The Obesity Society 2014 awards and grants

Gary D. Foster, PhD, FTOS

Weight Watchers International, Inc.

New York City, New York

Making Effective Solutions Scalable: Are We There Yet?

Gary D. Foster, PhD, FTOS, is the Chief Scientific Officer at Weight Watchers International where he leads the company's efforts on research, innovation, and program development. Dr. Foster previously was the Founder and Director of the Center of Obesity Research and Education and Laura Carnell Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Psychology at Temple University. He continues to serve on the faculty at Temple, mentoring postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty. Prior to Temple, he was a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and was the Clinical Director of the Weight and Eating Disorder Program. He has authored more than 175 scientific publications and 3 books on the etiology, prevention, and treatment of obesity. Over the course of 30 years, Foster has investigated a variety of topics, including racial differences in energy expenditure, patient expectations of treatment outcomes, attitudes about obesity among healthcare professionals, the effects of macronutrient composition on weight loss, the effects of weight loss on sleep apnea and diabetes, and the prevention of obesity in school and community settings. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. His research on the school-based prevention of obesity (Pediatrics, 2008) was cited by the American Heart Association as one of the top 10 advances in cardiovascular research in 2008. He also has considerable clinical experience treating overweight patients in individual and group settings for more than 25 years. Dr. Foster has received numerous awards and honors including an Honorary Membership from the American Dietetic Association and recognition for his Outstanding Contributions to Health Psychology from the American Psychological Association. He served as President of The Obesity Society (TOS) in 2007-2008 and participated in multiple committees and task forces. He also was the lead representative for TOS on the ObesityWeek Board of Managers and was the Chair of the inaugural ObesityWeek in 2013. Dr. Foster earned his BA in Psychology from Duquesne University, MS in Psychology from University of Pennsylvania, and PhD in Clinical Psychology from Temple University where he was named a University Fellow.

Richard L. Atkinson, MD, FTOS

Virginia Commonwealth University

Richmond, Virginia

Obesity: Past, Present & Future

Richard L. Atkinson, MD, FTOS, graduated from the Virginia Military Institute and the Medical College of Virginia, Richmond. He took residency and fellowship training in Endocrine-Metabolism at UCLA Harbor General Hospital, Torrance, California, and fellowship training in Endocrine-Metabolism at Walter Reed Army Hospital.

He has been on the faculty of the University of Virginia; University of California, Davis; Eastern Virginia Medical School; and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he is Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Nutritional Sciences. He currently is Clinical Professor of Pathology at Virginia Commonwealth University; Adjunct Professor of Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, University of Karachi, Pakistan; Visiting Professor of Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; and President of Obetech, LLC.

He is Editor of the International Journal of Obesity and of Nutrition and Diabetes; Regional Vice-President of The Obesity Society (TOS); Past President and Cofounder of the American Obesity Association; Past President of NAASO; and Past President of the American Society for Clinical Nutrition. TOS established the annual Richard Atkinson-Judith Stern Public Service Award in 2006 to honor his service to the field of obesity.

Dr. Atkinson has been a consultant to the National Institutes of Health, National Academy of Sciences, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Food and Drug Administration, Federal Trade Commission, and numerous companies and foundations. He is interested in obesity policy and has advocated for young investigator programs nationally and internationally. His research interests include causes and treatments of obesity, particularly obesity drugs and obesity surgery.

Recently, his research has focused on virus-induced obesity. He and his research group demonstrated that a human adenovirus (Adv36) produces obesity in animals and is associated with obesity in humans. Dr. Atkinson has over 200 publications and over 250 abstracts in the medical literature.

Martin Binks, PhD, FTOS

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, Texas

Silos Are for Corn: A Call to Action

Martin Binks, PhD, FTOS, is Associate Professor, Nutritional Sciences, at Texas Tech University and leads the Behavioral Medicine & Translational Research Lab. He is a clinical psychologist specializing in behavioral medicine and obesity research. Dr. Binks received his PhD in clinical psychology from Fairleigh Dickenson University, trained at the Bronx VA Medical Center and completed pre- and postdoctoral training in Behavioral Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. He was formerly an Assistant Professor at Duke University Medical Center, Division of Medical Psychology. He was Director of Behavioral Health, Research, and New Business and Strategic Alliances at the Duke Diet & Fitness Center.

Martin has authored many research publications and the book The Duke Diet. He is an outspoken public advocate for obesity research funding, treatment for people with obesity, and scientific integrity. His research interests include: lifestyle modification, pharmacologic, and surgical obesity treatment (adults and children); barriers to treatment adherence (nutrition and physical activity); obesity and comorbidities (NAFLD, pain, sleep); sickle cell disease; Internet, telemedicine, and other technology-based healthcare delivery; underserved populations and health disparities; and neuroscience of obesity. He serves as a reviewer on several scientific journals and as an editorial board member for the International Journal of Obesity. Dr. Binks has an ongoing multimedia presence as an internationally recognized obesity expert.

Dr. Binks is a Fellow of The Obesity Society (TOS) and is both Development Chair and a member of the Executive Council (Secretary Treasurer). He is a contributor to the Treat Obesity Seriously campaign and is on the Executive Board for ObesityWeek. Martin is a member of the World Obesity Federation (formerly IASO) and serves as a Fellow on its SCOPE Clinical Care educational group. He is also a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). Additionally, Martin has been a contributor with the Army National Guard Decade of Health and Wounded Warriors programs and currently serves on several advisory boards including Spark America and the International Food Information Council Scientific Advisory Group.

Michael I. Goran, PhD, FTOS

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

Variation in the Causes and Consequences of Childhood Obesity: The Rationale for Customized Interventions

Michael I. Goran, PhD, FTOS, is Professor of Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics in the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC). Dr. Goran is the founding Director of the USC Childhood Obesity Research Center and holds the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Endowed Chair in Childhood Obesity and Diabetes. He also serves as Codirector of the USC Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute. Dr. Goran is a native of Glasgow, Scotland, and received his PhD from the University of Manchester, UK, (1986) prior to postdoctoral training in the United States (1987 to 1991). His research has focused on the causes and consequences of childhood obesity for over 25 years. His work is focused on understanding the metabolic factors linking obesity to increased disease risk during growth and development and on using this information as a basis for developing new strategies for prevention and risk reduction. His research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for the past 20 years.

He has mentored numerous students, fellows, and junior faculty, many of whom have gone on to become successful independent researchers, and he has taught nutrition and public health courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He has published over 300 professional peer-reviewed articles and reviews, and he is coeditor of Handbook of Pediatric Obesity and Dietary Sugars and Health to be published in 2014 and Editor-in-Chief for the journal Pediatric Obesity. He has been the recipient of several awards for his research and teaching, including: The Nutrition Society Medal for Research (1996), The Lilly Award for Scientific Achievement from The Obesity Society (2006), and the Bar-Or Award for Excellence in Pediatric Obesity Research from The Obesity Society (2009).

Rachel Batterham, MD, PhD

University College London

London, England

Food for Thought: Targeting the Gut to Treat Obesity

Dr. Rachel Batterham, MD, PhD, is the Head of the Centre for Obesity Research, Department of Medicine, University College London (UCL) and Head of the Centre for Weight Loss, Metabolic & Endocrine Surgery at University College London Hospital (UCLH). She trained as a physician at St Mary's Hospital Medical School, Imperial College, and qualified with Distinction in 1995. She then specialized in Diabetes and Endocrinology and developed a specialist interest in obesity. She obtained an MSc in biochemistry and molecular biology and then a PhD in body weight regulation. She was appointed as a Consultant Physician at UCLH in 2005, and she set up the UCLH obesity services in 2007.

Over the last 12 years, Dr. Batterham has established an internationally recognized profile for her gut hormone research. Her work has played a key role in identifying gut hormones as tractable therapeutic targets for obesity. In particular, her work defined the role of peptide YY in regulating energy and glucose homeostasis and delineated the underlying mechanisms. Her studies also revealed that the FTO-linked obesity risk-allele rs9939609 alters the physiology of the orexigenic gut hormone ghrelin, and she identified the cellular and neurobiological mechanisms at work.

Her laboratory's research is centered on increasing our understanding of how body weight is regulated and developing new therapies for the treatment of patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes. In particular, her research is focused on understanding the mechanisms by which bariatric surgery mediates its beneficial metabolic effects. Dr. Batterham has received several prestigious awards for her research including the Linacre Medal from the Royal College of Physicians of London (2010), the Society for Endocrinology Young Endocrinologist Clinical Lecture Prize (2008), and the European Association for the Study of Obesity Young Investigator Award (2004).

In addition to her translational research program, Dr. Batterham has made significant clinical contributions to defining the management of obese patients through her membership in the NICE Obesity Guideline Development group and Royal College of Physicians Advisory Group on Health and Weight.

Ceren Ozek

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

Mentor: Kendra Bence, PhD, University of Pennsylvania

PTP1B is a Novel Physiological Regulator of BDNF/TrkB Signaling in the Brain

Courtney Peterson, PhD

Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Baton Rouge, LA

Mentor: Eric Ravussin, PhD, FTOS

Does Meal Timing Impact Energy Expenditure?

Christina Roberto, PhD

Harvard School of Public Health

Boston, MA

Coinvestigators: Jason Block, MD; Leslie John, PhD; Brian Elbel, PhD

Evaluating a Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Portion Cap Policy

Dexi Liu, PhD

University of Georgia

Athens, GA

Reversing Obesity-Related Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease by Protein-Enriched Diet

Evan Forman, PhD

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA

A Companion Smartphone App to Enhance Dietary Adherence Through Predictive Machine Learning