Champions of the Obesity Society

On November 5 at Obesity Week in Boston — the premier annual scientific and educational conference for obesity professionals — the Obesity Society will be awarding special recognition to five individuals for distinguished work to advance the understanding of obesity and strategies to reduce its impact on human health. We salute these champions of the Obesity Society.

2014 George A. Bray Founders Award: Gary Foster, PhD. Presently Chief Science Officer at Weight Watchers International, Foster has authored or coauthored more than 160 scientific publications and three books on the etiology and treatment of obesity. His research interests include the prevention, behavioral determinants, treatments, and effects of obesity in adults and children. His recent research topics include the effects of weight loss on diabetes and sleep, and the prevention of obesity in school and community settings.

2014 Mickey Stunkard Lifetime Achievement Award: Richard Atkinson, MD. Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Atkinson has spent more than 30 years in the field of obesity. Following a combined Pediatric/Adult Fellowship in Endocrine/Metabolism with George Bray at Harbor General Hospital, he served on the faculty of several medical schools performing obesity research and directing an obesity treatment program at each school. In recent years, the discovery that the human adenovirus-36 causes obesity in animals and is associated with obesity in humans has become the primary focus of his research.

2014 Atkinson-Stern Award for Distinguished Public Service: Martin Binks, PhD. Associate Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Texas Tech University, Binks leads the Behavioral Medicine & Translational Research Lab. He is a clinical psychologist specializing in behavioral medicine and obesity research. Binks is an outspoken public advocate for obesity research and access to treatment. His research includes behavioral, pharmacologic and surgical obesity treatment; barriers to treatment adherence (nutrition & exercise); obesity and comorbidities (NAFLD, pain, sleep); sickle cell disease, mHealth and health disparities, and neuroscience of obesity.

2014 TOPS Research Achievement Award: Michael Goran, PhD. Professor of Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics in the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Goran’s work is focused on understanding the metabolic factors linking obesity to increased disease risk during growth and development, and using this information as a basis for developing new strategies for prevention and risk reduction.

2014 Lilly Scientific Achievement Award: Rachel Batterham, MD, PhD. Batterham is 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). 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.

Click here for more information on the Obesity Society’s top award winners for 2014.

Studebaker Champion, photograph © liz west / flickr

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