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AAS
Quarterly E-Newsletter
September
2008
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The AAS ASM fast
approaches, the Sydney Committee will be aiming to maintain the very high
standard of previous meetings with a combination of high profile
international speakers as well as local plenary sessions and plenty of
opportunities for our younger investigators to present. It will also give the
society the opportunity to recognise the contribution of Leon Simons to AAS. See you all @ Bondi! |
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President's Report The Olympics are not the only issue that has occupied the
international stage recently. Many will remember that Prof Peter Jones, Past
President of the National Lipid Association (NLA), was a guest speaker at our
meeting in Perth last year. The National Lipid Association in the United
States is a near equivalent of the AAS in Australia. It has arrived on the
scene relatively recently, but it has certainly made a big impact. The NLA is
particularly active in the field of education, and has rapidly established
curricula for several levels of scientists and health care professionals.
This is supported by a credentialing system that promises to formalise
qualifications for specialisation in lipid metabolism in the US. The
programmes are supported by courses and materials, many of which are
publicised on the NLA website at www.lipids.org. Perhaps it was our initial expression of
interest last year which has prompted the NLA to take a more global view.
Plans are now underway to take these services to the world at large. I
recently participated in a teleconference to this effect. The next step will
be a face-to-face meeting in Venice at which the AAS hopes to be represented
by Prof Gerald Watts. The NLA is certainly aware of Australia's interest in
the international activities, and the first practical outcome as far as this
is concerned is likely to be a satellite meeting in conjunction with the
International Symposium in the United States in June 2009. Early impressions suggest that the NLA
will place particular emphasis on lipid metabolism. Other aspects of
atherosclerosis may not receive quite so much attention. This should not pose
any problems for the AAS, but we may need to develop appropriate mechanisms
for dealing with the relationship with an international version of the NLA.
In my opinion, one way to deal with this development would be to consider the
establishment of an Education Committee. I look forward to receiving feedback
from members as events unfold. Come to the Annual Scientific Meeting in Bondi
and tell me what you think. |
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Tribute to Leon Simons Over the past few years, the
Society has honoured long-serving members of the society who participated in
its foundation and formative years. Prof Paul Nestel and Prof Trevor Redgrave
have been acknowledged, and this year the Society will recognise the
contribution of Associate Professor Leon Simons. Leon was born in Bondi on
July 22nd, 1943 and he attended Wellington St Primary and Randwick
Boys High Schools. He graduated in Medicine at University of Sydney in 1967
and was awarded his research MD in 1975. In 1971 he travelled to the Hammersmith
Hospital in London where he met Nick Myant and Barry Lewis, two of the
pioneers in lipid metabolism during the dark ages of the “pre- statin”
era. On finishing his postgraduate
physician course, Leon was to do research in Barry Lewis’ lab and the rest is
history. Studies in cholesterol balance, lipoprotein turnover, and studies on
lymph were conducted with Dr Myant for about two years. Later travels during
sabbaticals took Leon to Toronto in 1982 with Professor George Steiner
studying chylomicron remnants, and to Jerusalem in 1986 and 1992. After returning from the
Hammersmith to work with Professor John Turtle at Sydney University, Leon
continued to perform apolipoprotein assays and cholesterol balance studies.
He joined the professorial unit at University of NSW and St Vincent’s
Hospital in 1974 at the invitation Professor John Hickie, who was a mentor
for many years. In the process, Leon
established the Lipid Clinic and Lipid Department at St Vincent’s Hospital
Sydney. Leon’s wife, Judy, whom we
must thank for much of this information, joined St Vincent’s Professorial
Unit as Computer Analyst in the High School Study conducted with Prof Hickie
in 1978. Leon had started a Risk
Factor Community Screening Program in 1975. It ran for about 10 years until
absorbed by NHF. The Dubbo Study of the elderly commenced in 1987 and involved
collaboration with Dr John McCallum, a sociologist, Dr Yechiel Friedlander, a
genetic epidemiologist and Judy Simons as data manager. The screening program finished in
September 1988, whilst formal data collection finished in 2004. Analysis will continue now for some years.
A segment of this year’s meeting will highlight Leon’s continuing
contribution and will include brief presentations by all the Dubbo
investigators. Leon and Paul Nestel co-founded
Australian Atherosclerosis Society at the Thredbo ASMR meeting in 1974. Leon worked on organising the annual
meeting of the AAS for many years and served as treasurer of the AAS for at
least 10 years as the Society grew. We trust that this year’s AAS meeting
will provide an opportunity to reminisce about these events. It is important
to pay tribute to the persistence of early lipid experts because they coped
with a professional environment in which medical treatments were limited and
accepted wisdom was often hostile to “the lipid hypothesis”. Leon, Judy and their now grown-up family (Shoshana, Daniel,
Amanda, and Naomi) have been particularly successful in mixing family and
professional life. The children’s skills in pharmacy, computing, nursing and
journalism have interacted with their parents’ endeavours in a very
productive fashion. We look forward to highlighting past, present and future
of the Simons family during the late morning session on Thursday 30th
October at the Annual Scientific Meeting.
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Membership News If
you have not renewed your membership, please click here to
visit the Meetings First website and renew online. Alternatively, please click here to download a copy of the
paper registration form. The Australian Atherosclerosis Society always welcomes new
members. Please encourage your students and work colleagues to join the AAS.
Remember, that members receive thew following: -
A
monthly email that includes, job opportunities, information on meetings
relating to atherosclerosis and regular updates on similar interests. -
A new
quarterly newsletter that will feature different articles each quarter. -
Discounted
rates to attend AAS Annual Scientific Meetings. -
Networking
opportunities and involvement. -
Opportunity
to receive student travel grants and present your research at the Annual
Scientific Meeting. -
Opportunity
to apply for AAS Trust travel grants |
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AAS Annual Scientific
Meeting 2008 28 – 31 October 2008 Swiss Grand Hotel Bondi Beach, New South Wales Click here for more
information on this meeting. |
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Forthcoming Meetings The 2nd World Congress on Controversies in Diabetes, Obesity
and Hypertension (CODHy) 30 October – 2 November 2008, Barcelona,
Spain Please click here
for more information on this meeting. APSAVD Congress 2008 25 – 28 September
2008 Click here for more information on
this meeting. The 2nd World Congress on Controversies in
Diabetes, Obesity and Hypertension (CODHy) 30 October – 2 November 2008, Barcelona, Spain Click here for more
information on this meeting. XV International Symposium on
Atherosclerosis 14 – 18 June 2009, Boston, Massachusetts,
USA Click here for more
information on this meeting. APSAVD Congress 2010 The 7th APSAVD Congress will be
hosted by the Australian Atherosclerosis Society in Australia in 2010. |
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E-News The next E-News will be sent out on 17 October
2008. If there is information you would like to include, please email it to aas@meetingsfirst.com.au by Monday
13 October 2008. Please do not hesitate to contact me
if you have any queries. Kind Regards, AAS Secretariat 4/184 Main Street Lilydale VIC 3140 Phone +61 3 9739 7697 Fax +61
3 9739 7076 Email aas@meetingsfirst.com.au |
