Dr. Gitanjali Srivastava is an Obesity Medicine Specialist, the Founding Director of The Center for Obesity Medicine in Celebration, Fl, the current Chair of the Clinical Management Section of The Obesity Society, and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. She is triple-board-certified in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Obesity Medicine, and a 2012 Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. Dr. Srivastava earned her medical degree from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. She completed her residency in the combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics program at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, and received advanced training in Obesity Medicine and Clinical Nutrition during her fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. While completing her fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Srivastava spear-headed the first American Board of Obesity Medicine Curriculum for Fellows and The Blackburn Board Review Component. Throughout her medical training and career, Dr. Srivastava has taught an unprecedented amount and presented on a national and international level in obesity medicine, provided medical services and education to patients, physicians, and medical students, held numerous committee and board positions and volunteered her expertise toward numerous community service and medical outreach projects. She has been an invited expert speaker on weight management for live camera interviews in Orlando, Fl and has appeared on the front cover of several regional magazines. She has received numerous awards and recognition from Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, Golden Key National Honor Society, Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, American Academy of Pediatrics, and American College of Physicians for her distinguished services as a young physician. Her impressive honors have also included the National Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for Science and Mathematics, the prestigious University Gold Medalist as well as the Chancellor’s Medallion, and selection as the US Representative to the 5th European Congress in Bioethics in Cantazaro, Italy. Dr. Srivastava has special interests in obesity medicine, energy expenditure and balance, maternal-fetal programming as it relates to pregnancy and obesity, advanced obesity pharmacotherapy and pediatric weight management. She has developed initiatives for the prevention and treatment of obesity such as in pregnant mothers, breast cancer survivors, employee wellness, and preoperative weight reduction as well as pioneered the development of shared medical appointments for patients on anti-obesity medications.

Robert H. Eckel, MD, is the Charles A. Boettcher Endowed Chair in Atherosclerosis in the Department of Medicine at University of Colorado, Denver, in Aurora, CO. Dr. Eckel is a distinguished alumnus of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Cincinnati, OH. He performed a Medical Residency at University of Wisconsin Hospitals in Madison, WI, and a Senior Fellowship in Metabolism and Endocrinology at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, WA. Dr. Eckel has more than 300 articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Eckel is past president of the American Heart Association, the Obesity Society and the Association of Patient Oriented Research. He Co-Chaired the 2013 ACC/AHA Lifestyle Guideline for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and was a member of the 2013 ACC/AHA Cholesterol Guideline Committee. Dr. Eckel’s translational research has used populations, human subjects in the Clinical Translational Research Center, genetically-modified mice and tissue culture to pursue mechanistic relationships between metabolic disorders such as disorders of lipid and lipoprotein metabolism/obesity/metabolic syndrome/diabetes and CVD.

Dr. Goldfine’s research focuses on identification of pathways relevant to development of type 2 diabetes, and/or cardiometabolic complications of the disease, and in trials to develop new treatment strategies. Efforts focus primarily on the role of western lifestyle to promote obesity, insulin resistance, and a chronic low grade inflammatory state that is associated with diabetes, pre-diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. After completing phase 2 clinical studies Dr. Goldfine co-led the multicenter clinical studies “Targeting INflammation using SALsalate in Type 2 Diabetes (TINSAL-T2D)” and the ongoing “Targeting INflammation with SALsalate or Lifestyle in patients with CardioVascular Disease (TINSAL-CVD)”. She is now investigating the effects of the metabolite betaine on glycemia, insulin action, hepatic fat and vascular function. Her lab has additionally contributed to the knowledge on how bariatric surgery may promote metabolic improvement following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass being the first to report changes in bile acids following gastric bypass, and their potential contribution to glycemic improvement, and has focus on a rare group of patients who develop hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia several years following surgery. She recently completed term as a voting member on the Endocrine and Metabolic Disease Advisory Committee to the Food and Drug Administration, and has served on the American Diabetes Association Practice Guideline Committee. At the Joslin, She continues to perform clinical and translational research, provide medical care for patients with diabetes, and teach at Harvard Medical School. She is now Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Joslin’s Head of the Section of Clinical Research.

Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA is an obesity medicine physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and Instructor of Medicine and Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She is one of only a handful of people in the United States who is fellowship trained in obesity medicine. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. Dr. Stanford received her BS and MPH from Emory University, her MD from the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine, and her MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She served as a health communications fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and worked as a behavioral sciences intern at the American Cancer Society. Upon completion of her MPH, she received the Gold Congressional Award, the highest honor that Congress bestows upon America’s youth. Dr. Stanford has completed a medicine and media internship at the Discovery Channel, and authored a USMLE Step 1 medical review text. She has published fifteen articles in medical peer-reviewed journals. Her current research focuses on obesity, health disparities, and health policy. An American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation Leadership Award recipient in 2005, she was also selected for the AMA Paul Ambrose Award for national leadership among resident physicians in 2009. Dr. Stanford completed her internal medicine and pediatrics residency at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine/Palmetto Health. She recently completed her term as a member of the World Medical Association Junior Doctors Network executive board. The American College of Physicians selected her as the 2013 recipient of the Joseph E. Johnson Leadership Award, an award presented to the Associate member of the College who has demonstrated qualities that exemplify the College's mission "to enhance the quality and effectiveness of health care by fostering excellence and professionalism in the practice of medicine". At the MGH Weight Center, she serves as an obesity medicine & nutrition physician. She cares for adult and pediatric patients with overweight and obesity. In this capacity, she works to provide behavioral, pharmacologic, and bariatric surgery pre and post-op care. Dr. Stanford is a nationally recognized obesity medicine expert. She was invited as the keynote speaker on the topic of obesity prior to the 2013 American Medical Association vote to acknowledge obesity as a chronic disease. She has been the featured speaker for numerous other medical organizations, and she has been featured on all major broadcast news outlets in the United States. Dr. Stanford teaches 1st and 2nd year Harvard Medical School students in their nutrition and health policy courses. She is a 2014 recipient of the Certificate for Excellence in Tutoring in the Harvard Medical School Health Policy New Pathway course.

Lisa DeRosimo M.D., M.S. is an obesity medicine specialist at Baptist Health Medical Group in Miami, FL. She has concentrated her career on the study and treatment of obesity since 1989. She obtained a degree in Psychobiology from UCLA as well as a Master degree in Human Nutrition from Cornell University. She participated in peer reviewed research on obesity at both institutions. Dr. DeRosimo completed her education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, in order to understand obesity from the clinical perspective. She served on the American Board of Bariatric Medicine as Chair, until the board became the American Board of Obesity Medicine. Dr. DeRosimo is currently the Case Review Analyst for the American Board Of Obesity Medicine.

Arya M. Sharma is Professor and Chair in Obesity Research and Management at the University of Alberta as well as Medical Director of the Alberta Health Services Provincial Obesity Strategy. In 2005, he spearheaded the launch of the Canadian Obesity Network, which has remarkably transformed the landscape of obesity research and management in Canada. His research focuses on innovative approach to managing obese patients and includes the development of the Edmonton Obesity Staging System. Dr. Sharma has authored more than 350 publications and is regularly featured as a medical expert in national and international TV and print media. Dr. Sharma maintains a widely-read blog where he regularly posts his ideas and thoughts on obesity prevention and management, “Dr. Sharma's Obesity Notes”.

Yasmine S. Ali, MD, MSCI, FACC, FACP, is a preventive cardiologist and clinical lipidologist in Nashville, TN, where she is president of Nashville Preventive Cardiology, PLLC. She serves as a medical editor and medical writer in a variety of capacities. As the Obesity Expert for About.com, Dr. Ali creates all web-based health content for the About Obesity site. She is also Chief Editor of Medscape Reference’s Atherosclerosis section, serves as a medical editor, writer and speaker for MedStudy Corporation, and is a Contributing Editor for MCG Health, LLC. Dr. Ali holds an MD and MSCI (Master of Science in Clinical Investigation) from Vanderbilt University. She completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Virginia Health System and her cardiovascular medicine fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, attaining advanced (Level III) training in preventive cardiology, nuclear cardiology, and echocardiography. Dr. Ali has published in peer-reviewed journals for the past 15 years on cardiovascular topics ranging from autonomic dysfunction to cardiac imaging to lipid disorders. She serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Lifestyle Diseases and Management. She is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Ali also has extensive experience in performing records-based disability, medical necessity, and utilization reviews, and is a widely-sought national speaker. She is passionate about preventing cardiovascular disease through education, awareness, and evidence-based treatment.

Dr. Lee Kaplan received his MD and PhD from Yeshiva University and completed his Residency and Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. His research interests include Hepatitis, Liver disease, Obesity medicine, and GI endocrine tumors.

Dr. Qi’s major research interests include: 1. Genetic/nutrition Epidemiology of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular complications, and obesity 2. Gene-environment interactions in relation to obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease 3. Lifestyle/diet intervention in prevention of obesity and metabolic disorders 4. Application of metabolomics and epigenetics in epidemiology research Dr. Qi’s research has focused on the genetic, nutrition, biochemical risk factors and gene-environment interactions in relation to obesity, type 2 diabetes and the cardiovascular complications in diabetic patients. Dr. Qi is the Principal Investigator of NIH R01 grant ‘Obesity Genes, Energy Regulation in Response to Weight-Loss Diets’ (NIDDK), a study in large cohorts (the NHS and HPFS) and randomized intervention trials (the Pounds Lost trial and DIRECT trial); he is the Principal Investigator of NIH R01 grant on the genome-wide association study of coronary heart disease among diabetic patients in the NHS and HPFS (NHLBI); he is the Principal Investigator of the American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant on the biochemical and genetic predictors for cardiovascular disease in diabetes; he is Co-Principal Investigator of European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD) funded lifestyle intervention trial on prevention of metabolic risk in women with history of gestational diabetes (GDM). As Principal Investigator, he is also leading a metabolomic study in two diet intervention trials funded by U.S. – Israel Binational Science Foundation. Dr. Qi serves as Editor-in-Chief for World Journal of Diabetes, Associate Editor for BMC Medical Genetics, and editorial board member for the Journal of Nutrition, Nutrition Reviews, the International Journal of Molecular Epidemiology and Genetics, and Frontiers in Nutrigenomics. Dr. Qi is a fellow of American Heart Association (FAHA), American College of Nutrition (FACN), and The Obesity Society (FOS).

Dr Stephen Cook, MD, MPH, is dual trained in pediatric and adult-internal medicine. After completing his residency and a chief resident year in Buffalo NY, he joined the Golisano Children's Hospital at URMC in 2001. He completed an academic pediatric fellowship here, during which time he focused on his research and clinical aspects on nutrition, physical activity, obesity and the metabolic complications that arise. He currently sees patients as part of the general pediatric practice at strong, where he also teaches medical student and residents. He also serves as an attending on the inpatient service at the Golisano Children's Hospital at URMC.

I am a general internal medicine physician with training in epidemiology and population health. Working with interdisciplinary teams, my research follows two tracks – examining the geographic influences on the obesity epidemic and intervening in multiple settings to promote weight loss and overall wellness, especially at the environmental level. I have completed studies on the geographic distribution of food establishments and whether proximity to food establishments is associated with body weight in several cohorts, especially the Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort. On the intervention front, I am exploring point-of-purchase interventions or policies to improve dietary choices in workplaces and food establishments. I have conducted several studies in workplace cafeterias, exploring whether price adjustments, educational messaging, or alterations in the presentation of products changes purchasing patterns of healthy and unhealthy foods. I also am evaluating the coming federal regulation that will require calories to be posted on menus in chain restaurants and exploring financial incentives for weight loss and overall wellness, both through health insurance-based incentives and direct financial incentives, at several workplaces.

Dr. Florencia Halperin is the Co-Director of the Center for Weight Management and Metabolic Surgery, and Medical Director, Program for Weight Management, at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and the Chief of Endocrinology at Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital. Dr. Halperin completed her Internal Medicine residency and her fellowship in Endocrinology at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Her research has focused on the endocrine effects of bariatric surgical procedures. She was a co-Investigator in the NIH-funded Surgery or Lifestyle with Intensive Medical Management (SLIMM-T2D) trials, which randomized subjects with obesity and type 2 diabetes to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or adjustable gastric banding or an intensive medical weight and diabetes management program. Her clinical expertise is in the management of obesity and diabetes.

Obtained his medical degree at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador in 2006 and his doctoral degree at University of Florida in 2009. His Ph.D thesis on Physiology and Pharmacology was focused on the “role of satiation gut hormones in food intake.” His research focuses on a new pathway which connects the satiation gut hormones with taste and taste perception. His novel findings have opened a new pathway for potential treatments of obesity. He has also organized a multidisciplinary curriculum to teach Internal Medicine Residents about Obesity Medicine and Nutrition. During his short career as physician scientist, he has published multiple peer-reviewed articles and he is frequently invited to national and international scientific meetings. He is a member of the Early Career Committee of The Obesity Society and the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. Currently, he is specializing in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester Mn, where he continues do¬ing research related to satiation gut hormones, obesity and diabetes. He is a co-principal investigator in multiple studies related with obesity, diabetes, and it’s interaction with inflammation and metabolic syndrome.