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The Scientific Sessions Program Committee for NPAM, chaired by Dr. Eliot Brinton, has been hard at

work developing an excellent program for the November meeting in Orlando. Below are some exciting highlights from the NPAM portion of the program.

Changes from last year in the NPAM Program. This year we will establish what we hope will become a new tradition at Sessions. Immediately following the opening ceremony, we will start the NPAM program at 3:45 pm with the Robert I. Levy Endowed Lecture in Lipid Metabolism. The speaker will be Alan R. Tall of Columbia University Medical Center, who will discuss his work related to HDL function and metabolism. Following the Levy Lecture, we will hold the Young Investigator Award competition, a new approach for NPAM this year. The finalists will present their papers from 4:15 to 5:00 pm. The finalist for the Young Investigator Award will be announced at the Council Dinner on Tuesday evening. Please join us Sunday afternoon to hear Dr. Tall deliver his current and timely lecture and support our new investigators.

Additional highlights of the 2011 Program. There are two important

programs taking place on Sunday morning that are likely to be of interest to NPAM members, “Clinical Lipidology Update: NCEP ATP-IV, Lp(a) and CKD” and “Achieving 2020 Obesity Goals: Behavioral and Policy Strategies,” the latter being sponsored by the newly established Science of Behavior Change Committee (see article by Judy Ockene). Monday morning will include a plenary session on the long-awaited draft of the Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) IV Guidelines. Another important feature of this year’s program is a diabetes track (http://scientificsessions.org/diabetestrack) featuring the latest scientific advancements in preventing and treating cardiovascular complications in patients with diabetes. Among an array of pertinent topics, there will be a session on Monday evening, “Lipids and Inflammation in Atheroprevention: New Development and Future Directions.” Other sessions include “Diet and Cardiovascular Disease,” “Implementing New U.S. CVD Prevention Guidelines,” “Effects of Exercise on CV Health, Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome and Cardiorenal Disease,” and “Novel HDL Functions in Atheroprotection, Inflammation and Diabetes.”

Social events at Sessions we encourage you to attend include the ATVB Women’s Leadership Networking Luncheon on Monday at noon in the Rosen Centre Hotel and the joint EPI/NPAM Council Dinner on Tuesday evening. We will acknowledge our awardees and also induct the new FAHA members at this dinner. This is a minuscule sample of what has been planned for Scientific Sessions; please check the AHA website as additional details and an expanded program become available. scientificsessions.org. We look forward to seeing and speaking with you all at the meeting. If you have any suggestions for next year’s Scientific Sessions please submit them to dena.thomas@heart.org.

Lora E. Burke PhD, MPH, FAHA, FAAN

Message FroM the Chair

AHA’s Committee on Behavior Change for Improving Health Factors had its inaugural meeting

in November at Scientific Sessions 2010, and has met twice since then. This subcommittee is a joint effort with dual leadership from the NPAM and EPI Councils. It’s an exciting move forward reflecting the fact that facilitation and support of behavior change are the most effective actions that we can take to promote heart health and achieve the AHA’s 2020 Impact Goal. As the field of behavior change is very broad, in the short term the committee will focus on several overarching areas including: smoking cessation, diet quality, physical activity, BMI/energy balance (maintenance of ideal body weight) and treatment adherence strategies (medication and

other). Dr. Judy Ockene is committee chair, Dr. Bonnie Spring is vice chair, and members include a diverse group of scientists and liaisons from several AHA councils as well as the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, and the American Diabetes Association. Other liaisons are being considered for future participation.

This group is working on an advisory proposal, “Better Population Health Through Behavior: A Call to Action,” to address the AHA 2020 goal, the centrality of behavior change to achieving it, how large a behavior change is needed to reach the goal, and the evidence that behavior can be changed. The committee is developing several additional proposals for advisories

and scientific statements; the first addresses the need for scientists to be aware that while there is strong epidemiologic evidence that supports the role of lifestyle behaviors in health, evidence of effective strategies for use by physicians and their practices to improve these behaviors is sometimes lacking or inconsistent. As scientists, we need to identify and fill the gaps in evidence needed to support our important focus on CVD health.

The Behavior Change Committee is pleased that its proposal was accepted as a Sunday morning program for an obesity session at Scientific Sessions 2011 in Orlando and looks forward to leading the behavior change charge for the AHA.

New Committee on Behavior ChangeJudith K. Ockene, PhD, MEd, MA

Kidney in Cardiovascular DiseaseNutrition, Physical Activity and MetabolismCouncil On

Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism (continued)

Please join us at NPAM Council Events During Scientific Sessions 2011

Robert I. Levy Endowed Lecture in Lipid MetabolismAlan R. Tall, M.D., Columbia University Medical CenterSunday, Nov. 13, 3:45–4:15 pm

Orange County Convention Center, W311ef

NPAM Early Career Investigator AwardSunday, Nov. 13, 4:15–5 pm

Orange County Convention Center, W311ef

ATVB Women’s Leadership Networking LuncheonMonday, Nov. 14, Noon–1:30 pm

Rosen Centre Hotel, Grand AEveryone is welcome to attend! A great opportunity for networking.

Annual NPAM Dinner with the Council on Epidemiology and PreventionTuesday, Nov. 15, 7–10 pm

Rosen Centre Hotel, Junior Ballroom F Recognition and Awards:• Robert I. Levy Lecture• NPAM Young Investigator Award

The diabetes programming at Scientific Sessions will feature the latest scientific advancements in preventing and treating cardiovascular complications in diabetic patients. Please find information at: scientificsessions.org/diabetestrack

Diabetes Track at Sessions

Exhibits: November 13–15Sessions: November 1

Orlando, Fla.

2–16Resuscitation Science Symposium: November 12–13

Orlando, Florida

scientificsessions.org

©2011, American Heart Association. 3/11DS4641 11-121

scope, authority and prestige.

Programming this year includes seven cardiovascular cores and 14 clinicaltracks that reflect the evolution of scientific investigation and practice.

Plan to Attend

CARDIOVASCULAR CORES

TRACKS

Cardiovascular Imaging Epidemiology and Prevention of CV Disease: Physiology, Pharmacology and Lifestyle

Genetics, Genomics and Congenital CV Disorders

Heart Rhythm Disorders and Resuscitation Science

Myocardium: Function and Failure

Catheter-Based and Surgical Interventions

Vascular Disease: Biology and Clinical Science

Basic Science • Diabetes • Electrophysiology •

General Cardiology • Heart Disease in the Young •

Imaging • International Congress on Cardiovascular

and Health Prevention • Interventional Cardiology •

Nursing • Peripheral Vascular Disease • Resuscitation •

Surgery • Quality and Outcomes

To register, use Promo Code PA103

scanlife.comscientificsessions.org

A t this year’s Scientific Sessions, all early career members will have the opportunity to take

part in Early Career Day (Saturday, Nov. 12), a full day’s worth of programs focused on helping early investigators develop research careers in the fields of cardiovascular health and disease. The NPAM Council will co-sponsor two of these sessions: “Training and Funding: How to Get Started as an Early Career Investigator” and “Large-Scale Research How To’s.” These two sessions have been tailored toward the unique interests and concerns of NPAM investigators and

will consist of presentations and panel discussions led by other early career investigators as well as international leaders within the various disciplines of NPAM. Early career day will not only be full of key insights into launching a successful investigative career but also full of chances to network with other early career professionals and senior members of the AHA. We hope many early career members will be able to take advantage of this truly exceptional opportunity. For more information please visit: scientificsessions.org/earlycareer

Early Career CornerMahesh J. Patel, MD