Welcome

Welcome to the 14th Annual Meeting of the Society for Heart and Vascular Metabolism. The Society was founded in 2000, with the intent of providing a forum for the free exchange of ideas by a group of investigators with a special interest in the multiple roles of intermediary metabolism in the cardiovascular system. An important aim of the Society is to foster interactions between young investigators and senior scientists in an informal setting. Our meetings are deliberately designed to maximize these interactions. There is growing recognition of the importance of metabolic homeostasis across many areas of medical research, including the cardiovascular arena. The Society for Heart and Vascular Metabolism intends to remain at the vanguard of this important area.

The scientific topic of the 2016 meeting is "Cardiac Adaptations to Obesity, Diabetes and Insulin Resistance – Novel Targets and Therapies". Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in persons with diabetes. Moreover, the prevalence of heart failure is increased by greater than 5-fold in diabetes. As such, there has been strong interest in understanding at a molecular level the mechanisms that increase the vulnerability of the heart and vasculature to injury in the context of diabetes, which is now a global epidemic. The decision to host the 2016 meeting in China is in part a recognition of the global burden of diabetes. We have assembled an impressive array of presenters who will provide the latest information on novel metabolic and signaling mechanisms that contribute to heart failure in diabetes and discuss novel targets and therapies. As in prior meetings, there will be numerous opportunities for young investigators to give oral presentations, and additionally this year we have expanded the poster sessions.

We look forward to welcoming you to Beijing for what we believe will be a historic meeting of the SHVM!

With best wishes,

Organizing Committee