Dear Colleagues:

It is our pleasure to invite you to Doha, Qatar on March 14-16, 2011 for the XVII International DALM Symposium on Diabetes, Obesity, and the Metabolic Syndrome. For the first time since the inception of the DALM symposia in 1960, the conference will take place in Doha, Qatar, instead of in the United States or Italy.

DALM 2011 will be held in conjunction with the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the first medical school in the country, and the Qatar Foundation, a private non-profit organization established by His Highness, the Emir of the State of Qatar. Together we are working to build biomedical research capacity in Qatar and to address significant public health challenges - obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease foremost among them - currently facing the country and the region.

An energy-rich nation seeking to develop a knowledge-based economy, Qatar is poised to become a leader in education, research, and technology development within the Middle East. At the same time, however, rapid economic growth and major shifts in lifestyle patterns have led to extremely high rates of diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome in Qatar and many other nations in the Middle East and North Africa region.

We hope that you will join us in Doha, where we will discuss the latest basic science and clinical research findings in the field, as well as cutting-edge strategies for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. We look forward to seeing you at what promises to be an exciting and unprecedented educational event.

Sincerely,

Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., MD, DPhil Weill Cornell Medical College New York, NY

Rodolfo Paoletti, MD Giovanni Lorenzini Medical Foundation Milan, Italy and Houston, TX

Javaid Sheikh, MD Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar Doha, Qatar