The Don S. Fredrickson Lipid Research Conference (formerly the Southeast Lipid Research Conference (SELRC)) brings together scientists and trainees investigating the impact of lipid and lipoprotein metabolism on the development and treatment of Cardiometabolic disease. The conference has been an annual event since 1992, was sponsored by Emory University, and held at Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, GA. SELRC participants were generally located within the southeastern US, but with the retirement of its founding organizer and the changing landscape of conference support by industry partners, the board voted to re-envision the conference and developed an institutional-host model. The first of these partnerships occurred in 2016 at the University of Kentucky. Since 2016, the SELRC has been hosted by Vanderbilt University and the University of Cincinnati. Following a return to UK in 2020, the conference will be hosted by Duke University and the University of North Carolina in 2021 and again at Vanderbilt in 2022. The move to the institutional-host model resulted in a substantial increase in attendance and a larger geographical footprint that extended beyond the Southeast. With the blessing of the family, the board voted to rename the SELRC after the late Don S. Fredrickson. Dr. Fredrickson served as the director of the National Heart Institute (now the NHLBI) from 1966 ? 1974 and later the NIH, developed the clinical classification for dyslipidemias (Type I-V), described Tangier?s Disease, and made seminal discoveries in the area of lipoprotein metabolism. Most importantly, he trained both basic and clinical scientists and practitioners who have had a tremendous impact on the field of lipoprotein metabolism. Keynote Lectures at the 2020 Fredrickson conference include Ruth McPherson, Ottawa Heart Institute and Mahmood Hussein, NYU on Days 1 and 3 of the conference. The scientific sessions include Hepatic and Peripheral Lipid Metabolism, Bioinformatics in Metabolic and CVD Research, Lipids and Inflammation, and Genetics and Cardiometabolic Disease. Day 2 of the conference will be sponsored by the UK Cardiovascular Research Center and features the Gill Awards for a senior and early career investigator as well as a provocative noon hour speaker, Amy Herman, New York Times best-selling author of ?The Art of Perception?. The agenda includes additional scientific sessions; multiple ?Poster Pitch? sessions (5-7, 90-second presentations by trainees) and two judged poster sessions. The combined agenda affords every trainee in attendance the opportunity to present their research on stage, network with leaders in the field, and broaden their scope and understanding of research in Cardiometabolic disease.
The Don S. Fredrickson Lipid Research Conference is an annual meeting held since 1992 that brings together scientists in the field of lipid and lipoprotein metabolism and their impact on cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Its goal is to provide a venue for senior scientists, early career investigators, and trainees to share cutting-edge science; encourage new lines of thinking, experimentation, and collaboration; and the opportunity for host institutions to showcase their research activities in the field to have a greater impact in the advancement of our understanding and treatment of cardiometabolic disease.
