From the NLA President: Our Hopes for a Bountiful Spring and Beyond

To my fellow National Lipid Association members, I am happy to welcome you to the first LipidSpin edition of 2021. Management of Residual Risk remains a pertinent topic in the field of Clinical Lipidology, and I feel our colleagues within the Pacific and Midwest chapters have done and excellent job handling the topic within these pages.

In other NLA-related matters, I am happy to say that after a year of trying to deal with such a devastating pandemic, the science is beginning to catch up and we are starting to see the first signs of a leg-up in this monumental fight. While all of you out there are promoting vaccinations and providing important clinical care for your patients, we have been working to ensure the organization’s educational initiatives will continue.

Most recently, we had our virtual Spring Clinical Lipid Update – which I hope both met your educational needs and helped tide you over until the time comes when we can meet again in person! If you were not able to take part in February, you can still access the quality content for FREE at lipid.org/springclu. I hope you will take the time to check out the wealth of material, including “Exploring the Systems of Care in ASCVD Management,” a healthcare industry panel featuring clinicians, health system administrators, payers, and U.S. health agency representatives discussing barriers to prioritizing ASCVD risk mitigation, dyslipidemia management in the Medicare cohort, and development of quality reports and other EHR-based lipid management tools.

Looking ahead to Summer, we will be hosting what we hope is one of our last online events with the virtual Summer of Lipids conference June 4-6. Registration is currently open at lipid.org/summer; and I hope you will all be joining us for three full days of CME/CE content, including live Q&A sessions, engaging symposia, Expert Theaters and much more.

This three-day meeting model and its content largely influenced the event we have planned for September, with one significant difference – this one will be IN PERSON! Our current plan is to have the NLA 2021 Scientific Sessions in Savannah, Georgia September 24-26. This will also be the location where we hold our Honors and Awards ceremony. I know how long we have been waiting for the chance to do this again, and I can’t tell you how excited I am. While plans are subject to change, we hope to have registration information on the NLA website very soon.

On a final publications note, I am happy to announce the NLA Board has approved the publication of “Prevention of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in South Asians in the US: A Clinical Perspective from the National Lipid Association.” Stay tuned to read the content in its entirety in an upcoming edition of the Journal of Clinical Lipidology.

The past year presented a myriad of challenges: personal, professional, and sociological. What an honor it is to be trusted in this leadership role during such a difficult time, and I remain grateful for this opportunity.

Be safe – I look forward to seeing everyone in September!