IDF. He contributed to the organization of congresses such as the “International Symposia on PPARs”, the NSFA annual congress and was chairman of the 2007 and 2012 Keystone Symposia on “Metabolic Syndrome” and “Genetic and Molecular Basis of Obesity and Body Weight Regulation”.