MWLA Chapter Update: Growing Despite the Odds

It has been challenging to start my term as Midwest Lipid Association President during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our first MWLA Board meeting was not held until the Fall of 2020. However, despite the circumstances in which we find ourselves, I am delighted to report that the MWLA has been moving forward on our agenda and we have been busy!

The plan for my term was to focus on the implementation phase of a robust Strategic Plan for the MWLA that was initiated and developed by the Board during the leadership terms of Dr. David Neff, DO and Dr. Ann Liebeskind, MD. Specifically, I intended to focus on increasing our avenues for virtual communication. Although things have not gone exactly to plan in the past 7 months, I am excited to report that many of our members have pivoted to on-line delivery in order to advance our educational goals. For example, Dr. Anandita Agarwala MD (Division of Cardiology, Washington University) delivered several NLA webinars including “Staying Healthy in the Era of Covid”. In January 2021, Dr. Scott Merryman MD (MWLA board member-at- large) together with Dr. Kavita Sharma MD, FACC are presenting a lipid update at OhioHealth Heart as well as Vascular Ground Rounds for primary care physicians and cardiovascular specialists. In February 2021 they will be teaming up again to present at Cardiology Fellows’ Grand Rounds at OhioHealth Heart. Topics will include review of the U.S. and European Guidelines, apoB, Lp(a), and their participation in the FindFH project.

In partnership with the Pacific Lipid Association (PLA) we have co-developed an exciting issue of the LipidSpin for Spring 2021, centered broadly on managing residual risk. Our Chapters also worked together to develop a compelling agenda for the Spring CLU (February 22-24, 2021). The focus will include challenges faced by lipid specialists during and after COVID-19. The roster of presenters is very impressive, and we appreciate their willingness to participate in this important event. We accomplished all of this through working together in a virtual environment and I want to thank both staff and members of the MWLA and PLA for their commitment, flexibility, and willingness to work with our team in these challenging and uncertain times.

I would be remiss in not sharing with you the perspective of our Canadian MWLA colleagues as we move to new models of delivering patient care. Dr. Brian McCrindle MD (MWLA board member-at-large from the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children) has pivoted quickly to
virtual outpatient lipid assessments where patients are virtually assessed by the nurse practitioner, meet with the dietician, and then meet with Dr. McCrindle and the exercise medicine director. Lifestyle counselling has had to be adapted to the dietary and activity realities of the city- and province-wide lockdowns that we have experienced. On the plus side, as a highly sought-after speaker and opinion leader, Dr. McCrindle has been able to deliver presentations and attend meetings on different continents in the same day!

Despite everything, I am very pleased to report that the MWLA membership has actually increased by 16% comparing December 2019 to December 2020 numbers! We would like to hold a virtual MWLA new member networking event in Spring 2021 to welcome these individuals to the MWLA and ensure that they are engaged in our organization and are receiving mentorship and support as needed. I want to thank our members for being active participants in both the LipidPALOOZA and in the National Scientific Sessions held in December. I am happy to share that the MWLA had the most participants take part of all 5 NLA chapters in the Virtual 5K Walk/Run that occurred during the Scientific Sessions. Thanks for your enthusiasm and for leading by example regarding the importance of physical activity!

Given the atypical nature of the 2020, our chapter budget was not fully deployed as of January 1, 2021. Normally, we would fund expenses associated with inperson meetings including travel grants. This year, in addition to supporting the MWLA Lipid Scholarship recipient (Kevin Buda DO; Internal Medicine, Hennepin County Medical Center), we decided as a Board to use our remaining funds for an unrestricted donation to the Foundation of the NLA for them to translate tear sheets and create patient resources.

A fitting way to end my message is by looking to future. And the future looks bright! We have many up-and-coming superstars in the MWLA and I want to highlight two of them. Congratulations to MWLA member Dr. Nathan Stitziel MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Medicine and Genetics at the Washington University School of Medicine) for receiving the 2020 NLA Junior Faculty Research Award! Dr. Stitziel delivered an outstanding presentation on his award-winning work at the NLA Scientific Sessions entitled “The Consequences of Complete ANGPTL3 Deficiency in Humans”. I also want to highlight the great contributions of Dr. Laxmi Mehta MD (The Ohio State University). In addition to serving as the Secretary of the 2020-2021 MWLA Board, Dr. Mehta was named as FNLA in 2020. She served as a member of the NLA Scientific Statement Committee on coronary artery calcium scoring to guide preventative strategies for ASCVD risk reduction, which is in press in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology.

In closing, I would like to personally thank the membership of the MWLA. It is a pleasure to serve as your President and I look forward to continuing to work with you to advance our mission. 

Disclosure Statement:
Dr. Koschinsky has received honoraria from Novartis Canada, Ayma Therapeutics, Noetic Insights, Abcentra Therapeutics, and Osborne Clark (UK).