 |
|
 |
|
|
CouncilPresidentRobert F. Kushner, MD President-ElectDonna H. Ryan, MD Vice-PresidentJennifer Lovejoy, PhD Immediate Past-PresidentGary D. Foster, PhD Secretary/TreasurerDale A. Schoeller, PhD CouncilorsAnthony Comuzzie, PhD Nikhil V. Dhurandhar, PhD Myles S. Faith, PhD Andrew S. Greenberg, MD Hugo A. Laviada-Molina, MD, MMS Patrick Mahlen O'Neil, PhD Denis Richard, PhD
Regional IASO Vice-PresidentJennifer Lovejoy, PhD Executive Vice PresidentAnn Kenworthy, CAE
Robert Kushner, MD, is Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University and board certified in Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition. Research interests include clinical management of obesity and nutrition and obesity education. He is past president of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) and the American Board for Physician Nutrition Specialists (ABPNS). He is a principal member of the Centers for Obesity Research and Education (CORE) and on the editorial board of Obesity Management and the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Dr. Kushner has published over 140 original articles, reviews, books and book chapters on obesity and nutrition. Dr. Kushner has served on the Nominations Committee (2002-2003, 2005-2006), the Internet CME Course Task Force (2002), and the Clinical Practice Committee (2003-2006 [Chair 2004-2006]). Annual meeting involvement includes abstract reviewer, planning workshops, faculty speaker and presentation of numerous papers. He is committee chair of a committee for the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Perioperative Nutritional, Metabolic and Nonsurgical Support of the Bariatric Surgery Patient and chair of the task force on the development of the Physician Obesity Specialist. Donna Ryan is Professor and Associate Executive Director for Clinical Research at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Dr. Ryan’s interest in obesity research was mentored by George Bray, beginning with a 1992 dose-ranging study of sibutramine. She has been an Investigator on DPP (Diabetes Prevention Program), Co PI of POUNDS Lost (macronutrient approaches to weight loss) and Co-PI of Look AHEAD (a study of lifestyle intervention designed to produce ~10% weight loss in diabetic persons). Dr. Ryan is PI of LOSS (Louisiana Obese Subjects Study), a pragmatic clinical trial of intensive medical therapy for severe obesity conducted in six Louisiana primary care clinics as part of their routine practice. Ryan also developed an interest in obesity education and, in particular, in training primary care physicians to incorporate obesity management into their medical practices. Since 1998 she has served as Co PI for the CORE program (Centers of Obesity Research and Education), which brings continuing education in obesity management to health care professionals. She is an editorial board member for Obesity Management and Obesity Reviews. Dr. Ryan’s scholarly activities include authorship of 104 original publications and 27 chapters and reviews, primarily in the field of obesity. Dr. Ryan has served NAASO (North American Association for the Study of Obesity) on the Education Committee from 2000-2003 and the annual NAASO meeting Program Committee from 2003-2006, assuming chair duties in 2006. She has chaired the Hospitality Committee for the 2007 meeting. Dr. Ryan has served to interface academic and industrial components in addressing the obesity epidemic, serving as an advisor to drug, device, and food companies. She is a member of the Louisiana Task Force on Obesity and testifies regularly on obesity-related issues before the state legislature. Ryan is also an active mentor; she chairs the Clinical Mentoring Committee at PBRC and is a role model, in particular, for junior women scientists. Dr. Lovejoy's research interests center on the influence of reproductive hormones on body composition, regional fat distribution, and obesity-related disease. She is currently funded by NIH on one study assessing longitudinal changes in body composition during the menopause transition and another comparing methods for preventing pregnancy-associated obesity. Another strong interest is the impact of dietary fats on insulin resistance and obesity and she recently completed a study examining the acute effects of various fatty acids on insulin action and glucose metabolism. Dr. Lovejoy has been an active member of The Obesity Society since 1989. She has served on the Membership Committee and was Chair of the Finance Committee from 1998-2000 and was the 2003-2004 Secretary/Treasurer. Gary Foster, PhD, is the Director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education and Professor of Medicine and Public Health at Temple University. Dr. Foster, who has a background in clinical psychology, has authored or coauthored more than 100 scientific publications, the co-editor of two books: Obesity, Growth and Development, 2001; and Managing Obesity: A Clinical Guide, 2004; and the author of the obesity section of Encarta. Dr. Foster's research interests include the behavioral and metabolic aspects of obesity. He studies a variety of treatment approaches including behavior therapy, pharmacotherapy, and surgery. His currently funded NIH research studies include the effects of weight loss on sleep apnea, the safety and efficacy of low- and high-carbohydrate diets, and the prevention of obesity and diabetes in school settings. Dr. Foster has been active in various Obesity Society committees. He served on the Nominations Committee (2001-2003) the Public Affairs Committee (2002 to current; Chair 2003-current) and Annual Meeting Program Committee (1999 to present). Dr. Schoeller, Professor of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Wisconsin, is an internationally recognized expert in energy metabolism and body composition. He is best known as the first to use the doubly labeled water method for the measurement of energy expenditure in humans. He has performed extensive research in human obesity. This includes studies of the role of physical activity and energy intake in the etiology of obesity, comparison of obesity treatments to improve efficacy, and development of improved methods for measuring body composition. He has also been instrumental in identify systematic reporting errors in questionnaire based assessments of energy intake and physical activity and is currently investigating novel stable isotope biomarkers of dietary intake. Dr. Schoeller has received the Mead Johnson Award from the American Institute of Nutrition (1987) for his development of the doubly labeled water method for human use; the Herman Award (2000) from the American Society of Clinical Nutrition for his research in human obesity, and the Atwater Award from the USDA/ARS for his contributions to understanding human energy requirements. He is a former treasurer and former president of the American Society of Clinical Nutrition, and has served on the editorial boards of the American Journal of nutrition and the Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism, and was an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Obesity. Anthony Comuzzie is a Scientist in the Department of Genetics at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) and a Core Scientist and Group Leader for Chronic Disease in the Southwest National Primate Research Center. DR. Comuzzie’s research focuses on the genetics of obesity, diabetes, and coronary heart disease utilizing both human and non-human primate populations. In addition, he serves as the Chair of the SFBR Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. He received his B.S. in Biology and his M.A. in Biological Anthropology from Texas A&M University, and his Ph.D. in Anthropological Genetics from the University of Kansas. Dr. Comuzzie has been actively involved in obesity research since 1992 and has been an active member of the Obesity Society since 1995. He has published over 150 scientific articles and book chapters on the genetics of obesity, diabetes, and coronary artery disease. Within the Obesity Society, Dr. Comuzzie has served on the organizing committee for the annual scientific meetings (2003-2006) and as a member of the editorial board of Obesity Research (2003-2007), and as a member of the Scientific Review Committee (2007 – Present). Additionally, Dr. Comuzzie has served on the organizing committee for the annual scientific meetings of the American Diabetes Association (2006 – 2007) and as a member of the Obesity Advisory Committee for the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism of the American Heart Association (2001 – 2003), and currently serves on the editorial board of Nurtigenetics and Nutrigenomics. Nikhil V. Dhurandhar, PhD is currently an associate professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, LA, where he heads the Infections and Obesity Laboratory. As a physician in India, he practiced as an obesity consultant for 8 years and treated about 8,000 cases of obesity. Through this work, he realized the refractory nature of obesity and recognized the need for more effective prevention and treatment strategies. Subsequently, during his PhD studies at the University of Bombay, he stumbled upon a virus, an avian adenovirus that caused obesity in chickens and showed association with human obesity. Fascinated by the potential implications of this discovery and convinced about the better research facilities in the United States, where I had obtained my MS in nutrition, he returned to the US in 1992 to continue his research in the area of "Infectobesity" - obesity of infectious origin. He and his associates are currently elucidating the adipogenic role of Ad-36, a human adenovirus that causes adiposity in animals and shows association with human obesity. In addition, he is also interested in clinical trials for weight management. Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the University Of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He received his B.A in Psychology from Rutgers University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Hofstra University. He completed a Post-doctoral fellowship at the NY Obesity Research Center, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, before joining the faculty. He moved to the University of Pennsylvania in 2002. Dr. Faith’s professional interests primarily concern the role of the family in childhood obesity onset and treatment. He has received NIH funding to study genetic and home environmental influences on child eating traits and body fat. He is the PI or co-Investigator on intervention studies targeting childhood obesity treatment or prevention in clinical, school, and primary care settings. He is the author of over 70 articles and book chapters on these issues. He is a standing member of the NIH Psychosocial Risk and Disease Prevention Study Section. Clinically, Dr. Faith enjoys his work training parents and professionals in behavioral modification strategies to help care for overweight children. Dr. Faith is a past Chair of The Obesity Society “Pediatric Obesity Interest Group” and currently serves on the society’s publications and ethics committees. He is an Associate Editor of Obesity Andy Greenberg is Director of the Obesity and Metabolism Laboratory at the JM-USDA HNRCA at Tufts University, recipient of the Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Professorship in Nutrition and Medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine, and Associate Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts. Dr. Greenberg received a B.A. from Amherst College, M.D. from New York University and performed his Endocrinology and Metabolism training and postdoctoral research at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Greenberg has been involved in investigating and clinical care related to obesity and its complications since his fellowship at NIH. Since coming to Tufts in 1993, he has been appointed Director of the Obesity and Metabolism Laboratory at the Nutrition Center where his research has focused on adipocyte metabolism, the basis of obesity, and its complications. He has been PI on funded grants from NIH, the American Diabetes Association, and industry. Dr. Greenberg has published over 70 papers, review articles, book chapters, and a book. He has been involved in clinical and teaching duties in the Endocrinology and Metabolism and Clinical Nutrition Divisions at Tufts School of Medicine and Tufts-New England Medical Center. He also participates in teaching at the Medical School, the Nutrition Center, and has doctoral graduate students from the Friedman School of Nutrition at Tufts. Professionally, Dr. Greenberg is also a member of the executive committee of the NIH funded Boston Obesity-Nutrition Research Center. He was co-director of the 2006 Annual Meeting of The Obesity Society and he is director of the 2007 Annual Meeting. Patrick M. O'Neil is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina, where he is Director of the Weight Management Center. He received his B.S. in Economics from Louisiana State University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Georgia. O’Neil has been professionally involved in obesity since 1977 in numerous clinical, teaching, research and public education roles. He directs a long-standing multi-disciplinary weight management center offering services for people of all degrees overweight, and oversees the psychological assessment of bariatric surgery applicants. His teaching activities include supervision of psychology interns, lectures to medical students and other trainee groups, and invited continuing education lectures to physician and other practitioner audiences. He is and has been an investigator for a number of externally funded clinical trials of weight-loss agents. He is the author of numerous professional publications, chapters, and presentations, primarily concerning psychological, behavioral and other clinical aspects of obesity and its management. He is a member of the Committee on Military Nutrition Research of the Institute of Medicine and serves on the Scientific Council of the South Carolina Nutrition Research Consortium. He is also Past President of the South Carolina Academy of Professional Psychologists, and former member and Chair of the South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology. From 1987 to 1996, he authored Weighing the Choices, a weekly column on weight control in the Charleston, SC, Sunday Post and Courier. Since 2001 he has served on the Town Council of Sullivan’s Island, SC. Dr. O'Neil has been a member of The Obesity Society since 1986. Currently, he is Chair of the Education committee. He previously served as Editor of the society's web site and as Program Chair for the 1999 NAASO Annual Scientific Meeting held in Charleston. He has served on the Publications and Finance Committees. He was a member of the NIH/NAASO Ad Hoc Committee for Development of The Practical Guide for the Identification, Evaluation, and treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults and is currently a member of the NAASO/NHLBI/AHA writing group for the counterpart Guide for Metabolic Syndrome. Dr. Denis Richard is Professor, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Québec City; Director, Hôpital Laval Research Center; Director, Centre for Research on Energy Metabolism of Laval University (CREME); and Chair Person, D.B. Brown Research Chair on Obesity Dr. Richard received his Ph.D. in Physiology at Laval University (Québec City) 1978-1982 and went on to do his postdoctoral training in Nutrition and Physiology at Dunn Nutrition Unit, Cambridge University (Cambridge, UK), 1982-1984. Dr. Richard has been Director of Laval Hospital Research Center since 1999. Recently, in connection with the appointment of Dr. Richard as the new director of the research center, the Board of Directors of Hôpital Laval, the Faculty of Medicine and the FRSQ have officially endorsed the creation of an Obesity and Metabolism component, which constitutes the third research component of the Laval Hospital Research Center. Since 2000, Dr. Richard has held the Donald B. Brown Research Chair on Obesity, the only Chair devoted to obesity research in Canada. Dr. Richard's research interest focuses on the control of food intake and the regulation of energy balance. His research includes study of the neurosystems involved in the control of food intake, thermogenesis and energy balance; study on the relationship between stress and obesity; study of factors inducing uncoupling protein 1 in brown adipose tissue; and study of the role of uncoupling protein 2 in energy metabolism, stress and neuroprotection Dr. Richard's professional affiliations include the American Physiological Society, Association de Physiologistes, Endocrine Society, International Society for Autonomic Neuroscience, North American Association for the Study of Obesity, Society for Neuroscience, and the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior. Ann Kenworthy has been appointed to the post of interim executive director. Ms. Kenworthy, affiliated with Transition Management Consulting, Inc., has extensive experience serving as an interim executive director. Kenworthy has served as a senior executive and brings more than 30 years of experience in association and association foundation management. During her tenure as an association and foundation executive, Kenworthy has held senior management, deputy executive director, and CEO positions in fields as diverse as architecture, association management, healthcare and future-focused research. She served as Interim CEO for the Entomological Society of America, The Obesity Society, the Deafness Research Foundation and the U.S. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association. Kenworthy is a graduate of Oberlin College and earned her Certified Association Executive designation in 1992.
|
 Join The Obesity Society Sign up for our mailing list. Post your job opening here. |
Executive Office: 8630 Fenton Street, Suite 814, Silver Spring, MD 20910 | Tel: (301) 563-6526 | Fax: (301) 563-6595
2009 The Obesity Society. All rights reserved.