Garth Nicolson, PhD, Research Professor of Molecular Pathology, The Institute for Molecular Medicine, S. Laguna Beach, CA, USA. Dr. Nicolson has over 600 scientific publications, several of which are citation classics. Dr. Nicholson’s previous positions include Professor and Chairman, Department of Tumor Biology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Professor of Internal Medicine and Professor of Pathology of Texas Medical School at Houston. He is engaged in research on chronic illnesses, such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Gulf War Illness, and various autoimmune diseases. Dr. Nicolson was also a Nobel Prize Nominee. Dr. Garth Nicolson is an Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of Functional Foods in Health and Disease.

Kanakaraju Kaliannan, MD, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. 

Instructor in Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital with expertise in nutrition & Lipid metabolism, gut microbiota and metabolic syndrome (Obesity, Type 2 DM etc) for more than 7 years. His research and clinical activities are dedicated to the study and treatment of patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD), Metabolic Syndrome, and Cancer.

Session Chair and Organizer: Metabolic Syndrome and Gut Microbiome

Danik Martirosyan, (Conference Co-Chairman) PhD., President, Functional Food Center/Functional Food Institute, Dallas, TX, USA.

Dr. Matirosyan is a well-known member in the functional food science community as the author of the Functional Foods Definition and steps needed to create functional food products. He has also published six textbooks on Functional Foods and Bioactive Compounds, in addition to organizing 25 conferences in different universities. Dr. Danik Martirosyan is an Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of Functional Foods in Health and Disease.

Session Chair and organizer: Current Research and Development of New Functional Food Products

Dragan M. Djuric, MD, PhD, professor, Executive Council Member, International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences (IACS); President, Serbian Association for Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Research; Professor of Physiology and Founder, PhD Program in Physiological Sciences, Institute of Medical Physiology “Richard Burian“; Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.

Special Ssssion organizer:  Vitamins, Nutrients and Nutritional Supplements In Cardiovascular Health and Dysfunction

Nathan S. Bryan, PhD, Session Chair, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine-Houston, TX, USA

Dr. Bryan has been involved in nitric oxide research for the past two decades, with many credited discoveries in the field—including evidence-based methods for diagnosing and detecting nitric oxide deficiencies, and therapeutic modalities for patient treatment and wellness.

Special Session Organizer: Dietary Nitrite and Nitrate. Session chair

Smiti Gupta, PhD, Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA

Research focus: To probe effect of bioactive nutritional components in health and disease (cancer, Alzheimer's), using metabolomics.

Session Chair: Functional Foods and Chronic Diseases