• Professor of Medicine & Pediatrics; Endocrinology, Diabetes, Nutrition; Boston University School of Medicine
• Director, Nutrition and Weight Management Center; Boston Medical Center
• Director, Nutrition and Support Service; Boston Medical Center

Caroline Apovian

M.D., FACP, FACN

For over twenty-five years, Dr. Apovian has held a position at the forefront of the weight-management and nutrition field. One of the world’s premier weight-loss experts, she has distinguished herself as a leading researcher, treatment provider, teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She is a nutrition consultant to NASA, and an appointed member of the federal government’s panel on the evaluation and treatment of overweight adults.

• Past president of The Obesity Society
• Awards for teaching include the Leo M. Davidoff Society Prize from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Eliot Hochstein Teaching Award from Cornell University
• Regularly ranked as a Best Doctor in New York as a specialist in obesity and internal medicine

Louis J. Aronne

M.D., FACP

A renowned expert in the field of weight research, Dr. Aronne has written a New York Times best-seller and is often quoted by the media. A founding board member of the American Board of Obesity Medicine, he is the Weill Professor of Metabolic Research and Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, an attending physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital, and an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University.

• Former member of the National Task Force on the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity, National Institutes of Health
• Served on the Expert Panel on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults
• Fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, the Obesity Society, the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research and other professional associations

John Foreyt

Ph.D.

Dr. Foreyt is Professor at the Baylor College of Medicine’s Department of Medicine and Department of Psychiatry, and is the Director of the DeBakey Health Center’s Behavioral Medicine Research Center. He has published 17 books and more than 400 articles in the areas of diet modification, cardiovascular risk reduction, eating disorders, and obesity, and is on the editorial boards of Eating Disorders; Obesity Research and Clinical Practice; Childhood Obesity; and Nutrition Today.

• Senior VP and Chief Medical Officer at OptumLabs, UnitedHealth Group
• Cardiologist from Yale University and Harvard Medical School fellow
• Nearly 20 years of experience in general cardiology with subspecialty in imaging at Sentara Healthcare System

Jaime Murillo

M.D., FACC, FASE

With decades of experience in clinical practice and an extensive background in computer sciences, AI, and research, Dr. Murillo is Senior VP and Chief Medical Officer at OptumLabs, UnitedHealth Group, with a focus on early detection of cardiometabolic disease, prevention at a population level, predictive analytics, as well as health equity in research. He also spent 3 years collaborating with IBM Watson on machine learning technology development. Prior to his current role at OptumLabs, he spent 2 years at UnitedHealthcare as the national lead for cardiovascular services focused on simple innovation and value-based transformation of cardiovascular care and affordability.

• Professor Emeritus, Pennington Biomedical Research Center
• Investigator, Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP)

Donna Ryan

M.D.

Dr. Ryan has contributed significantly to obesity education and, in particular, training primary care physicians to incorporate obesity management into their medical practices. She is an editorial board member for Obesity Management and Obesity Reviews, and her scholarly activities include authorship of 104 original publications and 27 chapters and review. Since 1998, she has served as Co-Principal Investigator for the Centers of Obesity Research and Education.

• Professor, Metabolic Disease Program, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute
• Scientific Director, Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes
• Chief Scientific Officer, Florida Hospital

Steven R. Smith

M.D.

Dr. Smith’s research focuses on adipose tissue biology and skeletal muscle energetics/fatty acid oxidation. His clinical research program focuses on substrate switching, pharmacotherapy of obesity and diabetes, and personalized therapy based on clinical subtypes. He is active in clinical trials of drugs for obesity and diabetes, published over 100 original articles, reviews, and book chapters and serves on the editorial boards of Obesity, the International Journal of Obesity, and Diabetes.

• Dr. Williamson was named John S. McIlhenny Endowed Professor of Nutrition in 2003. He has authored more than 350 research papers and book chapters as well as The Intimacy Paradox: Personal Authority in the Family System.
• Served as primary investigator for three NIH-sponsored studies related to the prevention of weight gain in children and adolescents (HIPTeens, Wise Mind, and LA Health), as co-PI for the NIH-sponsored CALERIE study, and was a key investigator for the NIH-sponsored Pounds Lost study.

Donald A. Williamson

Ph.D.

Dr. Williamson has conducted research and clinical practice in the field of obesity for 39 years, and has held the rank of Professor Emeritus at Pennington Biomedical Center since 2011. His deep involvement in obesity research includes serving as co-investigator of the Diabetes Prevention Program and the Look AHEAD studies, and as primary investigator for three Department of Defense studies testing the efficacy of an internet-based weight management and physical fitness program.