About the Chair

Objectives of the Chair

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The International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk is an independent, academic, multidisciplinary organization affiliated with Université Laval and located at Hôpital Laval Research Centre in Quebec City. It is composed of two councils: an Executive Council and a Scientific Council.

The members of both councils have been chosen based on their expertise, their remarkable scientific contributions, and their status as world leaders in their discipline.

A key aspect of the Chair is its international and multidisciplinary character, with the following disciplines represented: cardiology, diabetology, lipidology, endocrinology and metabolism, obesity, nutrition, physical activity, and basic research.

The Executive Council includes Jean-Pierre Després, Philip Barter, Bryan Brewer, Peter Libby and Jean-Claude Coubard.

The Scientific Council includes Christie Ballantyne, John Brunzell, Juliana Chan, Vincenzo Di Marzo, Edward Horton, Michael Jensen, Ronald Krauss, George Kunos, Yuji Matsuzawa, Richard Nesto, Jorge Plutzky, Robert Ross, Luis Ruilope, Arya Sharma, Ulf Smith, Gabriel Steg, Marja-Riitta Taskinen, and Luc Van Gaal.

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The makeup of both councils exemplifies the multidisciplinarity the Chair has sought to achieve, with all members active in complementary areas of expertise. The Chair provides a forum for them to share their knowledge and expertise regarding diverse pathologies—some of which are new—but all of which lead inevitably to cardiovascular disease.
This is in keeping with the Chair’s goal to create a platform to examine new ideas, pool member experience and expertise, and share scientific and clinical data to benefit healthcare professionals around the world and the general public. The overarching purpose is to fight the abdominal obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease epidemic sweeping the world.
The Chair’s primary objective is help raise awareness of abdominal obesity as a new risk factor that, along with traditional risk factors, figures largely in this new concept of global cardiometabolic risk.
To achieve this goal, the Chair is committed to the following:

• Developing educational activities for healthcare professionals, such as preceptorships at Hôpital Laval in Quebec City, academic sessions at major international congresses, various conferences, publications, as well as a press relations program for the lay and medical press
• Fostering ties and partnerships with professional bodies and associations around the world
• Spurring and promoting research programs—epidemiological programs in particular—to stem the obesity and diabetes pandemic ravaging today’s society

We encourage you to join us in the fight against this worldwide epidemic of abdominal obesity, diabetes, and attendant cardiovascular diseases, which are one of the main causes of mortality worldwide.

Whether you wish to take part in our training programs or share your specific needs in terms of diagnosing and managing these pathologies, please feel free to contact any of the following:

Executive Director Jean-Claude Coubard, Scientific Director Jean-Pierre Després, and/or Scientific Content Manager Isabelle Lemieux (Please refer to Contact Us).

We would be happy to assist you as well as commence a meaningful dialogue.