Member Spotlight: Suneet Verma, MD

When he moved to South Dakota to fulfill a rural medicine requirement, Suneet Verma, MD, never guessed he would become fascinated with lipids. A native of Delhi, India, Dr. Verma came to the United States to do his post-graduate training in internal medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. In South Dakota, he worked as an internist at Avera McKennan University Hospital and also as a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of South Dakota School of Medicine, where he taught medical students, internal medicine residents and mid-level providers.

Dr. Verma had significant interest in preventive medicine and always enjoyed conducting patient education as part of his treatment strategy. He observed that significant opportunity existed in South Dakota where rural farmers had poor understanding of cardiovascular risks and their eating habits were not necessarily healthy. There was an epidemic of obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndromes and fatty liver issues. Studying fatty liver and how it relates to other issues led Dr. Verma to take an interest in complicated dyslipidemias and the mechanics of atherosclerosis and vascular biology. He searched for resources and began attending NLA meetings to network with others, as there were few lipidologists in South Dakota. As his interest in lipids grew, Dr. Verma became involved with research and successfully ran clinical trials at Avera Research Institute, where he served as principal investigator for the Stabilization of Atherosclerotic Plaque by Initiation of Darapladib Therapy Trial (STABILITY). He participated in area television shows to educate local residents about about genetics, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular risk factors and hypertension. Before long, Dr. Verma was helping colleagues develop lipid clinics as a complimentary service at the hospital.

"I was the only lipidologist in Sioux Falls at one time, the next closest one was the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and some high risk patients started to Google me and drive in from the remote towns for office visits," he said. "I was impressed that patients were becoming aware of their risk factors, and I started getting referrals from colleagues and building a little niche in this area."

After leaving South Dakota, Dr. Verma completed a fellowship at Temple University in Philadelphia. Now a member of the Northeast Lipid Association, he lives with his family in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

With the move to the Northeast came a new opportunity: this September, Dr. Verma began a position at Fox Chase Cancer Center, a Temple University affiliate, where he works as an internal medicine physician and also will be developing a geriatric oncology program.

"It’s a unique opportunity because cancer patients have unique challenges, especially in regard to their frailty, age, multiple comorbidities and they often have very complicated dyslipidemias and polypharmacy," he said.

While he is looking forward to the future, Dr. Verma credits the NLA with much of his early career success. Dr. Verma is a strong advocate to spread NLA’s mission among the general population and with his colleagues. He has served on several NLA committees and the Midwest Lipid Association Board of Directors.

"This organization offers a very collegial setting and I really like the group of people who started the NLA," he said. "It is easy to become involved and the NLA has become a trusted source of clinical guidance."