Garth Nicolson, Keynote Speaker, 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  at the University 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

Presentation Topic: The use of oral Membrane Lipid Replacement with glycerolphospholipids to  treat systemic pain, gastrointestinal symptoms and fatigue in fibromyalgia patients.

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

Session Chair: Metabolic Syndrome and Gut Microbiome

Presentation Topic: Synergistic effects of omega 3 fatty acids and genistein on gut microbiome is associated with prevention metabolic syndrome 

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

Session Organizer: Current Research and Development of New Functional Food Products.

Presentation Topic: Evaluating scientific evidence: Functional, medical and healthy Food

Akinori Yanaka, MD, PhD, Professor, Hitachi Medical Education and Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Hitachi Ibaraki,  Japan

Presentation Topic: Chemoprevention against gastointestinal cancer by Sulforaphane

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. 

Presentation Topic: Sulfur amino acids homocysteine and methionine: overview of the cardiovascular effects in rats

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

Naranjan S. Dhalla, PhD, MD (Hon), Distinguished Professor & Senior Fellow, Centre for the Advancement of Medicine, Director of Cardiovascular Developments, SBRC, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre, University of Manitoba, Max Rady College of Medicine,  Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Presentation Topic: Modification of cardiovascular dysfunction by treatment with some vitamins

Session: : Vitamins, Nutrients and Nutritional Supplements In Cardiovascular Health and Dysfunction

Devendra K. Agrawal, Ph.D.(Biochem), Ph.D.(Med. Sciences), Professor and Chairman, Department of Clinical & Translational Science, The Peekie Nash Carpenter Endowed Chair in Medicine, Professor of Internal Medicine and Medical Microbiology & Immunology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE, USA

Presentation Topic: Vitamin D deficiency accelerates intimal hyperplasia and restenosis following coronary intervention

Session: : Vitamins, Nutrients and Nutritional Supplements In Cardiovascular Health and Dysfunction

Vladimir Jakovljevic, MD, PhD, President, Professor of Physiology and Dean, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia

Presentation Topic: Polyphenols as nutritional supplements in cardiovascular health protection: from basic science to applied investigations

Session: Vitamins, Nutrients and Nutritional Supplements In Cardiovascular Health and Dysfunction

Grant Pierce, Professor, Executive Director of Research, St Boniface Hospital and Distinguished Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.

Presentation Topic: Supplementation of the diet with flaxseed - its effects on cardiovascular health

Session: Vitamins, Nutrients and Nutritional Supplements In Cardiovascular Health and Dysfunction

Bram Ramjiawan, PhD, Director of Research, Asper Clinical Research Institute, Director of Research, Innovation and Regulatory Affairs, Director Office of Clinical Research, St. Boniface General Hospital Research Centre, Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.

Presentation Topic: Facts and Controversies Associated with the Assessment and Use of Vitamin D.

Session: Vitamins, Nutrients and Nutritional Supplements In Cardiovascular Health and Dysfunction

Roberto Giovannoni, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

Presentation Topic: The nutraceutical revolution: food as safe drug synthesis and delivery system

Longying Zha, PhD, Professor, Department of Nutrtion and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, North Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Presentation topic: The Modulation of Soyasaponins on Toll-like Receptor 4 signaling pathway in Macrophages

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

Special Session organizer: Dietary Nitrite and Nitrate. 

Presentation Topic: Evidence for Consideration of Dietary Guidelines for Nitrite and Nitrate

James R. Coughlin, PhD, Certified Food Scientist, President, Coughlin & Associates: Experienced independent Ph.D. consultant in food chemistry and nutritional toxicology, with a 4-decade demonstrated history of working successfully in the food and beverage, dietary supplement and consumer packaged goods' industry, Aliso Viejo, CA, USA

Presentation Topic: Unfounded Risks of Nitrite and Nitrate in Humans: The Need for a New Framework Based on Their Health Benefits

Special Session: Dietary Nitrite and Nitrate.

Norman Hord, PhD, MPH, RD, Head, School of Biological and Population Health Sciences and Celia Strickland Austin and G. Kenneth Austin III Professor in Public Health and Human Sciences, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis,OR, USA

Tentative Presentation Topic:  Dietary nitrate and nitrite concentrations in food patterns and dietary supplements

Special Session: Dietary Nitrite and Nitrate.

Anureet Kaur, PhD, Assistant Professor of Nutrition at California State University-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Presentation Topic: Fenugreek seeds as a good source of bioactive compounds 

Sheila Wicks, MD, MBA, Department of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Clinical Anatomy and Cell Biology, Rush University, Chicago, IL, USA.

Presentation Topic: Black Cohosh (Actaea Racemosa) Extracts and Compounds Enhance Osteoblastogenesis in hFOB Osteoblasts by Acting as HDAC Agonists

Hairong Cheng, PhD, Professor, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

Presentation Topic: Yarrowia lipolytica, an excellent brewer of our better life

Asim K. Duttaroy, MD, PhD, Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo,  Norway

Presentation Topic: Development of EFSA approved cardioprotective functional food ingredients

Heidi Lynch, PhD, RD, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, California, USA

Presentation Topic: Plant-based diets and exercise performance

Simon Itsygin, PhD, President at Czar Salt, Greater San Diego, CA, USA

Session: Current Research and Development of New Healthy and Functional Food Products.

Presentation Topic: A new technologies to process marine raw materials and ready to use products such as gourmet sea salt, algae dried biomass, food supplements and cosmetics

Ming Du, PhD, Professor, Food Science and Technology, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian Liaoning, China 

Presentation Topic: Beneficial effects of lactoferrin on bone health of human

Tatiana Korolenko, PhD, Professor, Department of Experimental Neurodegeneration, Institute of Physiology and Fundamental Medicine, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

Presentation Topic: Hypolipidemic effects of mannans in mice with dyslipidemia

Ulku Demirci, PhD, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Gedik, Istanbul, Turkey

Presentation Topic: Mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS) in the gastrointestinal tract

Ilkay Gok, PhD, Foog Engineer, Culinary Researcher, School of Applied Disciplines, Okan University, Istanbul, Turkey.

Presentation Topic: Consumer preferences, marketing size, regulations and labeling of functional foods in Turkey

Robert Rucker, PhD, Emeritus Professor, University of California – Davis, Department of Nutrition (One Shields Avenue), Davis, CA, 95616, USA. 

Presentation Topic: Pyrroloquinoline Quinone: Its Importance to Mitochondriogenesis

Hongyu Wang, MD, Vice president of PKUSG, Director and Professor, Peking University Shougang Hospital, Beijing, China

Presentation topic: Vascular health promotion program in China

Tianying Wu,MD,PhD, Associate professor, School of Public Health Division of Epidemiology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

Presentation Topic: Predictors of circulating nitrates: Red meat in relation to inflammation in past smokers

Hameed Khan, PhD, Senior Scientist, NCMRR at National Institutes of Health (NIH), Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

Presentation Topic: On the Impact of Sequencing Human Genome on the Novel Drug Design and the Discovery of AZQ (US Patent 4,146, 622) Specifically Designed to shut off a gene that causes Brain Cancer.

Sara Haddad Tabrizi, PhD, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA

Presentation Topic: The Effect of Bioactive Peptide Extracted from Soybean, Lunasin, on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors

John F. Burd, PhD, Lysulin, Inc. San Diego, CA, USA

Presentation Topic: Glucose Toxicity: The Worldwide Problem and the All-Natural Solution

Martin Kwok, ND, Richmond Alternative Medical Clinic Inc., Richmond, BC, Canada

Presentation Topic: Lumbrokinase – the result of a perfect marriage between traditional empirical knowledge and modern medical science

Mahnaz Kargar, PhD student, Department of Horticulture, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA

Presentation Topic: Physicochemical properties and bioactive compounds of selected Banana cultivars (Musa spp.): Consumer demand and potential health benefits for diabetes

Zulya Maizetova, MD, Pavlov First State Medical University of Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation.

Presentation Topic: The Nutrigenomic approach in new generation of nutraceuticals

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

Presentation Topic: 1H NMR metabolomics reveals modulation of Glutamine by Tocotrienols via mTOR pathway in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

William W. Li, MD, President and Medical Director, The Angiogenesis Foundation, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Presentation Topic: Activation of intrinsic health defenses as a mechanism for food bioactives: a systems-based approach to food functionality