Dr. Helena Cortez-Pinto, Portugal
Helena Cortez-Pinto is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Lisbon and Coordinator of the Hepatology Unit of the Gastroenterology Department at the University Hospital, Santa Maria. During her career she held different positions as a Member of the Governing Board of EASL – Counsellor for the EU affairs (2015- present), President of the Portuguese Association for the Study of the Liver (APEF) (2013-2015), Member of the Scientific Committee of the United European Gastroenterology (UEG), as EASL representative 2009-2013 etc.
Dr. Marcin Jan Krawczyk, Germany
Works at the Department of Medicine II, Saarland University Medical Center, Homburg, Germany. He is a Member of the Governing Board of the German Association for the Study of the Liver (GASL) and Member of the Steering Committee of NAFLD Clinical Study Group (NAFLD CSG).
Dr. Ralph Anthony DeFronzo, USA
His research as an independent investigator has focused on understanding the physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms that underpin metabolic dysregulation in obesity/Type 2 diabetes and the mechanisms that link dyslipidemia and insulin resistance. Ralph Anthony DeFronzo is a Deputy Director at Texas Diabetes Institute, Professor of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, USA.
Dr. João Manuel Valente Nabais, Portugal
João Manuel Valente Nabais is President of the International Diabetes Federation, Europe Region (IDF Europe). João was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1981. He has been actively involved in the field of diabetes ever since his youth, through participation and support in numerous activities of the Portuguese Diabetes Association (APDP) and lately on the European level. Main areas of diabetes interest: fighting discrimination; advocacy; youth; therapeutic education; EU political affairs and all matters linked to living with diabetes. Since 2002, he works as Assistant Professor at the University of Evora, Portugal.
Dr. Robert M. O'Doherty, USA
His overarching research interests are in questions related to the association between states of over nutrition and resulting metabolic disturbances, most notably obesity, NAFLD, and Type 2 Diabetes. A major focus of his current research is on understanding mechanisms by which nutrient oversupply leads to immune system activation and consequent metabolic dysregulation, using the liver and adipose tissue as model target tissues. He is Director of the Center for Metabolism and Mitochondrial Medicine (C3M) and Director of the T32 Training Program in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, University of Pittsburgh, USA.
Dr. Stefano Romeo, Sweden
He is Senior Lecturer in Molecular and Clinical Medicine at the Sahlgrenska Academy, Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and Director of the Lipid Clinic in the Cardiology Department at Sahlgrenska Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. Stefano Romeo’s work focuses on a) the identification of naturally occurring human mutations predisposing to NAFLD progression, b) understanding the molecular pathways underlying the genetic association with experimental models, c) reversing the phenotype by pharmacological treatment in murine models.