CONFERENCE CHAIR:
Jan N. Basile, MD, FACP, FASH, FAHA
Professor of Medicine
Seinsheimer Cardiovascular Health Program
Medical University of South Carolina
Ralph H Johnson VA Medical Center
Previous Vice-Chair of Clinical Programs AHA Council of Hypertension
Charleston, SC

Dr. Jan N. Basile earned his medical degree in 1978 from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. He then completed his internship and residency at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, where he was also Chief Resident. He is board certified in internal medicine and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP), the American Society of Hypertension (FASH), and the American Heart Association (FAHA). For many years he served on the American Society of Hypertension (ASH) Board of Directors and recently completed serving within the AHA as Vice-Chair of Clinical Programs on the Council of Hypertension.

His honors and awards include the MUSC School of Medicine Excellence in Teaching award, the Golden Apple award, and, in 2014, he was the first recipient of the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control Hypertension Physician of the Year award. Recently, he received the Marvin Moser Clinical Hypertension Award from the American Heart Association Council on Hypertension. He was President of the Southern Medical Association from 2008-2009.

Currently, he is Professor of Medicine at MUSC. He spent 31 years at the Ralph H Johnson VA Medical Center while faculty at MUSC having retired from federal service as Chief of Primary Care in 2009. He continues to direct the resistant hypertension clinic within the Seinsheimer Cardiovascular Health Program in the division of cardiology, a multi-risk factor lipid and resistant hypertension referral clinic at MUSC.

Dr. Basile’s research interests include outcome-based studies involving hypertension, lipid disorders, and diabetes. He has been involved in many large hypertension trials including the ALLHAT, ACCORD, VALUE, ONTARGET, ACCOMPLISH, ACCORD and SPRINT and SPRINT-MIND trials mostly under the auspices of the NHLBI. He was a contributing reviewer of the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) and the 2017 ACC-AHA Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults. Dr. Basile has published more than 400 original papers, abstracts, and book chapters, as well as a textbook, Hot Topics: Hypertension. He is a contributing author for the hypertension section of "Up To Date".

J. Brian Byrd, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Division of Cardiology
Department of Internal Medicine
University of Michigan School of Medicine
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Dr. J. Brian Byrd investigates human hypertension using laboratory investigation, clinical trials, and epidemiology. He has helped define a role for dipeptidyl peptidase IV deficiency in angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI)-associated angioedema in a rodent model and a case-control study. He also contributed to the discovery of potential genetic predictors of ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema in a genome-wide association study. He helped test the hypothesis that a bradykinin receptor antagonist would improve ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema in a randomized clinical trial. Dr. Byrd served as an investigator for the SYMPLICITY HTN-3 pivotal clinical trial of renal artery denervation, the first sham-controlled clinical trial of renal denervation. His principal interest is resistant hypertension, especially endocrine forms of hypertension.

Recently, his laboratory has published novel assays to detect mineralocorticoid receptor-regulated gene expression in cell-depleted human urine. The ability to detect these signals in human urine opens promising new avenues of investigation toward clinically useful biomarkers of human mineralocorticoid receptor activation.

He is a principal investigator at the University of Michigan School of Medicine, where he is Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine’s Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. He has received several awards for his academic work, including the NIH K23 Award, and the Central Society of Clinical and Translational Research Early Career Development Award. In addition, he is a co-investigator on the MIPACT study of health trajectories, helping to guide blood pressure-related aspects of that study. He is on the editorial board of Hypertension and the American Journal of Hypertension, and he is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Human Hypertension.

Jennifer Green, MD
Professor of Medicine
Duke University Medical Center
Division of Endocrinology
Durham VA Medical Center
Durham, NC

Dr. Jennifer Green is a professor of medicine in the division of endocrinology, metabolism, and nutrition at Duke University and a faculty member of the Duke Clinical Research Institute. Dr. Green’s research has focused primarily upon strategies to treat diabetes mellitus and reduce the risk of cardiovascular and other diabetes-related complications. She is currently a member of the American Diabetes Association’s Professional Practice Committee, which publishes the organization’s annual Standards of Care in Diabetes.

Kevin M. Pantalone, DO, ECNU, FACE
Staff Endocrinologist
Director of Diabetes Initiatives
Department of Endocrinology
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, OH

Dr. Kevin M. Pantalone is a board certified Staff Endocrinologist at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. He currently serves as the Director of Diabetes Initiatives in the Department of Endocrinology. He previously served as the Director of Clinical Research for the Department of Endocrinology from 2014-2019. Dr. Pantalone is a graduate of Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his internal medicine residency and endocrinology fellowship at Cleveland Clinic. He was designated a Fellow of the American College of Endocrinology (FACE) in 2015. His clinical focus is on the glycemic management of type 2 diabetes, as well as the diagnosis and management of low testosterone in men, thyroid disorders, and pituitary tumors. His research interests are related to the adverse effects of diabetes therapies, particularly those related to sulfonylureas. He is also actively involved in health outcomes research using the enterprise-wide electronic health record system at Cleveland Clinic.

Sandra J. Taler, MD, FACP, FAHA
Professor of Medicine
Division of Nephrology and Hypertension
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, MN

Dr. Sandra J. Taler is a Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic with 32 years of experience in the treatment of complex hypertension and associated diseases. After receiving her medical degree from Mayo Medical School, she completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota followed by fellowships in Hypertension and Nephrology at Boston University Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts. She is also a certified Kidney Transplant Specialist by the American Society of Transplantation. Dr. Taler’s clinical and research interests include hypertension guidelines, treatment of resistant hypertension, post-transplant hypertension, the evaluation and follow-up of living kidney donors and the care of kidney transplant patients.

She has received research funding from the NIH and has published more than 110 articles, book chapters, editorials and commentaries on nephrology and hypertension topics. She served on the panel appointed to JNC 8 and the 2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults Writing Committee. She was a member of the 2018 American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Statement on Resistant Hypertension Writing Committee and the 2017 Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Clinical Practice Guideline on the Evaluation and Care of Living Kidney Donors Writing Committee. She chaired the American Society of Hypertension Clinical Specialist in Hypertension Examination for 15 years and the Certified Hypertension Clinician Examination for 4 years until 2018. She is active in the areas of hypertension education, provider certification and guideline creation at the national level.

Pam R. Taub, MD, FACC, FAPSC
Associate Professor of Medicine
University of California San Diego School of Medicine
Founding Director of the Step Family Foundation Cardiac Rehabilitation and Wellness Center
San Diego, CA

Dr. Pam R. Taub is a board-certified cardiologist and founding director of the Step Family Foundation Cardiac Rehabilitation and Wellness Center at UC San Diego. Dr. Taub was responsible for all aspects of creating the center, which provides a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation program for patients with established heart disease.

Her clinical practice focuses on preventive cardiology, lipidology, as well as women's cardiovascular health. She has extensive clinical trial experience and is active in clinical and translational research. Her research focuses on assessing the impact of behavioral, technological, and pharmacological interventions on cardiometabolic disease. Dr. Taub is a federally funded researcher with funding from: The National Institutes of Health (Principal Investigator on R01 grant), Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and American Heart Association.

She is currently conducting research studies evaluating:

• The impact of daily fasting in improving cardiometabolic parameters and on mitochondrial function
• Biomarkers for cardiovascular risk factor stratification
• Wearable/mobile devices in improving cardiovascular outcomes
• Epicatechin (compound in dark chocolate) on mitochondrial function/cellular bioenergetics and exercise capacity

Dr. Taub is widely published (with over 100 publications, books chapters and abstracts) and has authored high impact publications in top peer-reviewed journals including Cell Metabolism and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Dr. Taub holds multiple leadership positions in professional societies, serving as a fellow and board member for the American Society of Preventive Cardiology. She is a fellow and member of the American College of Cardiology Prevention of CV Disease Section Leadership Council. She also serves on American Heart Association Council on Clinical Cardiology (Women in Cardiology Committee).

Dr. Taub received her MD from Boston University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in internal medicine at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle and her fellowship in cardiovascular medicine at UC San Diego. She is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease.

James A. Underberg, MD, MS, FACPM, FACP, FNYAM, FASPC, FNLA
Lipidology & Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
Diplomate American Board of Clinical Lipidology
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine
NYU Medical School & NYU Center for CV Prevention
Director, Bellevue Hospital Lipid Clinic
Past-President National Lipid Association
President American Board of Clinical Lipidology
New York, NY

Dr. James A. Underberg is a Clinical Lipidologist. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at NYU School of Medicine and the NYU Center for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease. He is also the Director of the Bellevue Hospital Lipid Clinic. Dr. Underberg holds joint appointments in the divisions of General Internal Medicine and Endocrinology at NYU.

Dr. Underberg is a Diplomate of the American Board of Clinical Lipidology and Past President of the National Lipid Association. He is a Fellow of the National Lipid Association, President of the American Board of Clinical Lipidology & Vice President of the Foundation of the National Lipid Association. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Lipidology and is a board member of the Foundation of the National Lipid Association and the American Board of Clinical Lipidology.

Dr. Underberg’s Clinical Interests focus on the clinical management of patients with lipids and lipoprotein disorders and cardiovascular disease prevention. He maintains an active clinical research program in these areas and has authored numerous articles and book chapters in the field of Clinical Lipidology.

He sees patients both at Bellevue Hospital and in a University based Private practice setting.