Program

8 - 8:20 a.m. - Welcome Address, (Chancellor, LLUH; Sabate, Congress Co-Chair)

8:20 - 9:15 a.m. - Plant-Based Nutrition and Longevity: Extending Lifespan and Health Span, (Speaker: Frank Hu, MD, PhD, Fredrick J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Chair, Nutrition Department, Harvard University, USA)

From Lifespan to Health Span: Plant-Based Diets in Aging and Longevity

9:15 - 9:50 a.m. - Plant-Based Dietary Patterns, Healthy Aging and Mortality: Insights from AHS-2 and Related Cohorts, (Speaker: Gary Fraser, MD, PhD, Distinguished Professor, Schools of Medicine and Public Health, Loma Linda University, USA)

9:50 - 10:25 a.m. - Plant-Based Diets, Long-Term Health Outcomes Including Cancer and Fracture Risk: Insights from EPIC-Oxford and Related Cohorts, (Speaker: Timothy Key, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, UK)

10:25 - 10:40 a.m. - Break

10:40 - 11:15 a.m. - Converging Evidence for Healthy Aging: Lessons from Mediterranean Dietary Patterns, (Speaker: Jordi Salas-Salvadó, MD, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Nutrition, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Rovira i Virgili University, Spain)

11:15 - 11:50 a.m. - Can Plant-Based Diets Slow Biological Aging? The Science of Diet, Longevity, and Health span, (Speaker: Luigi Fontana, MD, PhD, Leonard P. Ullmann Chair of Translational Metabolic Health, Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Australia)

11:50 a.m. - 12:25 p.m. - Diet Quality and Brain Aging: From Plant-Based Dietary Patterns to Cognitive Health Across the Life Course, (Speaker: Puja Agarwal, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University, USA) 

12:30 - 2 p.m. - Lunch

1 - 2 p.m. - Culinary Adventure (Separate Registration Fee)

2:00 - 2:55 p.m. - One Diet Does Not Fit All: Multi-Omics and the Future of Precision Nutrition, (Speaker: José Ordovás, PhD, Senior Scientist and Leader, Precision Nutrition & Healthy Aging directive, Tufts University, USA)

Personalizing Plant-Based Nutrition: From Dietary Patterns to Individual Response

2:55 - 3:30 p.m. - Defining Plant-Based Diets: Diet Quality, Diversity, and Implications for Personalized Nutrition, (Speaker: Matthew Landry, PhD, RDN, Assistant Professor of Global Health and Biobehavioral Sciences, Department of Population Health and Disease Prevention, University of California Irvine, USA)

3:30 - 4:05 p.m. - Plant-Rich Diets and the Gut Microbiome: From Microbial Ecology to Human Health, (Speaker: Fayth Miles-Butler, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, USA)

4:05 - 4:20 p.m. - Break

4:20 - 4:55 p.m. - Molecular Signatures of Diet: Proteomics and Individual Responses to Plant-Based Eating, (Speaker: Tammy Tong, PhD, Associate Professor, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, UK)

4:55 - 5:30 p.m. - Precision Nutrition in Clinical Trials: What Individual Responses Mean for Plant-Based Nutrition, (Speaker: Zhaoping Li, MD, PhD, Lynda and Stewart Resnick Endowed Chair in Human Nutrition, School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, USA)

6:00 - 7:30 p.m.

8:00 - 8:10 a.m. - (Speaker: Adam Aréchiga, SPH Dean, Loma Linda University, School of Public Health, USA)

8:15 - 9:10 a.m. - Making Food Part of Medicine: Evidence, Implementation, and the Future of Health Care, (Speaker: Michelle McMacken, MD, Associate Professor, Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, USA)

Plant-Based Nutrition Across the Chronic Disease Continuum

9:10 - 9:45 a.m. - Plant-Based Diets and Residual Cardiovascular Risk: Beyond Traditional Risk Factors, (Speaker: Kristina Petersen, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, USA)

9:45 - 10:20 a.m. - Plant-Based Diets in Type 2 Diabetes: From Glycemic Control to Prevention of Disease Progression, (Speaker: Neal Barnard, MD, President, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, USA)

10:20 - 10:35 a.m. - Break

10:35 - 11:10 a.m. - Visceral Fat and Fatty Liver Disease: Plant-Based Strategies for Metabolic Reversal, (Speaker: Hila Zelicha, PhD, RD, Post Doctoral Fellow, Clinical Nutrition and General Surgery Departments, University of California Los Angeles, USA)

11:10 - 11:45 a.m. - GLP-1, Satiety, and Metabolic Health: From Pharmacologic Agonists to Plant-Based Dietary Modulation, (Speaker: Hana Kahleova, MD, PhD, MBA, Director of Clinical Research, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, USA)

12 - 1:30 p.m. - Lunch

1:30 - 2:25 p.m. - Plenary Lecture: Rethinking Diets for People and Planet: The Science and Future of the EAT-Lancet Commission, (Speaker: Marco Springmann, PhD, Senior Researcher in Environment and Health, King’s College, University of Oxford, UK)

Food, Health, and the Planet: Evidence, Tradeoffs, and Future Directions

2:25 - 3 p.m. - Bridging Human and Planetary Health through Plant-Based Diets, (Speaker: Ujué Fresán, PharmD, MPH, PhD, Researcher, Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology, Spain)

3 - 3:35 p.m. - From Sustainable Diets to Sustainable Eating: Health, Environment, and Food Choice, (Speaker: Kayla de la Haye, PhD, Professor, School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, USA)

3:35 - 3:50 p.m. - Break

3:50 - 4:50 p.m. - Debate: Which Diet Is Better for the Planet: Regenerative Animal-Based or Plant-Based Diets?

(Speaker for Against animal farming: Nicholas Carter, MA, Co-founder/Director of Environmental Science for the Institute for Future Food Systems, Canada)

(Speaker for Pro animal farming: Renata Martins Pacheco, PhD, Post Doctoral Fellow, Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology, Spain)

5 - 6 p.m. - Controversies, Contenders, and Communication, (Panel Moderated by Michael Orlich)

6:30 - 8:30 p.m. 

8 - 8:10 a.m. -  (Sujatha Rajaram, Congress-Co-Chair)

8:15 - 9:10 a.m. - What is Missing in the Protein Guidelines? Evolution of evidence, Practicality, and Transparency in the Dietary Guidelines, (Speaker: Connie Weaver, PhD, Distinguished Research Professor, School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University, USA)

Rethinking Protein for Healthy Aging: Plant-Centered Strategies in the Era of the Inverted Pyramid

9:10 - 9:45 a.m. - Beyond Protein Quantity: Dietary Patterns, Protein Quality, and Healthy Aging, (Speaker: Christopher Gardner, PhD, Rehnborg Farquhar Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine, Stanford University, USA)

9:45 - 10:20 a.m. - Meeting Higher Protein Needs with Plant Proteins: Evidence, Controversies, and Opportunities, (Speaker: Mark Messina, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, Soy Nutrition Institute Global, USA)

10:20 - 10:55 a.m. - Ultra-Processed Plant Protein Foods: Nutrition, Health, and Sustainability, (Speaker: Joan Sabaté, MD, DrPH, Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, USA)

10:55 - 11:10 a.m. - Break

The Clinical Power of Foundational Plant Foods: Emerging Evidence for Health and Longevity

11:10 - 11:45 a.m. - Whole Grains and Legumes: The Foundation of Healthy and Sustainable Dietary Patterns, (Speaker: John Sievenpiper, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences and Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada)

11:45 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. - Beyond Traditional Cardiovascular Risk: Nuts and Emerging Cardiometabolic, Cognitive, and Immune Health, (Speaker: Sujatha Rajaram, PhD, Professor of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, USA)

12:20 - 12:55 p.m. - Fruits and Vegetables: Beyond Essential Nutrients to Chronic Disease Prevention, (Speaker: Emily Ho, PhD, Director, Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, USA)

1:00 - 2:30 p.m. - Lunch

1:15 - 2:15 p.m. - Parallel Sessions: Short Oral Presentations III & IV

From Evidence to Practice: Implementing Plant-Based Nutrition in Clinical Care

2:30 - 4:30 p.m.

1. Optimizing Micronutrient Adequacy in Plant-Based Diets: A Practical Guide for Clinicians, (Speaker: Edward Bitok, DrPH, MS, RDN, Chair of Nutrition and Dietetics Department, School of Allied Health Professions, Loma Linda University, USA)
2. Essential Fatty Acids in Plant-Based Nutrition: Separating Evidence from Controversy, (Speaker: Julie Jones, MD, PhD, RDN, Schools of Medicine and Allied Health Professions, Loma Linda University, USA)
3. Plant-Based Nutrition Across the Female Lifespan: PCOS, Fertility, Menopause, and Beyond, (Speaker: Kayli Anderson, MS, RDN, Women’s Health Dietitian, Founder, Plant Based Mavens, USA)
4. Helping Patients Transition to Plant-Based Eating: Practical Strategies for Clinicians and Dietitians, (Speaker: Brenda Rea, MD, DrPH, PT, RDN, Executive Director of the Lifestyle Medicine Residency Curriculum, American College of Lifestyle Medicine, USA)
5. The Vegetarian Lifestyle Index and Nutritional Adequacy, (Speaker: Kelly Cara, PhD, Post Doctoral Fellow, Department of Population Science, American Cancer Society, USA)
6. Plant-Based Nutrition in Renal Disease, (Speaker: Roy Mathew, MD, Associate Professor, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, USA)
7. From Evidence to Clinical Practice: Integrating Plant-Based Nutrition into Health Care, (Speaker: April Wilson, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Schools of Medicine and Public Health, Loma Linda University, USA)
8. Evidence-Based Tools for Healthy and Sustainable Food Choices, (Speaker: Sapna Peruvemba, MS, RDN, PhD Candidate, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, USA)

4:30 - 5 p.m. - Panel Discussion

5 - 5:15 p.m. - Closing Remarks, (Speakers: Joan Sabaté, MD, DrPH, Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, USA and Sujatha Rajaram, PhD, Professor of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, USA)