MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon will visit the Middle East this weekend to be the keynote speaker at a health conference in Kuwait City, Kuwait.

The Penner Blood Coagulation Conference on Sunday is a collaboration between the MSU's Division of Thrombosis and the Medicine Health Sciences Center at Kuwait University.

The topic of the conference, in its 36th year, is "Clotting and Fibrinolysis: Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease in Women and Men."

According to the conference's Web site, the event is a chance for physicians and scientists from across the globe to meet and share their experiences with blood disorders.

Simon will speak about the role of education and today's global challenges, university spokesman Terry Denbow said. While in Kuwait, Denbow said Simon also plans to visit the American University of Kuwait.

The conference, which has previously been held in Bulgaria, Egypt and Malta, is named for MSU medicine Professor John Penner.