Keynote Speakers

Jose Ordovas

Jose Ordovas, PhD(Link is external) (Link opens in new window)

Nutrigenomics and Chronobiology: The Synergistic Impact of Diet, Sleep, and Genetic Factors on Chronic Disease

Dr. José M. Ordovás is a renowned expert in nutrition and genetics, currently serving as Professor of Nutrition and Senior Scientist at the USDA-Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. He directs the Nutrition and Genomics Laboratory and holds additional professorships in Genetics and Pharmacology at the School of Biomedical Sciences. In Spain, he leads the Nutritional Genomics and Epigenomics Group at IMDEA-Food, Madrid.
Educated at the University of Zaragoza and with postdoctoral training at MIT, Harvard, and Tufts University, Dr. Ordovás has dedicated his career to studying genetic and epigenetic influences on chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes. His research emphasizes gene-environment interactions, particularly the impact of diet, and he has authored over 950 scientific articles and numerous books on personalized nutrition. Dr. Ordovás is internationally recognized for his pioneering work in gene-diet interactions related to cardiometabolic traits.
Throughout his illustrious career, Dr. Ordovás has received numerous accolades, including awards from the USDA, American Society for Nutrition, Spanish Society of Cardiology, and the Mediterranean Diet Foundation. He is a member of several prestigious academies and serves on multiple national and international scientific committees and editorial boards, contributing significantly to advancing our understanding of nutrition's role in chronic disease prevention and management.
Stan Hazen

Stan Hazen, MD, PhD(Link is external) (Link opens in new window)

Personalized cardiovascular health through pharmacological targeting of your gut microbiome. 

Dr. Stanley Hazen received clinical training in Internal Medicine and subspecialty training in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism from Barnes/Jewish Hospital, and a PhD in Biophysical Chemistry and Molecular Biology from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. He holds multiple leadership positions at the Cleveland Clinic including chair, Department of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, co-section head, Preventive Cardiology & Rehabilitation, and Director, Center for Microbiome & Human Health.  

Dr. Hazen (H-index 157; citations >170,000) has published >500 articles in basic and clinical journals alike in the fields of cardiovascular disease (CVD), lipid metabolism and inflammation. He has made pioneering discoveries in mechanisms contributing to cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases, including fundamental studies linking defined oxidation pathways to CVD risk, diagnostics, and therapeutics; and the seminal discovery linking gut microbial pathways to CVD pathogenesis. His research in multiple areas has impacted clinical practice, and lays the foundation for both FDA- and EU-cleared diagnostic tests for CVD risk assessment in use worldwide. His research has also helped to spawn pharmaceutical development of CVD drugs in clinical trials.  

Dr. Hazen is an elected fellow to the National Academy of Medicine, USA. He also is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and an elected member of the American Association of Physicians. 

Speakers

Andres Acosta

Andres Acosta, MD, PhD(Link is external) (Link opens in new window)

Path to Precision Obesity: From Phenotypes to Genotypes to Predict Response to Obesity Interventions

Dr. Acosta is a physician, scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and Obesity Medicine and Nutrition. Dr. Acosta holds an MD from Universidad San Francisco De Quito, Ecuador, and a PhD from University of Florida, Gainesville. Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Consultant in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. He co-directs the Nutrition Obesity Research Program and directs the Precision Medicine for Obesity Program at Mayo Clinic.  

Dr. Acosta's goal is to treat and ultimately cure obesity, which he considers this century's health epidemic. Dr. Acosta's research focus on precision medicine for obesity with the aim to identify the right therapy for the right patient, minimizing side effects. His research is supported by the National Institute of Health, many foundations and industry. He is a recognized national and international speaker with many patents, more than 140 peer reviewed publications, including publications in the Lancet, Gut and Gastroenterology, and many book chapters. His works has been featured in the New York Times, Time, CNN, NPR, among others. 

Kirsi Pietilainen

Kirsi Pietilainen, MD, PhD(Link is external) (Link opens in new window)

Advancing Obesity Treatment: Exploring Molecular Mechanisms of Obesity and Gut-Hormone-Based Therapies

KP received her Master of Science in Nutrition with honors from the University of Helsinki in 1994, her MD in 2001, and her PhD in Medicine in 2005. In 2012, she became a Specialist in Internal Medicine and was appointed as rank #1 to the University of Helsinki's first prestigious tenure track program. She was promoted to Professor in Clinical Metabolism in 2017. Currently, KP leads the Obesity Research Unit and serves as Programme Director of the Research Programme for Clinical and Molecular Metabolism at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki.

KP is also a chief physician overseeing obesity treatment at Helsinki University Hospital. She has served as principal investigator in 20 international trials on obesity and diabetes, and supervised eight completed PhD projects. She has published over 230 peer-reviewed original articles and several review articles and book chapters. 

KP chairs the Finnish national obesity treatment guidelines and serves as President of the Finnish Association for Obesity Doctors. She is also a past President of the Finnish Association for the Study of Obesity (FASO), highlighting her influential role in shaping obesity research and treatment in Finland. 

Zhaoping Li

Zhaoping Li, MD(Link opens in new window)

What we have learnt about GLP-1 agonist for weight loss.

Zhaoping Li, MD, PhD is the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Endowed Chair in Human Nutrition, Professor and Chief of the Division of Clinical Nutrition in the Department of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.  She is also the Chair of Medicine at the Greater Los Angeles VA Health System and is the Director of the multidisciplinary UCLA Center for Human Nutrition. 

Dr. Li received research training in calcium cycling and regulation in cardiomyocyte cell physiology.  Her research interests span both basic and clinical research in nutrition, obesity, cancer and other age-related chronic diseases.  She supervises 5 clinical physician scientists and PhD laboratory scientists investigating food is medicine via studying gene-nutrient interaction, nutritional modulation of the microbiome, and health impacts of phytonutrients. Dr. Li has a track record of designing and implementing prospective cohort studies and clinical trials in diverse populations that involve both biological and clinical outcomes. She has been Principal Investigator for over 100 NIH funded, investigator-initiated and industry sponsored clinical trials in the fields of food is medicine, especially those regarding the interplay of nutrients in obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic response and its complications.  Dr. Li has published over 200 peer-reviewed scientific papers.  

Recognizing the variable metabolic phenotypes and individual patient’s response to diets to lower chronic disease risks, Dr. Li and her team have been focusing on developing effective tools to predict individual response.  She is particularly interested in ensuring that historically underrepresented minorities are included in studies and identifying barriers in the participation for underrepresented individuals in the field of clinical nutrition research.  Recently Dr. Li has become a site PI as a clinical center in the Nutrition for Precision Health, the 1st ancillary study of AoU.  She also received additional grant support from the American Heart Association to recruit the Blacks and the Latino underrepresented participants into AoU and Nutrition for Precision Health.  

Laurie Goodyear

Laurie Goodyear, PhD(Link is external) (Link opens in new window)

Novel Mechanisms Mediating the Benefits of Exercise of Metabolic Health.

Dr. Laurie Goodyear leads cutting-edge research at the Joslin Diabetes Center (JDC) and Harvard Medical School (HMS), focusing on exercise physiology, diabetes, and metabolic health. As Co-Head of the Section of Integrative Physiology and Metabolism at JDC and Professor of Medicine at HMS, she directs both the Animal Physiology Core Laboratory and the Human Exercise Physiology Laboratory. Her primary goal is to uncover the molecular mechanisms by which exercise enhances health, particularly in metabolic diseases like diabetes and obesity.
Dr. Goodyear’s research has uncovered key insights, including the role of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in glucose transport and metabolic signaling induced by exercise, as well as the profound effects of exercise on adipose tissue biology and the release of beneficial adipokines. Supported by NIH R01 awards, her work spans from basic mechanistic studies in animals to translational research aimed at developing therapies for metabolic disease.
Beyond her research, Dr. Goodyear plays a pivotal role in numerous administrative capacities at JDC and HMS, including leadership roles and service on committees. She has mentored over 100 individuals, fostering their careers in research and academia globally. Committed to advancing human health through scientific discovery, she continues to drive research from bench to bedside, exploring novel molecules and exercise strategies that optimize health outcomes.
John Thyfault

John Thyfault,PhD, FACSM, FTOS(Link is external) (Link opens in new window)

Hepatic metabolism: the center of metabolic protection induced by exercise.

Dr. John Thyfault’s research expertise is in exercise metabolism and mitochondrial energetics in the context of obesity and metabolic disease. His lab uses translational research approaches in animal models and human subjects to determine how exercise, physical activity, and aerobic capacity reduce susceptibility to chronic metabolic disease conditions. Dr. Thyfault is a Professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center in the Department of Cellular Biology and Physiology and Department of Internal Medicine-Division of Endocrinology. He is also a Research Scientist at the KC VA Medical Center in Kansas City. He leads metabolism-based research at KUMC through serving as the Director of the KU Diabetes Institute, Co-Director of the Kansas Center for Metabolism and Obesity Research, and the Co-Director of the TOMAD’s NIH T32 training program. His research program has been continuously funded by the AHA, VA, or NIH since 2008.

Suzanne Devkota

Suzanne Devkota, PhD

Microbiome-adipose cross-talk and implications for chronic inflammatory diseases.

Dr. Devkota is an Associate Professor of Medicine, and Director of the Human Microbiome Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles; Associate Professor-in-Residence at UCLA; and an adjunct investigator at the Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard Medical School. She has been studying the effect of diet on gut microbiome structure and function in metabolic and inflammatory bowel diseases for the past 16 years, and more recently her lab has developed interest in the microbial ecology of gut bacterial translocation in the human body, and the body’s concomitant response to manage microbes in atypical body sites. Particular interest lies in selection pressures that shift certain commensal microbes toward pathogenic phenotypes, tissue-specific strain variation, and the impact diet and medications have on this process. She completed her doctoral and post-doctoral training at The University of Chicago and Harvard Medical School respectively, and is a former Branco Weiss Fellow of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.