Weekly Colloquium 2/6/14

02/04/2014

The campus community is invited to a presentation by Dr. John  Contois, President of Sun Diagnostics:
Lipoprotein(a), pronounced lipoprotein “little a," is a low density lipoprotein (LDL) particle with a unique protein, apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)], attached to apolipoprotein B. Apo(a) has significant size heterogeneity due to variable numbers of repeating peptide domains called kringles. This size heterogeneity presents major problems for assay design and standardization, and assay quality and lack of standardization partly explain why Lp(a) measurement is often overlooked. Like LDL, lipoprotein(a) is highly atherogenic and because of apo(a)’s homology with plasminogen, it also appears to be prothrombotic. This presentation provides an overview of Lp(a) structure, metabolism, relationship to cardiovascular disease, measurement and standardization.

John H. Contois, PhD, DABCC, FACB is Founder and President of Sun Diagnostics, LLC; an IVD company in New Gloucester, Maine. Prior to his role in industry he worked for many years as Laboratory Director in both hospital and commercial laboratories, including Quest Diagnostics, LipoScience,  and the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

John has been active in the Lipoproteins and Vascular Diseases Division of the AACC since 2004, serving as Associate Editor of the “Fats of Life” newsletter from 2004 to 2009 and lead author of a position statement on Apo B and cardiovascular risk. John currently serves on the Editorial Boards of Clinica Chimica Acta and the Journal of Clinical Lipidology.

John received his BS from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and his MS and PhD from the University of Connecticut. He received postdoctoral training in Clinical Chemistry at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT and Epidemiology and Cancer Prevention from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. He has published more than 50 articles and book chapters, mostly in the area of lipids and lipoproteins.
 

All faculty, staff, and students are welcome. No reservations are necessary.

_{This colloquium is sponsored by the Department of Clinical Laboratory and Nutritional Sciences.}