About The National Lipid Association

The National Lipid Association (NLA) is a nonprofit, multidisciplinary medical society focused on enhancing the practice of lipid management in clinical medicine. The NLA represents more than 3,000 members in the United States and provides continuing medical education for physicians and other healthcare professionals to advance professional development and attain certification in clinical lipidology. The NLA's public health mission is to help reduce deaths related to high cholesterol (see mission), and the Association defines "clinical lipidology" as "a multidisciplinary branch of medicine focusing on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism and their associated disorders."

The NLA is a young and dynamic organization devoted to serving a fast-growing community of healthcare professionals who share a common goal - to enhance the practice of lipid management in clinical medicine and to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with atherosclerotic disease. The specialty of "lipidology," a multidisciplinary branch of medicine focusing on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism and their associated disorders, is still in its infancy and continues to evolve with the field of medicine as a whole. In the past three years alone, changes in our field of study have redefined our identity and the area of science we address (see bylaws). The field is growing rapidly in response to demographic trends that place an increasing number of Americans at risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) and epidemic levels of obesity concurrent with a surge in new cases of diabetes mellitus.

The NLA was created out of the success established by the Southeast Lipid Association (SELA), which was formed in 1997 by a group of pioneering lipid researchers and clinicians from the Southeastern United States. By December 2000, the SELA Board of Directors voted for a national association to be formed to promote specialization in the area of Clinical Lipidology. The Board felt strongly that regional societies similar to SELA should be established to expand its education-focused agenda to a wider number of lipid specialists representing all areas of the country. These regional entities would form the governance of the "National Lipid Association."

In 2002, the National Lipid Association was officially incorporated in Florida as a 501(c)(6) non-profit professional membership organization. Since then, the NLA has formed a total of five regional chapters representing more than 3,000 members from across the United States (Southeast Chapter, Northeast Chapter, Midwest Chapter, Southwest Chapter, Pacific Chapter). The NLA is a multidisciplinary specialty society and our members include physicians (MD and DO), as well as allied health clinical team members including PhD researchers, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists and dietitians.

We invite you to become a member of this organization (see membership). The membership dues are $50.00 per year. By becoming a member of the NLA, you will join the growing community of health care professionals who share a common goal - to change the course of atherosclerotic disease in their patients. Not only will you receive significant discounts on the registration fees for NLA activities, you will be offered a broad range of continuing education activities, a pathway for professional development, a subscription to the Journal of Clinical Lipidology and validation of recognized expertise in the field of clinical lipidology.

Please take the time to apply for membership and please call our offices if you have any questions. We welcome all with an interest and hope that you share the excitement we have encountered as we have worked toward this goal. We look forward to your participation.

Grants from industry are routinely requested as a means to pay for education programs and activities. Therefore the NLA has embraced ethics and financial disclosure guidelines of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, The PHRMA Guidelines, the OIG statements, and the American Medical Association regarding ethical behavior of physicians. Furthermore, the NLA has adopted its own guidelines regarding relationships with industry. (See NLA Guidelines).