2026 #NLASessions Faculty

Scientific Sessions Program Chairs

Dinesh Kalra, MD, MBA, FNLA

President-Elect, National Lipid Association
Professor and Chief of Cardiology
Director of Lipid Clinic and Advanced Cardiac Imaging
University of Louisville 

Louisville, KY

 

Kaye-Eileen Willard, MD, FNLA

President, National Lipid Association
Medical Director Lipid Clinic
Physician Advisor, Ascension SE Wisconsin
Chief of Staff Ascension All Saints
Chair Joint Chiefs of Staff Ascension SE Wisconsin
Racine, WI

Scientific Sessions Planners

Zahid Ahmad, MD, FNLA

Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
Lipid Section, Division of Endocrinology
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX

Christie M. Ballantyne, MD, FNLA

Immediate Past President, National Lipid Association
Chief, Section of Cardiovascular Research
Professor of Medicine, Molecular and Human Genetics, and Integrative Physiology
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX

 

Anne Carol Goldberg, MD, MNLA

Chief Science Officer, National Lipid Association
Professor of Medicine
Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipid Research
Department of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, MO

Benjamin J. Hirsh, MD, FNLA

Director of Preventative Cardiology, Northwell Health
Co-Director of the Center for Prevention
& Wellness Northwell Cardiovascular Institute
New York, NY

Carol F. Kirkpatrick, PhD, MPH, RDN, CLS, FNLA

Clinical Scientist
Midwest Biomedical Research
Addison, IL
Adjunct Faculty, Kasiska Division of Health Sciences
Idaho State University
Pocatello, ID

 

Anandita Kulkarni, MD

Medical Director, Cardiovascular Disease Prevention & Cardio-Obstetrics
Clinical Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University College of Medicine
Baylor Scott & White Health - The Heart Hospital Baylor
Plano, TX

Seth S. Martin, MD, MHS

Assistant Professor of Medicine
Division of Cardiology
Department of Medicine
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Director, Advanced Lipid Disorders Program Ciccarone Center for
 the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease
Baltimore, MD

Diane Osborn, ANP, CLS, FNLA

Assistant Professor, School of Medicine
Center for Preventive Cardiology
Knight Cardiovascular Institute, Oregon Health & Science University
Portland, OR
 

 

Nataliya Pyslar, MD, FNLA

Director of Lipid Disorders and Cardiovascular Genetics
Associate Professor of Medicine
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
Cook County Health
Chicago, IL

Daniel E. Soffer, MD, MNLA

Past President, National Lipid Association
University of Pennsylvania Health System
Internal Medicine/Clinical Lipidology
Perelman School of Medicine
Philadelphia, PA

James A. Underberg, MD, MS, MNLA

Past-President, National Lipid Association
Past-President, American Board of Clinical Lipidology
President, Foundation of the National Lipid Association

Lipidology & Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine
NYU Medical School & NYU Center for CV Prevention
Director, Bellevue Hospital Lipid Clinic
New York, NY

Michael J. Wilkinson, MD, FNLA

Associate Professor
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA

 

Scientific Sessions Faculty

Zahid Ahmad, MD, FNLA

Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
Lipid Section, Division of Endocrinology
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX

Christie M. Ballantyne, MD, FNLA

Immediate Past President, National Lipid Association
Chief, Section of Cardiovascular Research
Professor of Medicine, Molecular and Human Genetics, and Integrative Physiology
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX

 

Preneet Cheema Brar, MD, MS

Chief, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes
Director, Pediatric Diabetes Program
Director, Pediatric Lipid Clinic
New York Grossman Long Island School of Medicine
New York, NY

Yonghao Chen, MD

Department of Gastroenterology
Peking Union Medical College Hospital
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College
China

David J. Davidson, MD, FNLA

Director, Lipid Clinic
Endeavor Health
Evaston, IL

Robert P. Giugliano, MD, SM

Senior Investigator, TIMI Study Group
Physician, Cardiovascular Medicine
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Associate Professor
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA

Tomoyo Hamana, MD, PhD

Research Fellow
CVPath Institute, Inc.
Gaithersburg, MD

Dinesh Kalra, MD, MBA, FNLA

President-Elect, National Lipid Association
Professor and Chief of Cardiology
Director of Lipid Clinic and Advanced Cardiac Imaging
University of Louisville 

Louisville, KY

 

Brittany L. Katz, MD

Director for the Center for Menopause and Midlife Health
Northwell Health: Katz Institute for Women's Health
Assistant Professor
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Medicine
Valhalla, NY

David Lee, MD

UT Southwestern Medical Center, Endocrinology Fellow
Dallas, Tx

Jose Lopez, MS

Assistant Research Scientist
Department of Clinical and Translational Science
Cook Children's Health Care System
Fort Worth, Tx

Nicholas A. Marston, MD, MPH

Assistant Professor of Medicine
Investigator, TIMI Study Group
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA 

Katsuyuki Nakajima, PhD

Professor, Nutrition Clinic
Institute of Nutrition Science
Kagawa Nutrition University
Takamatsu, Japan

Scientist, Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine 
Gunma University, Graduate School of Medicine
Maebashi, Japan
 

Børge G. Nordestgaard, MD, DMSc

President, European Atherosclerosis Society
Professor and Chief Physician
Copenhagen University Hospital
University of Copenhagen 
 

Rachel Novik, DO

Specialized Women’s Health
Obstetrics & Gynecology Institute
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, OH

Tara Nowakhtar, DO

Board Certified OBGYN
Menopause Society Certified Practitioner
Owner, Midlife with Dr. Tara
Los Angeles, CA

Prof Kausik Ray MD, FMedSci

Immediate Past President, European Atherosclerosis Society
Professor of Public Health
Imperial College London
London, England

Michelle Routhenstein, MS, RD, CDCES, CDN

Cardiology Dietitian
Preventive Cardiology Nutritionist
Owner of Entirely Nourished, LLC
New York, NY

 

Ashish Sarraju, MD

Director, Center for Inherited Lipid Disorders
Director of Research, Preventive Cardiology
Miller Family Heart, Vascular, and Thoracic Institute
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, OH

Ernst J. Schaefer, MD, FNLA

Chief Medical Officer and Laboratory Director
Boston Heart Diagnostics 
Framingham, MA

Dr. Schaefer's presentation is informed by his extensive history of service within the NLA. While this lecture is educational, it is presented from the perspective of a long-time member of the NLA whose opinion does not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of the NLA's Board of Directors.

Michael D. Shapiro, DO, MCR

Fred M. Parrish Professor of Cardiology and Molecular Medicine
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine 
Wake Forest University
Winston Salem, NC

Vinaya Simha, MD

Associate Professor, Division of Endocrinology
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, MN 

Jeanie B. Tryggestad, MD

Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Diabetes/Endocrinology
CHF Paul and Ruth Jonas Chair in Pediatric Diabetes/Endocrinology
Oklahoma City, OK

William Weintraub, MD

Emeritus Director, Population Health Research
MedStar Health Research Institute
Professor of Medicine
Georgetown University 
Washington, DC

Kaye-Eileen Willard, MD, FNLA

President, National Lipid Association
Medical Director Lipid Clinic
Physician Advisor, Ascension SE Wisconsin
Chief of Staff Ascension All Saints
Chair Joint Chiefs of Staff Ascension SE Wisconsin
Racine, WI

Kamil Winnicki, MD

Endocrine Fellow PGY-5
Rush University Medical Center
John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County
Chicago, IL

Kathleen Wyne, MD, PhD, FNLA

Director, Adult T1D Program
Director, Diabetes Post-Discharge TOC Clinic
Professor-Clinical
Division of Endocrinology
The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center
Columbus, OH

Justin Zachariah, MD, MPH

Associate Professor, Pediatric Cardiology
Baylor College of Medicine
Staff Cardiologist, Director of Cardiology Research, and Co-Chair of Research Operations
Texas Children’s Hospital Heart Center 
Houston, TX