Olujimi A. Ajijola, M.D., Ph.D. serves as the Associate Director of the UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center & EP Programs. He directs the Neurocardiology Research Program and co-directs the UCLA-Caltech Medical Scientist Training Program. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine-Cardiology and Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology.
His laboratory studies the peripheral neural circuits that regulate the heart, utilizing cutting edge electrophysiologic, genetic, optical, and computational tools to examine how myocardial infarction structurally and functionally perturbs the sympathetic nervous system, and how this dysregulation drives arrhythmogenesis and sudden cardiac death risk. Clinically, he is an interventional cardiac electrophysiologist with expertise in a broad range of heart rhythm disorders.
Dr. Ajijola received his B.A. with Distinction from the University of Virginia, his medical degree from Duke University, and his Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology from UCLA as part of the STAR program. His clinical training in internal medicine and Cardiology/Cardiac Electrophysiology were performed at the Massachusetts General Hospital and at UCLA, respectively. He is also an alumnus of the National Academies’ New Voices Program, a recipient of the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (DP2), the Jeremiah Stamler Young Investigator Award and received the 2023 Sir Burdon Sanderson Prize Lecture Award from the University of Oxford. He was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2023 and currently serves as an elected Councilor. He is currently a sitting member of the National Academies’ Roundtable on Black Men and Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine. He is a nationally recognized advocate for medical and physician-scientist training, recently receiving the Chan Zuckerberg Science Diversity Leadership Award for these efforts.

Olujimi A. Ajijola, M.D., Ph.D. serves as the Associate Director of the UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center & EP Programs. He directs the Neurocardiology Research Program and co-directs the UCLA-Caltech Medical Scientist Training Program. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine-Cardiology and Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology.
His laboratory studies the peripheral neural circuits that regulate the heart, utilizing cutting edge electrophysiologic, genetic, optical, and computational tools to examine how myocardial infarction structurally and functionally perturbs the sympathetic nervous system, and how this dysregulation drives arrhythmogenesis and sudden cardiac death risk. Clinically, he is an interventional cardiac electrophysiologist with expertise in a broad range of heart rhythm disorders.
Dr. Ajijola received his B.A. with Distinction from the University of Virginia, his medical degree from Duke University, and his Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology from UCLA as part of the STAR program. His clinical training in internal medicine and Cardiology/Cardiac Electrophysiology were performed at the Massachusetts General Hospital and at UCLA, respectively. He is also an alumnus of the National Academies’ New Voices Program, a recipient of the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (DP2), the Jeremiah Stamler Young Investigator Award and received the 2023 Sir Burdon Sanderson Prize Lecture Award from the University of Oxford. He was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2023 and currently serves as an elected Councilor. He is currently a sitting member of the National Academies’ Roundtable on Black Men and Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine. He is a nationally recognized advocate for medical and physician-scientist training, recently receiving the Chan Zuckerberg Science Diversity Leadership Award for these efforts.

Dr. Clair Crewe received her Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Lab of Luke Szweda. Her doctoral work defined the initiating events in the development of cardiac metabolic inflexibility during high fat feeding in mice. She did her postdoctoral training in the lab of Dr. Philipp Scherer at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. During her postdoctoral training Clair’s work was one of the first to establish EVs as novel mediators of metabolism in adipose tissue. She described an expansive network of EV transfer between adipocytes and other resident adipose tissue cells that signal locally and to other organs.
Dr. Crewe is currently an Assistant Professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. A focus area of her research is to understand the metabolic consequences of EV-mediated signaling in adaptive and mal-adaptive expansion of adipose tissue in obesity. Dr. Crewe’s work also seeks to understand and manipulate the EV-based signals between energetically stressed adipocytes and other organ systems to improve systemic lipid and glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetes.

Dr. Clair Crewe received her Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Lab of Luke Szweda. Her doctoral work defined the initiating events in the development of cardiac metabolic inflexibility during high fat feeding in mice. She did her postdoctoral training in the lab of Dr. Philipp Scherer at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. During her postdoctoral training Clair’s work was one of the first to establish EVs as novel mediators of metabolism in adipose tissue. She described an expansive network of EV transfer between adipocytes and other resident adipose tissue cells that signal locally and to other organs.
Dr. Crewe is currently an Assistant Professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. A focus area of her research is to understand the metabolic consequences of EV-mediated signaling in adaptive and mal-adaptive expansion of adipose tissue in obesity. Dr. Crewe’s work also seeks to understand and manipulate the EV-based signals between energetically stressed adipocytes and other organ systems to improve systemic lipid and glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetes.

Saumya Das, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a faculty member of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Service and the Director of the Resynchronization and Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dr. Das completed his undergraduate training at Harvard College, graduating summa cum laude in Biology. He completed his MD-PhD training at Harvard Medical School (in the Health Sciences and Technology pathway) with his PhD in neurobiology. Following that, Dr. Das completed his residency in internal medicine at MGH, and fellowship training in cardiovascular disease and clinical cardiac electrophysiology also at MGH. His research has focused on signaling pathways in electrical and structural remodeling in models of heart failure and cardiometabolic disease with a focus on extracellular vesicles and their cargo RNAs as biomarkers and mediators of intercellular signaling.
He has been the lead PI of several National Center for Advanced Translation (NCAT) grants to discover and validate RNA biomarkers of heart remodeling in heart failure as part of the NIH Extracellular RNA Communication Consortium where he has served as a co-chair of the steering committee. He was inducted in the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2020 and also received an NIH EIA award (R35). He has served as a PI on NIDDK grants to investigate EV biology in the pancreas and type I DM. He has served as a principal investigator on several American Heart Association strategic network grants, is on the advisory board for American Association of Extracellular Vesicles and the meeting chair for the 2023 Annual Scientific Sessions for AAEV.

Saumya Das, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a faculty member of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Service and the Director of the Resynchronization and Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dr. Das completed his undergraduate training at Harvard College, graduating summa cum laude in Biology. He completed his MD-PhD training at Harvard Medical School (in the Health Sciences and Technology pathway) with his PhD in neurobiology. Following that, Dr. Das completed his residency in internal medicine at MGH, and fellowship training in cardiovascular disease and clinical cardiac electrophysiology also at MGH. His research has focused on signaling pathways in electrical and structural remodeling in models of heart failure and cardiometabolic disease with a focus on extracellular vesicles and their cargo RNAs as biomarkers and mediators of intercellular signaling.
He has been the lead PI of several National Center for Advanced Translation (NCAT) grants to discover and validate RNA biomarkers of heart remodeling in heart failure as part of the NIH Extracellular RNA Communication Consortium where he has served as a co-chair of the steering committee. He was inducted in the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2020 and also received an NIH EIA award (R35). He has served as a PI on NIDDK grants to investigate EV biology in the pancreas and type I DM. He has served as a principal investigator on several American Heart Association strategic network grants, is on the advisory board for American Association of Extracellular Vesicles and the meeting chair for the 2023 Annual Scientific Sessions for AAEV.

Florin Despa, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Kentucky. His laboratory in collaboration with the University of Kentucky’s Alzheimer Disease (AD) Research Center and UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology identified amyloid-forming amylin secreted from the pancreas as a diabetogenic factor contributing to brain microvascular and AD pathologies, in both sporadic and early-onset, familial AD. Despa laboratory integrates biochemical investigations of human tissues with clinical data, physiological analyses and in vivo phenotyping using genetically engineered murine models to delineate amylin-related regulatory pathways in the setting of AD with diabetes comorbidity. The results form a basis for therapeutic strategies to prevent/ reduce diabetes contributions to brain microvascular and AD pathologies.

Florin Despa, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Kentucky. His laboratory in collaboration with the University of Kentucky’s Alzheimer Disease (AD) Research Center and UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology identified amyloid-forming amylin secreted from the pancreas as a diabetogenic factor contributing to brain microvascular and AD pathologies, in both sporadic and early-onset, familial AD. Despa laboratory integrates biochemical investigations of human tissues with clinical data, physiological analyses and in vivo phenotyping using genetically engineered murine models to delineate amylin-related regulatory pathways in the setting of AD with diabetes comorbidity. The results form a basis for therapeutic strategies to prevent/ reduce diabetes contributions to brain microvascular and AD pathologies.

Konstantinos Drosatos studied Biology at the Aristotle University in Greece. He continued with graduate studies in Molecular Biology & Biomedicine at the University of Crete and Boston University. He worked as a Research Scientist at Columbia University and started his lab at Temple University in 2014. Since 2021, he is the Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor in Pharmacology & Systems Physiology of the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine.
Capitalizing on his training in hepatic and cardiac lipid metabolism, his group employs gene regulation, bioinformatic and cardiovascular physiology tools to study signaling mechanisms that link cardiac stress in diabetes, sepsis, ischemia and aging with altered myocardial and systemic metabolism. They have pioneered studies on the role of the transcriptional factor KLF5, RNA editing, and interorgan communication in cardiomyopathy. Moreover, they study the role of metabolic and mitochondrial dysregulation in cardiomyopathy in sepsis. Now, they are developing a platform of in vitro and in vivo models, to discover new drugs for sepsis.

Konstantinos Drosatos studied Biology at the Aristotle University in Greece. He continued with graduate studies in Molecular Biology & Biomedicine at the University of Crete and Boston University. He worked as a Research Scientist at Columbia University and started his lab at Temple University in 2014. Since 2021, he is the Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor in Pharmacology & Systems Physiology of the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine.
Capitalizing on his training in hepatic and cardiac lipid metabolism, his group employs gene regulation, bioinformatic and cardiovascular physiology tools to study signaling mechanisms that link cardiac stress in diabetes, sepsis, ischemia and aging with altered myocardial and systemic metabolism. They have pioneered studies on the role of the transcriptional factor KLF5, RNA editing, and interorgan communication in cardiomyopathy. Moreover, they study the role of metabolic and mitochondrial dysregulation in cardiomyopathy in sepsis. Now, they are developing a platform of in vitro and in vivo models, to discover new drugs for sepsis.

Dr. Jason Dyck received his PhD in Medical Sciences from the University of Alberta and trained at Dartmouth Medical School (Hanover, New Hampshire) and Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, Texas). Dr. Dyck is now a full professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta, the director of the University of Alberta Cardiovascular Research Centre, a Canada Research Chair in Molecular Medicine and a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
Dr. Dyck has spent most of his career studying cardiac energy metabolism and his work has contributed to many breakthroughs in understanding how alterations in cardiac energy metabolism contribute to cardiovascular disease. He has identified novel pathways that could be targeted for preventing or treating cardiovascular disease and has developed and tested new treatment strategies. His research platform uses a translational approach to advance his pre-clinical research findings into drug discovery and clinical studies.
More recently, Dr. Dyck’s expertise in the area is being applied to heart failure. The objectives of Dr. Dyck’s research program are to better understand the metabolic derangements that occur in heart failure, identify new targets for pharmacotherapy, develop approaches to target these pathways, and advance treatments to clinical studies. He has already shown major accomplishments in the field with his current work on defining how existing therapies help treat heart failure and researching new therapeutic approaches.

Dr. Jason Dyck received his PhD in Medical Sciences from the University of Alberta and trained at Dartmouth Medical School (Hanover, New Hampshire) and Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, Texas). Dr. Dyck is now a full professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta, the director of the University of Alberta Cardiovascular Research Centre, a Canada Research Chair in Molecular Medicine and a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
Dr. Dyck has spent most of his career studying cardiac energy metabolism and his work has contributed to many breakthroughs in understanding how alterations in cardiac energy metabolism contribute to cardiovascular disease. He has identified novel pathways that could be targeted for preventing or treating cardiovascular disease and has developed and tested new treatment strategies. His research platform uses a translational approach to advance his pre-clinical research findings into drug discovery and clinical studies.
More recently, Dr. Dyck’s expertise in the area is being applied to heart failure. The objectives of Dr. Dyck’s research program are to better understand the metabolic derangements that occur in heart failure, identify new targets for pharmacotherapy, develop approaches to target these pathways, and advance treatments to clinical studies. He has already shown major accomplishments in the field with his current work on defining how existing therapies help treat heart failure and researching new therapeutic approaches.

Robert E. Gerszten, MD is Chief of Cardiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Herman Dana Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a Senior Associate Member of the Broad Institute. Dr. Gerszten graduated from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and a clinical fellowship in cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He also performed research fellowships at the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of California, San Francisco and the Cardiovascular Research Center at MGH.
Dr. Gerszten’s investigations focus on the nexus of cardiac and metabolic diseases.  His translational research program leverages metabolomics and proteomic technologies for the discovery of new biomarkers and pathways contributing to cardiovascular disease. His highly interactive program collaborates across a spectrum of institutions, from the Broad Institute to the Framingham Heart Study, the Jackson Heart Study, the Diabetes Prevention Program and the NIH MoTrPAC (Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity) study, the largest exercise intervention study ever performed.
His work has been funded by the NIH and the American Heart Association, from whom he received an Established Investigator Award. Dr. Gerszten is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and the Association of University Cardiologists. He is the 2019 recipient of the Silen Lifetime Mentoring Award from Harvard Medical School and the 2024 Paul Dudley White Award from the American Heart Association.

Robert E. Gerszten, MD is Chief of Cardiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Herman Dana Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a Senior Associate Member of the Broad Institute. Dr. Gerszten graduated from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and a clinical fellowship in cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He also performed research fellowships at the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of California, San Francisco and the Cardiovascular Research Center at MGH.
Dr. Gerszten’s investigations focus on the nexus of cardiac and metabolic diseases.  His translational research program leverages metabolomics and proteomic technologies for the discovery of new biomarkers and pathways contributing to cardiovascular disease. His highly interactive program collaborates across a spectrum of institutions, from the Broad Institute to the Framingham Heart Study, the Jackson Heart Study, the Diabetes Prevention Program and the NIH MoTrPAC (Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity) study, the largest exercise intervention study ever performed.
His work has been funded by the NIH and the American Heart Association, from whom he received an Established Investigator Award. Dr. Gerszten is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and the Association of University Cardiologists. He is the 2019 recipient of the Silen Lifetime Mentoring Award from Harvard Medical School and the 2024 Paul Dudley White Award from the American Heart Association.

Anne Carol Goldberg, MD is an endocrinologist and lipid specialist. Her undergraduate degree is from Harvard University and MD degree from the University of Maryland. After internal medicine training at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago and fellowship in endocrinology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, she joined the Washington University faculty, where she is a Professor of Medicine. Her research and clinical interests include dietary and drug therapies for hyperlipidemia and treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia. She has work on many clinical trials of lipid-modifying drugs. In her practice, she treats adults and children with dyslipidemia. Dr. Goldberg is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American Heart Association and a Master of the National Lipid Association (NLA). She has received awards for clinical care and education. She is a past President of the National Lipid Association and immediate past president of the Foundation of the National Lipid Association. She chaired the NLA Expert Panel on Familial Hypercholesterolemia and was a member of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Blood Cholesterol Expert Panel for the 2013 ACC/AHA Cholesterol Guidelines. She was a member of the task force for the Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline on Evaluation and Treatment of Hypertriglyceridemia. She received the NLA’s highest award, the W. Virgil Brown Distinguished Achievement Award.

Anne Carol Goldberg, MD is an endocrinologist and lipid specialist. Her undergraduate degree is from Harvard University and MD degree from the University of Maryland. After internal medicine training at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago and fellowship in endocrinology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, she joined the Washington University faculty, where she is a Professor of Medicine. Her research and clinical interests include dietary and drug therapies for hyperlipidemia and treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia. She has work on many clinical trials of lipid-modifying drugs. In her practice, she treats adults and children with dyslipidemia. Dr. Goldberg is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American Heart Association and a Master of the National Lipid Association (NLA). She has received awards for clinical care and education. She is a past President of the National Lipid Association and immediate past president of the Foundation of the National Lipid Association. She chaired the NLA Expert Panel on Familial Hypercholesterolemia and was a member of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Blood Cholesterol Expert Panel for the 2013 ACC/AHA Cholesterol Guidelines. She was a member of the task force for the Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline on Evaluation and Treatment of Hypertriglyceridemia. She received the NLA’s highest award, the W. Virgil Brown Distinguished Achievement Award.

Professor Hong is an established interventional cardiologist. He is interested in the effects of transplanting adipose stem cells in ischemic heart disease models. Specifically, his laboratory is investigating on physiological changes and mechanisms of improvement in cardiac function after adipose stem cell transplantation through histological and molecular biological analyses. My current research projects include: 1) Xenogeneic transplantation of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) after acute myocardial infarction, 2) the molecular mechanisms underlying differentiation of ASCs into endothelial or cardiac lineages, 3) signal pathways regulating the differentiation and proliferation of ASCs, and 4) cell based gene therapy to promote the potential of ASCs. Other research topic is also focused on the development of novel antiplatelet drugs for the treatment of acute coronary syndrome and discovering more effective derivatives than current antiplatelet drugs.

Professor Hong is an established interventional cardiologist. He is interested in the effects of transplanting adipose stem cells in ischemic heart disease models. Specifically, his laboratory is investigating on physiological changes and mechanisms of improvement in cardiac function after adipose stem cell transplantation through histological and molecular biological analyses. My current research projects include: 1) Xenogeneic transplantation of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) after acute myocardial infarction, 2) the molecular mechanisms underlying differentiation of ASCs into endothelial or cardiac lineages, 3) signal pathways regulating the differentiation and proliferation of ASCs, and 4) cell based gene therapy to promote the potential of ASCs. Other research topic is also focused on the development of novel antiplatelet drugs for the treatment of acute coronary syndrome and discovering more effective derivatives than current antiplatelet drugs.

Mark Huffman, MD, MPH is the William Bowen Professor of Medicine and Co-Director of the Global Health Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He also has an appointment as a Professorial Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales in Australia. Professor Huffman is a practicing preventive cardiologist, researcher, and educator who has more than a decade of experience in global cardiovascular disease epidemiology, clinical trials, dissemination and implementation science, and health policy research and training. His research seeks to improve global cardiovascular health and health care in low- and middle-income countries across the spectrum of disease prevention and to bring lessons learned back to the United States.

Mark Huffman, MD, MPH is the William Bowen Professor of Medicine and Co-Director of the Global Health Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He also has an appointment as a Professorial Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales in Australia. Professor Huffman is a practicing preventive cardiologist, researcher, and educator who has more than a decade of experience in global cardiovascular disease epidemiology, clinical trials, dissemination and implementation science, and health policy research and training. His research seeks to improve global cardiovascular health and health care in low- and middle-income countries across the spectrum of disease prevention and to bring lessons learned back to the United States.

Dr. Hyun Kang has been appointed as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Lipid and Atherosclerosis (JLA) by its editorial board, effective from the first issue of 2023. Currently serving as a Professor of Anesthesiology at Chung-Ang University School of Medicine, Dr. Kang is a distinguished medical doctor, researcher, and epidemiologist with expertise in medicine, statistics, and epidemiology. Dr. Kang earned his MD from Chung-Ang University and obtained both a Master's degree and a PhD from the same institution. Additionally, he holds a bachelor's degree from Korea National Open University and an MPH degree from Korea University, School of Public Health, and is a PhD candidate at Korea University. His professional journey includes roles as a clinical constructor, clinical assistant professor, assistant professor, and associate professor at Chung-Ang University. Dr. Kang has also been a visiting scholar at the University of Indiana School of Medicine, subsequently appointed as an adjunct professor at the same institution. Notably, he achieved early tenure professorship at Chung-Ang University. Throughout his career, Prof. Kang has become a prominent expert in his field, contributing extensively to preclinical, clinical, and epidemiologic research. His publications in prestigious journals cover a wide range of topics, including epidemiology, biostatistics, systematic review and meta-analysis, material characterization, general anesthesia, lipid, and atherosclerosis. In addition to his research contributions, Dr. Kang has served in various editorial roles, including Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Lipid and Atherosclerosis and Anesthesia and Pain Medicine since 2023. He has also held positions such as Associate Editor-in-Chief of the Korean Journal of Anesthesiology (2020-2022) and Editor of several other journals: Section Editor (Since 2020) of Korean Journal of Pain: Editor (Since 2023) of Journal of Korean Medical Association: Editor (Since 2020) of Medicine: Editor (Since 2022) of Journal of Personalized Medicine: Associate editor (Since 2020) of Systematic Review: Editorial Board (Since 2020) of Biotechnology and bioprocess engineering: Statistical Editor (2021-2022) of Journal of lipid and atherosclerosis: Statistical Editor (Since 2021) of Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Profession: Statistical Editor of Korean Journal of Anesthesiology (2010-2016): Statistical Editor (Since 2021) of Journal of Minimally Invasive Surgery. He also has worked as a reviewer for many leading international journals. Dr. Kang's involvement extends beyond editorial responsibilities, as he has worked as a reviewer for numerous leading international journals, emphasizing his dedication to contributing to the academic community.

Dr. Hyun Kang has been appointed as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Lipid and Atherosclerosis (JLA) by its editorial board, effective from the first issue of 2023. Currently serving as a Professor of Anesthesiology at Chung-Ang University School of Medicine, Dr. Kang is a distinguished medical doctor, researcher, and epidemiologist with expertise in medicine, statistics, and epidemiology. Dr. Kang earned his MD from Chung-Ang University and obtained both a Master's degree and a PhD from the same institution. Additionally, he holds a bachelor's degree from Korea National Open University and an MPH degree from Korea University, School of Public Health, and is a PhD candidate at Korea University. His professional journey includes roles as a clinical constructor, clinical assistant professor, assistant professor, and associate professor at Chung-Ang University. Dr. Kang has also been a visiting scholar at the University of Indiana School of Medicine, subsequently appointed as an adjunct professor at the same institution. Notably, he achieved early tenure professorship at Chung-Ang University. Throughout his career, Prof. Kang has become a prominent expert in his field, contributing extensively to preclinical, clinical, and epidemiologic research. His publications in prestigious journals cover a wide range of topics, including epidemiology, biostatistics, systematic review and meta-analysis, material characterization, general anesthesia, lipid, and atherosclerosis. In addition to his research contributions, Dr. Kang has served in various editorial roles, including Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Lipid and Atherosclerosis and Anesthesia and Pain Medicine since 2023. He has also held positions such as Associate Editor-in-Chief of the Korean Journal of Anesthesiology (2020-2022) and Editor of several other journals: Section Editor (Since 2020) of Korean Journal of Pain: Editor (Since 2023) of Journal of Korean Medical Association: Editor (Since 2020) of Medicine: Editor (Since 2022) of Journal of Personalized Medicine: Associate editor (Since 2020) of Systematic Review: Editorial Board (Since 2020) of Biotechnology and bioprocess engineering: Statistical Editor (2021-2022) of Journal of lipid and atherosclerosis: Statistical Editor (Since 2021) of Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Profession: Statistical Editor of Korean Journal of Anesthesiology (2010-2016): Statistical Editor (Since 2021) of Journal of Minimally Invasive Surgery. He also has worked as a reviewer for many leading international journals. Dr. Kang's involvement extends beyond editorial responsibilities, as he has worked as a reviewer for numerous leading international journals, emphasizing his dedication to contributing to the academic community.

Min-Seon Kim earned her MD degree from Seoul National University in 1990, later obtaining a Master's and Ph.D. from the same institution. She pursued a research fellowship at Imperial College School of Medicine in the UK. Since 2002, Dr. Kim has been an academic positon in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine in Korea and currently a professor at the same university and Asan Medical Center. Dr. Kim has been the Director of the Asan Diabetes Center and has held leadership roles in the Department of Biomedical Science and the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the university. Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms through which the central nervous system regulates systemic energy metabolism. Specifically, she has studied novel signaling pathways of leptin in hypothalamic neurons and recently explored the role of mitohormesis in hypothalamic neurons in exercise physiology. With over 140 publications in respected journals like Nature Medicine, Nature Neuroscience, Cell Metabolism, Journal of Clinical Investigations, and Nature Communications, Dr. Kim has received numerous awards including the Bunch Award, Hamchun Award, Yonkang Award, and Pfizer Award from Korean Academic Societies. She has also contributed to the Korean Societies of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity as a director of Scientific Committee and Research Committee.

Min-Seon Kim earned her MD degree from Seoul National University in 1990, later obtaining a Master's and Ph.D. from the same institution. She pursued a research fellowship at Imperial College School of Medicine in the UK. Since 2002, Dr. Kim has been an academic positon in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine in Korea and currently a professor at the same university and Asan Medical Center. Dr. Kim has been the Director of the Asan Diabetes Center and has held leadership roles in the Department of Biomedical Science and the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the university. Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms through which the central nervous system regulates systemic energy metabolism. Specifically, she has studied novel signaling pathways of leptin in hypothalamic neurons and recently explored the role of mitohormesis in hypothalamic neurons in exercise physiology. With over 140 publications in respected journals like Nature Medicine, Nature Neuroscience, Cell Metabolism, Journal of Clinical Investigations, and Nature Communications, Dr. Kim has received numerous awards including the Bunch Award, Hamchun Award, Yonkang Award, and Pfizer Award from Korean Academic Societies. She has also contributed to the Korean Societies of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity as a director of Scientific Committee and Research Committee.

Samuel Klein M.D. is the William H. Danforth Professor of Medicine, Director of the Center for Human Nutrition, and Chief of the Division of Nutritional Science and Obesity Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. 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. He was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation and to the American Association of Physicians. Dr. Klein has had consistent R01 funding from the NIH since 1990, has served as the PI of the NIH-funded Washington University Nutrition Obesity Research Center since 1995, and has published more than 500 papers in nutrition, metabolism, and obesity. Dr. Klein’s research activities are focused on understanding the mechanisms responsible for the heterogeneity in metabolic dysfunction associated with obesity and the therapeutic effects of weight loss. He is committed to training young investigators and clinicians and has provided mentorship to 51 trainees in clinical and translational metabolic research.

Samuel Klein M.D. is the William H. Danforth Professor of Medicine, Director of the Center for Human Nutrition, and Chief of the Division of Nutritional Science and Obesity Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. 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. He was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation and to the American Association of Physicians. Dr. Klein has had consistent R01 funding from the NIH since 1990, has served as the PI of the NIH-funded Washington University Nutrition Obesity Research Center since 1995, and has published more than 500 papers in nutrition, metabolism, and obesity. Dr. Klein’s research activities are focused on understanding the mechanisms responsible for the heterogeneity in metabolic dysfunction associated with obesity and the therapeutic effects of weight loss. He is committed to training young investigators and clinicians and has provided mentorship to 51 trainees in clinical and translational metabolic research.

Laurel Y. Lee, M.D., D.Phil. is a physician-scientist combining cardiology and vascular immunology research currently at the Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Starting in September 2024, she will launch her independent scientific program as a tenure-track assistant professor at the Division of Cardiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Lee built her scientific foundation in immunology as an undergraduate at MIT and obtained her D.Phil. (Ph.D.) in T-cell immunology at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. She then received an M.D. at the Harvard Medical School/Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology. Dr. Lee completed her medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital followed by the NHLBI T32 postdoctoral fellowship in endothelial metabolism. Inspired by her patients with complex vascular diseases intersecting with immune dysregulation, Dr. Lee’s scientific program focuses on understanding how immune activation alters endothelial metabolism and contributes to cardiovascular diseases. Her research is currently funded by the NHLBI K08 award. She is a recipient of multiple awards, including the Alan Lerner Research Award, the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Martha Grey Research Award, and the NIH/NINDS Student Research Award. Dr. Lee recently co-chaired the translational vascular science program at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions and served as a faculty moderator for the COVID-19 and the Heart program at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions. She also serves on the Early Career Editorial Board for the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

Laurel Y. Lee, M.D., D.Phil. is a physician-scientist combining cardiology and vascular immunology research currently at the Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Starting in September 2024, she will launch her independent scientific program as a tenure-track assistant professor at the Division of Cardiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Lee built her scientific foundation in immunology as an undergraduate at MIT and obtained her D.Phil. (Ph.D.) in T-cell immunology at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. She then received an M.D. at the Harvard Medical School/Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology. Dr. Lee completed her medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital followed by the NHLBI T32 postdoctoral fellowship in endothelial metabolism. Inspired by her patients with complex vascular diseases intersecting with immune dysregulation, Dr. Lee’s scientific program focuses on understanding how immune activation alters endothelial metabolism and contributes to cardiovascular diseases. Her research is currently funded by the NHLBI K08 award. She is a recipient of multiple awards, including the Alan Lerner Research Award, the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Martha Grey Research Award, and the NIH/NINDS Student Research Award. Dr. Lee recently co-chaired the translational vascular science program at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions and served as a faculty moderator for the COVID-19 and the Heart program at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions. She also serves on the Early Career Editorial Board for the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

Dr. Lin is Bradley M. Patten Collegiate Professor of Life Sciences and Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology at the University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Lin received his B.S. degree in Biochemistry from Peking University (1994) and Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Cell Biology at Northwestern University (2000). Dr. Lin’s research focuses on investigating the mechanisms underlying metabolic signaling, interorgan crosstalk, and metabolic tissue microenvironment in health and disease. Dr. Lin has published over 125 research articles in prominent peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, Cell, Nature Medicine, Molecular Cell, Cell Metabolism, JCI, Nature Metabolism, and Science Translational Medicine. He received the American Diabetes Association Career Development Award, Bradley M. Patten Collegiate Professorship, and Medical School Dean’s Basic Science Award at the University of Michigan. Dr. Lin served as an Associate editor of Diabetes and chaired an NIH study section. In 2018, Dr. Lin was elected fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He received the 2020 American Diabetes Association Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award.

Dr. Lin is Bradley M. Patten Collegiate Professor of Life Sciences and Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology at the University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Lin received his B.S. degree in Biochemistry from Peking University (1994) and Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Cell Biology at Northwestern University (2000). Dr. Lin’s research focuses on investigating the mechanisms underlying metabolic signaling, interorgan crosstalk, and metabolic tissue microenvironment in health and disease. Dr. Lin has published over 125 research articles in prominent peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, Cell, Nature Medicine, Molecular Cell, Cell Metabolism, JCI, Nature Metabolism, and Science Translational Medicine. He received the American Diabetes Association Career Development Award, Bradley M. Patten Collegiate Professorship, and Medical School Dean’s Basic Science Award at the University of Michigan. Dr. Lin served as an Associate editor of Diabetes and chaired an NIH study section. In 2018, Dr. Lin was elected fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He received the 2020 American Diabetes Association Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award.

Yongjian Liu is a Professor of Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis. He received his Ph.D. in Radiochemistry under the supervision of Professor Silvia Jurisson from the Department of Chemistry at University of Missouri-Columbia in 2007. He then joined Professor Michael Welch’s group for a post-doctoral training in molecular imaging and nanomedicine. He was promoted to Assistant Professor at MIR in 2011, Association Professor in 2017, and Professor in 2022. Dr. Liu’s research focuses on the translational PET research for both diagnostic imaging and imaging guided therapy. At preclinical level, his research focuses on the design and development of novel PET molecular probes targeting specific biomarkers expressed in animal disease models including nanoparticles, peptide, small molecules, and antibodies. At translational level, his lab has developed a highly integrated strategy to comprehensively assess and validate the developed imaging probes from benchtop to humans. Currently, Dr. Liu has been working on the inflammation-orientated imaging and therapy in multiple directions including pulmonary fibrosis, atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, brain tumors, pancreatic cancer and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. He has translated several molecular probes for human research and been working on multiple clinical trials.

Yongjian Liu is a Professor of Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis. He received his Ph.D. in Radiochemistry under the supervision of Professor Silvia Jurisson from the Department of Chemistry at University of Missouri-Columbia in 2007. He then joined Professor Michael Welch’s group for a post-doctoral training in molecular imaging and nanomedicine. He was promoted to Assistant Professor at MIR in 2011, Association Professor in 2017, and Professor in 2022. Dr. Liu’s research focuses on the translational PET research for both diagnostic imaging and imaging guided therapy. At preclinical level, his research focuses on the design and development of novel PET molecular probes targeting specific biomarkers expressed in animal disease models including nanoparticles, peptide, small molecules, and antibodies. At translational level, his lab has developed a highly integrated strategy to comprehensively assess and validate the developed imaging probes from benchtop to humans. Currently, Dr. Liu has been working on the inflammation-orientated imaging and therapy in multiple directions including pulmonary fibrosis, atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, brain tumors, pancreatic cancer and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. He has translated several molecular probes for human research and been working on multiple clinical trials.

Craig Lygate originally trained as a pharmacist before obtaining a Masters at the University of Manchester and a PhD in cardiovascular physiology at the University of Glasgow. He moved to Oxford University in 2000 to study cardiac energetics in the laboratory of Stefan Neubauer and establish new murine cardiac phenotyping facilities. He has extensive expertise in assessing in vivo cardiac function in rodents and in the generation of surgical models of hypertrophy, ischaemia and heart failure. Since 2014, he has been Associate Professor within the department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Oxford, where his research group is funded by the British Heart Foundation to study the interaction between creatine and homoarginine metabolism, with the long-term goal of developing novel therapeutics that will augment energetics in the diseased heart. Craig very recently moved his laboratory to the University of Glasgow, Scotland, where he has been appointed Reader in Myocardial Biology.

Craig Lygate originally trained as a pharmacist before obtaining a Masters at the University of Manchester and a PhD in cardiovascular physiology at the University of Glasgow. He moved to Oxford University in 2000 to study cardiac energetics in the laboratory of Stefan Neubauer and establish new murine cardiac phenotyping facilities. He has extensive expertise in assessing in vivo cardiac function in rodents and in the generation of surgical models of hypertrophy, ischaemia and heart failure. Since 2014, he has been Associate Professor within the department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Oxford, where his research group is funded by the British Heart Foundation to study the interaction between creatine and homoarginine metabolism, with the long-term goal of developing novel therapeutics that will augment energetics in the diseased heart. Craig very recently moved his laboratory to the University of Glasgow, Scotland, where he has been appointed Reader in Myocardial Biology.

Kim Mellor completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne, Australia in 2011, and was awarded a Rutherford Fellowship to repatriate to New Zealand at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute. Now, as Associate Professor in Physiology, Kim Mellor leads the Cellular and Molecular Cardiology Research Laboratory. Her discovery bioscience delves into the pathophysiology of heart failure and diabetic cardiomyopathy, interrogating disease targets at system, tissue, cellular and subcellular levels. Her multidisciplinary approach involves key collaborations with colleagues in Bioengineering, Chemistry, Immunology and clinical settings.

Kim Mellor completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne, Australia in 2011, and was awarded a Rutherford Fellowship to repatriate to New Zealand at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute. Now, as Associate Professor in Physiology, Kim Mellor leads the Cellular and Molecular Cardiology Research Laboratory. Her discovery bioscience delves into the pathophysiology of heart failure and diabetic cardiomyopathy, interrogating disease targets at system, tissue, cellular and subcellular levels. Her multidisciplinary approach involves key collaborations with colleagues in Bioengineering, Chemistry, Immunology and clinical settings.

Andrew Murray grew up in South Wales, UK, and studied Biochemistry at the University of Oxford, before undertaking a British Heart Foundation-supported DPhil working on diabetic cardiomyopathy with Prof. Kieran Clarke. After his DPhil, Andrew worked on ketone body metabolism, including the impact of novel orally-available ketone esters on cardiac and skeletal muscle energetics and exercise performance. In 2007, Andrew moved to the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge as a Research Councils UK Academic Fellow. He is currently a Professor of Metabolic Physiology at the University of Cambridge, and his group’s research interests lie broadly in the mitochondrial responses to altered oxygen and nutrient supply, including the implications for function and health at the level of the tissue, organ and organism.
Andrew has a long-standing interest in high-altitude physiology, and he is a co-Principal Investigator in the Xtreme Everest Oxygen Research Consortium. In this role, Andrew and his group have studied cardiac and skeletal muscle energetics in climbers on Everest, and mitochondrial adaptations in highlander populations, such as the Sherpa people. A major current thread of Andrew’s research includes the study of placental metabolic function in healthy and pathological pregnancies at altitude, including in adapted populations; work which has implications for pregnancies at sea level in which oxygen supply to the placenta and fetus is altered.

Andrew Murray grew up in South Wales, UK, and studied Biochemistry at the University of Oxford, before undertaking a British Heart Foundation-supported DPhil working on diabetic cardiomyopathy with Prof. Kieran Clarke. After his DPhil, Andrew worked on ketone body metabolism, including the impact of novel orally-available ketone esters on cardiac and skeletal muscle energetics and exercise performance. In 2007, Andrew moved to the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge as a Research Councils UK Academic Fellow. He is currently a Professor of Metabolic Physiology at the University of Cambridge, and his group’s research interests lie broadly in the mitochondrial responses to altered oxygen and nutrient supply, including the implications for function and health at the level of the tissue, organ and organism.
Andrew has a long-standing interest in high-altitude physiology, and he is a co-Principal Investigator in the Xtreme Everest Oxygen Research Consortium. In this role, Andrew and his group have studied cardiac and skeletal muscle energetics in climbers on Everest, and mitochondrial adaptations in highlander populations, such as the Sherpa people. A major current thread of Andrew’s research includes the study of placental metabolic function in healthy and pathological pregnancies at altitude, including in adapted populations; work which has implications for pregnancies at sea level in which oxygen supply to the placenta and fetus is altered.

Dr. Neilan is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a cardiologist at MGH, the director of the Cardio-Oncology Program at MGH and the co-director of the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center.
He holds the Michael and Kathyrn Park Chair in Cardiology. He is a physician scientist and a board-certified cardiologist. He completed his medical school training at University College Dublin Medical School, his clinical training in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the Mater Hospital in Dublin and repeated his training in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at MGH. He has also competed advanced training in echocardiography at MGH, a clinical and research fellowship in cardiac MRI at BWH, and a Master’s in Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health. He has authored or co-authored more than 150 original manuscripts, 50 review articles, has presented over 400 abstracts at international meetings, and has lectured at major national and international meetings. His research focus in on cardiovascular disease among patients with cancer. Dr. Neilan has been awarded the “de Gunzburg Family Endowed Scholar in Cardiology”, the Locke Award for excellence in medical education and elected as a Senior Fellow to the Oliver Wendell Holmes Society at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Neilan is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a cardiologist at MGH, the director of the Cardio-Oncology Program at MGH and the co-director of the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center.
He holds the Michael and Kathyrn Park Chair in Cardiology. He is a physician scientist and a board-certified cardiologist. He completed his medical school training at University College Dublin Medical School, his clinical training in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the Mater Hospital in Dublin and repeated his training in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at MGH. He has also competed advanced training in echocardiography at MGH, a clinical and research fellowship in cardiac MRI at BWH, and a Master’s in Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health. He has authored or co-authored more than 150 original manuscripts, 50 review articles, has presented over 400 abstracts at international meetings, and has lectured at major national and international meetings. His research focus in on cardiovascular disease among patients with cancer. Dr. Neilan has been awarded the “de Gunzburg Family Endowed Scholar in Cardiology”, the Locke Award for excellence in medical education and elected as a Senior Fellow to the Oliver Wendell Holmes Society at Harvard Medical School.

Christopher Nguyen, PhD, serves as the Director of the Cardiovascular Innovation Research Center and MRI Research at the Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute, located within the Cleveland Clinic.  With a background in biomedical engineering, his primary focus lies in developing and implementing innovative technologies within clinical settings. Dr. Nguyen obtained his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, following his undergraduate studies in Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He furthered his training through postdoctoral fellowships in both biomedical imaging at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and in cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
Throughout his career, Dr. Nguyen has held academic faculty positions at prestigious institutions, including Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (2017-2018), Massachusetts General Hospital (2017-2022), Harvard Medical School (2017-2023), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2021-2023).  He joined the staff at the Cleveland Clinic in 2022. Currently, Dr. Nguyen serves as the Principal Investigator (PI) on several National Institutes of Health-funded studies focused on developing innovative cardiovascular techniques and assessing heart failure treatments.

Christopher Nguyen, PhD, serves as the Director of the Cardiovascular Innovation Research Center and MRI Research at the Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute, located within the Cleveland Clinic.  With a background in biomedical engineering, his primary focus lies in developing and implementing innovative technologies within clinical settings. Dr. Nguyen obtained his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, following his undergraduate studies in Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He furthered his training through postdoctoral fellowships in both biomedical imaging at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and in cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
Throughout his career, Dr. Nguyen has held academic faculty positions at prestigious institutions, including Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (2017-2018), Massachusetts General Hospital (2017-2022), Harvard Medical School (2017-2023), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2021-2023).  He joined the staff at the Cleveland Clinic in 2022. Currently, Dr. Nguyen serves as the Principal Investigator (PI) on several National Institutes of Health-funded studies focused on developing innovative cardiovascular techniques and assessing heart failure treatments.

James Quirk, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Radiology at the Washington University School of Medicine and serves as the Director of the Small Animal Magnetic Resonance Facility.  Dr. Quirk received his BS in Chemistry from MIT and PhD in Physical Chemistry from Washington University under Joseph Ackerman. He has over 25 years of experience performing preclinical MRI studies across all major organ systems and preclinical vendors.

James Quirk, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Radiology at the Washington University School of Medicine and serves as the Director of the Small Animal Magnetic Resonance Facility.  Dr. Quirk received his BS in Chemistry from MIT and PhD in Physical Chemistry from Washington University under Joseph Ackerman. He has over 25 years of experience performing preclinical MRI studies across all major organ systems and preclinical vendors.

Dr. Schilling is currently Associate Professor of Medicine and Pathology & Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine. He also serves as the medical director of the heart transplant program. Dr. Schilling received his undergraduate degree in chemistry with honors from Colorado College. He then joined the medical scientist training program (MSTP) at Washington University where he received his graduate degree in Immunology in Dr. Scott Hultgren’s lab. Upon graduation he joined the internal medicine residency program as a part of the physician scientist training program (PSTP) at Washington University. He subsequently completed his medical training in internal medicine, cardiology, and advanced heart failure and transplant. His post-doctoral fellowship was conducted under the combined mentorship of Dr. Jean Schaffer and Dr. Daniel Kelly during which time he became interested in the interplay between metabolism and inflammation in cardiometabolic disease. He has been a member of the faculty at Washington University school of medicine since 2009 and has been running a successful research lab since 2012. Dr. Schilling’s research program focuses on the role of liver macrophages in metabolic liver disease and heart failure with an interest how these responses contribute to the cardiohepatic axis. He is the author of more than 100 manuscripts published in peer review journals and has an h-index of 41.

Dr. Schilling is currently Associate Professor of Medicine and Pathology & Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine. He also serves as the medical director of the heart transplant program. Dr. Schilling received his undergraduate degree in chemistry with honors from Colorado College. He then joined the medical scientist training program (MSTP) at Washington University where he received his graduate degree in Immunology in Dr. Scott Hultgren’s lab. Upon graduation he joined the internal medicine residency program as a part of the physician scientist training program (PSTP) at Washington University. He subsequently completed his medical training in internal medicine, cardiology, and advanced heart failure and transplant. His post-doctoral fellowship was conducted under the combined mentorship of Dr. Jean Schaffer and Dr. Daniel Kelly during which time he became interested in the interplay between metabolism and inflammation in cardiometabolic disease. He has been a member of the faculty at Washington University school of medicine since 2009 and has been running a successful research lab since 2012. Dr. Schilling’s research program focuses on the role of liver macrophages in metabolic liver disease and heart failure with an interest how these responses contribute to the cardiohepatic axis. He is the author of more than 100 manuscripts published in peer review journals and has an h-index of 41.

Our group has so far reported the pathogenic role of cellular senescence and systemic insulin resistance in age-related cardiovascular-metabolic disorders including heart failure, atherosclerotic diseases, obesity and diabetes (Nat Med 2009, Cell Metab2012, 2013, 2014, Nature Aging 2021, 2024, J Clin Invest 2010, JMCC 2015, 2019, Sci Rep 2019, 2021, 2022). “Metabolic remodeling” is one of the keywords for aging research, and studies with brown adipose tissue showed maintaining the homeostasis of this organ as crucial to combat obesity or heart failure (J Clin Invest 2014, Cell Rep 2018, iScience 2022, 2022, 2022, Sci Rep 2022). Through these studies, I came to consider the mechanisms contributing for the synchronization of aging (sync-aging) as interesting. Now, we define “senometabolite” or “senoprotein” as circulating molecules having causal roles for the sync-aging. Based on several unpublished data, I am now trying to establish new concepts for diseases; One is Age-related fibrotic disorders (A-FiD), and another is Senometabolite Related Disorders (SRDs). Together with the suppression of sync-aging, we are also trying to establish a method to reverse aging with the senolytic approach (specific depletion of senescent cells) (Please also see; https://www.cv-aging.com).

Our group has so far reported the pathogenic role of cellular senescence and systemic insulin resistance in age-related cardiovascular-metabolic disorders including heart failure, atherosclerotic diseases, obesity and diabetes (Nat Med 2009, Cell Metab2012, 2013, 2014, Nature Aging 2021, 2024, J Clin Invest 2010, JMCC 2015, 2019, Sci Rep 2019, 2021, 2022). “Metabolic remodeling” is one of the keywords for aging research, and studies with brown adipose tissue showed maintaining the homeostasis of this organ as crucial to combat obesity or heart failure (J Clin Invest 2014, Cell Rep 2018, iScience 2022, 2022, 2022, Sci Rep 2022). Through these studies, I came to consider the mechanisms contributing for the synchronization of aging (sync-aging) as interesting. Now, we define “senometabolite” or “senoprotein” as circulating molecules having causal roles for the sync-aging. Based on several unpublished data, I am now trying to establish new concepts for diseases; One is Age-related fibrotic disorders (A-FiD), and another is Senometabolite Related Disorders (SRDs). Together with the suppression of sync-aging, we are also trying to establish a method to reverse aging with the senolytic approach (specific depletion of senescent cells) (Please also see; https://www.cv-aging.com).

Kristin Stanford is a Professor in the College of Medicine at The Ohio State University where she also serves as the Associate Director for the Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute and the Diabetes and Metabolism Research Center. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego, and completed her postdoctoral research at the Joslin Diabetes Center. She started her lab in 2015 and her research interests include investigating how exercise affects brown and white adipose tissue and in ascertaining the effects of parental exercise on the metabolic health of offspring.

Kristin Stanford is a Professor in the College of Medicine at The Ohio State University where she also serves as the Associate Director for the Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute and the Diabetes and Metabolism Research Center. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego, and completed her postdoctoral research at the Joslin Diabetes Center. She started her lab in 2015 and her research interests include investigating how exercise affects brown and white adipose tissue and in ascertaining the effects of parental exercise on the metabolic health of offspring.

Dr. W.H. Wilson Tang is Professor of Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. He received his MD degree at Harvard Medical School, internal medicine residency and postdoctoral research training at Stanford University Medical Center, and Cardiovascular and Advanced Heart Failure/Transplant Fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Tang is a heart failure/transplant cardiologist that specialized in cardiomyopathies, with a translational research laboratory focusing on metabolic determinants of cardio-renal diseases as well as epigenetic and immune regulation of cardiomyopathies. He was elected as member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2013 for his contributions to physiologic and mechanistic understanding of cardio-renal syndromes, as well as the Association of American Physicians in 2018 for studying the contributing role of diet and microbiome in cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Tang has published over 900 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts and book chapters and was the recipient of the American College of Cardiology’s 2022 Distinguished Scientist Award in the Basic Domain.

Dr. W.H. Wilson Tang is Professor of Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. He received his MD degree at Harvard Medical School, internal medicine residency and postdoctoral research training at Stanford University Medical Center, and Cardiovascular and Advanced Heart Failure/Transplant Fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Tang is a heart failure/transplant cardiologist that specialized in cardiomyopathies, with a translational research laboratory focusing on metabolic determinants of cardio-renal diseases as well as epigenetic and immune regulation of cardiomyopathies. He was elected as member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2013 for his contributions to physiologic and mechanistic understanding of cardio-renal syndromes, as well as the Association of American Physicians in 2018 for studying the contributing role of diet and microbiome in cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Tang has published over 900 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts and book chapters and was the recipient of the American College of Cardiology’s 2022 Distinguished Scientist Award in the Basic Domain.

John Ussher carried out his PhD training with Dr. Gary Lopaschuk at the University of Alberta (Sept 2004 – Jan 2010), where he acquired expertise in the molecular regulation of cardiac energy metabolism, with a specific focus on pharmacologically increasing cardiac malonyl CoA content to treat ischemic heart disease. Following his PhD training, John trained with Dr. Daniel Drucker at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at the University of Toronto (Mar 2010 – Oct 2014) to acquire extensive expertise in incretin hormone (e.g. glucagon-like peptide-1) biology and how incretin hormones influence the cardiovascular system. In November 2014, John returned to the University of Alberta with the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, where he is currently a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in the Pharmacotherapy of Energy Metabolism in Obesity. His lab is primarily interested in elucidating the mechanisms by which obesity perturbs energy metabolism and contributes to the pathophysiology of obesity-related chronic diseases, with a specific focus on muscle insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, as well as diabetic cardiomyopathy. In particular, his lab has demonstrated that decreasing muscle ketone oxidation yields glucose-lowering actions in obesity, and that inhibiting succinyl CoA:3-ketoacid CoA transferase may be a novel approach to treat type 2 diabetes. With regards to type 2 diabetes-related cardiovascular disease, his lab continues to investigate novel strategies to stimulate myocardial pyruvate dehydrogenase activity and subsequent glucose oxidation for the treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy. Furthermore, his lab demonstrated that glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, which have been shown to improve cardiovascular outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes, may be one such approach to stimulate myocardial glucose oxidation.

John Ussher carried out his PhD training with Dr. Gary Lopaschuk at the University of Alberta (Sept 2004 – Jan 2010), where he acquired expertise in the molecular regulation of cardiac energy metabolism, with a specific focus on pharmacologically increasing cardiac malonyl CoA content to treat ischemic heart disease. Following his PhD training, John trained with Dr. Daniel Drucker at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at the University of Toronto (Mar 2010 – Oct 2014) to acquire extensive expertise in incretin hormone (e.g. glucagon-like peptide-1) biology and how incretin hormones influence the cardiovascular system. In November 2014, John returned to the University of Alberta with the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, where he is currently a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in the Pharmacotherapy of Energy Metabolism in Obesity. His lab is primarily interested in elucidating the mechanisms by which obesity perturbs energy metabolism and contributes to the pathophysiology of obesity-related chronic diseases, with a specific focus on muscle insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, as well as diabetic cardiomyopathy. In particular, his lab has demonstrated that decreasing muscle ketone oxidation yields glucose-lowering actions in obesity, and that inhibiting succinyl CoA:3-ketoacid CoA transferase may be a novel approach to treat type 2 diabetes. With regards to type 2 diabetes-related cardiovascular disease, his lab continues to investigate novel strategies to stimulate myocardial pyruvate dehydrogenase activity and subsequent glucose oxidation for the treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy. Furthermore, his lab demonstrated that glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, which have been shown to improve cardiovascular outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes, may be one such approach to stimulate myocardial glucose oxidation.

Carla J Weinheimer is a Professor of Medicine, Director, and lead micro-surgeon of the WUMS Mouse Cardiovascular Phenotyping Core (MCPC). I am involved in both the administration of the key components of running the MCPC as a fee-for-service entity and all the surgical aspects of cardiac injury models in mice that we provide. My specific role consists of surgery, data acquisition, data analysis, hemodynamic assessments and new model development of unique surgical approaches related to the phenotypic evaluation of the cardiovascular system of mice. Over the past several years, I have developed and perfected techniques to explore pressure overload hypertrophy, infarction, ischemia-reperfusion, progressive myocardial remodeling leading to heart failure, evaluation of pressure-volume relationships in the normal and pathologic heart, and exploration of heart rate variability and arrhythmias in mice after intervention. I am a 39-year member of the Cardiovascular Division and a founding member of the MCPC, which was established in 1998 and has become the cornerstone of mouse phenotyping efforts at Washington University.
Our core currently provides approximately 3,000 surgical, imaging, and functional cardiovascular physiology services annually to over 30 different laboratories both inside and outside the university and continues to be the “in vivo” backbone of several grants at this institution.

Carla J Weinheimer is a Professor of Medicine, Director, and lead micro-surgeon of the WUMS Mouse Cardiovascular Phenotyping Core (MCPC). I am involved in both the administration of the key components of running the MCPC as a fee-for-service entity and all the surgical aspects of cardiac injury models in mice that we provide. My specific role consists of surgery, data acquisition, data analysis, hemodynamic assessments and new model development of unique surgical approaches related to the phenotypic evaluation of the cardiovascular system of mice. Over the past several years, I have developed and perfected techniques to explore pressure overload hypertrophy, infarction, ischemia-reperfusion, progressive myocardial remodeling leading to heart failure, evaluation of pressure-volume relationships in the normal and pathologic heart, and exploration of heart rate variability and arrhythmias in mice after intervention. I am a 39-year member of the Cardiovascular Division and a founding member of the MCPC, which was established in 1998 and has become the cornerstone of mouse phenotyping efforts at Washington University.
Our core currently provides approximately 3,000 surgical, imaging, and functional cardiovascular physiology services annually to over 30 different laboratories both inside and outside the university and continues to be the “in vivo” backbone of several grants at this institution.

Dr. Yang Kevin Xiang is a tenured professor of the Department of Pharmacology at the Medical School of the University of California at Davis. He received his B.S. at Wuhan University and Ph.D. at Oregon Health Science University. Before holding assistant and associate professor positions at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, he took postdoctoral training with Dr. Brian Kobilka (2012 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry) at Stanford University. In 2012, Dr. Xiang joined the University of California at Davis. He has received funds from the National Institute of Health, American Heart Association, Alzheimer’s Association, and VA Merit Award. He has published broadly in scientific journals, such as Science, Nature, Cell, PNAS, and EMBO J (H-index 51 and more than 9800 citations). He is a member and serves as leadership in the American Heart Association, American Society of Pharmacology, Experimental and Therapeutics, and American Physiological Society. He also serves editorial board in Circulation Research, JMCC, Diabetes, and the British Journal of Pharmacology. Dr. Xiang received an EIA award from the American Heart Association and an RCS award from the VA. Dr. Xiang’s team focuses on neurohormonal regulation in physiology and diseases, especially the pharmacology and therapeutic potential of insulin and GPCR signaling networks. His research covers a broad range of cardiovascular, metabolic, and neuroscience areas and explores the fundamental molecular mechanisms of heart failure, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s diseases.

Dr. Yang Kevin Xiang is a tenured professor of the Department of Pharmacology at the Medical School of the University of California at Davis. He received his B.S. at Wuhan University and Ph.D. at Oregon Health Science University. Before holding assistant and associate professor positions at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, he took postdoctoral training with Dr. Brian Kobilka (2012 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry) at Stanford University. In 2012, Dr. Xiang joined the University of California at Davis. He has received funds from the National Institute of Health, American Heart Association, Alzheimer’s Association, and VA Merit Award. He has published broadly in scientific journals, such as Science, Nature, Cell, PNAS, and EMBO J (H-index 51 and more than 9800 citations). He is a member and serves as leadership in the American Heart Association, American Society of Pharmacology, Experimental and Therapeutics, and American Physiological Society. He also serves editorial board in Circulation Research, JMCC, Diabetes, and the British Journal of Pharmacology. Dr. Xiang received an EIA award from the American Heart Association and an RCS award from the VA. Dr. Xiang’s team focuses on neurohormonal regulation in physiology and diseases, especially the pharmacology and therapeutic potential of insulin and GPCR signaling networks. His research covers a broad range of cardiovascular, metabolic, and neuroscience areas and explores the fundamental molecular mechanisms of heart failure, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s diseases.

Martin Young received his Bachelors, Masters, PhD degrees in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford. Following postdoctoral training at Boston University and the University of Texas-Houston, Dr. Young held faculty appointments at the University of Texas-Houston and Baylor College of Medicine, before joining the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Dr. Young is currently a Professor of Medicine, and the Jeanne V. Marks Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Disease. Dr. Young has published over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts in top tier journals. Research in Dr. Young’s laboratory is focused on understanding how environmental factors, such as time-of-day and nutrition, influence cardiovascular health and disease. Regarding time-of-day, the laboratory is actively seeking to understand how an intrinsic time-keeping mechanism, known as the circadian clock, affects cardiac processes. More specifically, a broad objective of the laboratory has been to test the concept that the circadian clock synchronizes responsiveness of the heart to daily fluctuations in the environment. Impairment of this molecular mechanism would therefore result in an inability of the heart to respond appropriately to the onset of normal stimuli/stresses, thereby leading to contractile dysfunction and cardiac disease.

Martin Young received his Bachelors, Masters, PhD degrees in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford. Following postdoctoral training at Boston University and the University of Texas-Houston, Dr. Young held faculty appointments at the University of Texas-Houston and Baylor College of Medicine, before joining the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Dr. Young is currently a Professor of Medicine, and the Jeanne V. Marks Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Disease. Dr. Young has published over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts in top tier journals. Research in Dr. Young’s laboratory is focused on understanding how environmental factors, such as time-of-day and nutrition, influence cardiovascular health and disease. Regarding time-of-day, the laboratory is actively seeking to understand how an intrinsic time-keeping mechanism, known as the circadian clock, affects cardiac processes. More specifically, a broad objective of the laboratory has been to test the concept that the circadian clock synchronizes responsiveness of the heart to daily fluctuations in the environment. Impairment of this molecular mechanism would therefore result in an inability of the heart to respond appropriately to the onset of normal stimuli/stresses, thereby leading to contractile dysfunction and cardiac disease.

Dr. Zaha is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, and Cancer Biology. He holds several prominent positions, including Section Chief of Cardio-Oncology, Director of the Cardio-Oncology Program at the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center—recognized as a Gold Center of Excellence by the International Cardio-Oncology Society—and Director of the Cardio-Oncology Fellowship Program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.
As a clinician-investigator, Dr. Zaha excels at integrating advanced cardiovascular imaging techniques with patient-centered clinical cardiac care, with a particular focus on cardio-oncology.
Dr. Zaha's research delves into the alterations in myocardial energetic metabolism induced by cancer, cancer therapies, and cardiometabolic disorders. He studies mechanisms of cardiac injury and regenerative processes using cutting-edge technologies such as CMR, PET, and MR spectroscopy. His research is supported by funding from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and the National Institute of Health.
In addition to his research and clinical duties, Dr. Zaha contributes to the academic community as an Associate Editor for Circulation and New England Journal of Medicine – Journal Watch Cardiology, and a Consulting Editor for the Journal of the American College of Cardiology – CardioOncology. He also chairs the Cardio-Oncology Section of the Texas Chapter of the American College of Cardiology.

Dr. Zaha is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, and Cancer Biology. He holds several prominent positions, including Section Chief of Cardio-Oncology, Director of the Cardio-Oncology Program at the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center—recognized as a Gold Center of Excellence by the International Cardio-Oncology Society—and Director of the Cardio-Oncology Fellowship Program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.
As a clinician-investigator, Dr. Zaha excels at integrating advanced cardiovascular imaging techniques with patient-centered clinical cardiac care, with a particular focus on cardio-oncology.
Dr. Zaha's research delves into the alterations in myocardial energetic metabolism induced by cancer, cancer therapies, and cardiometabolic disorders. He studies mechanisms of cardiac injury and regenerative processes using cutting-edge technologies such as CMR, PET, and MR spectroscopy. His research is supported by funding from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and the National Institute of Health.
In addition to his research and clinical duties, Dr. Zaha contributes to the academic community as an Associate Editor for Circulation and New England Journal of Medicine – Journal Watch Cardiology, and a Consulting Editor for the Journal of the American College of Cardiology – CardioOncology. He also chairs the Cardio-Oncology Section of the Texas Chapter of the American College of Cardiology.