Dr. Joy DeBellis is an Associate Clinical Professor at Auburn University College of Nursing, where she teaches in the graduate nurse practitioner program, and a board-certified family nurse practitioner with more than 15 years of clinical experience in family medicine, veterans’ health, and vascular care, currently providing care at Varicosity Vein Center. Before becoming a nurse practitioner, she spent a decade working as a personal trainer, an experience that continues to inform her focus on sustainable lifestyle change and metabolic health. Certified in lifestyle medicine through the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, her academic and clinical work centers on lifestyle medicine, nutrition education, sleep health, and sustainable approaches to chronic disease management.

Michael is Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Program Director for Nutrition and Obesity at The Saban Research Institute. He holds the Dr Robert C and Veronica Atkins Endowed Chair in Childhood Obesity and Diabetes, He is a native of Glasgow, Scotland, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Manchester, UK. His research on infant and childhood nutrition has been continuously funded by the NIH for the past 35 years, raising $80m in funding, and publishing over 450 peer-reviewed articles.

Dr. Sheela N. Magge received her MD from Yale Medical School, did her Pediatrics residency at Boston Children’s Hospital, and her Pediatric Endocrinology fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She is a Professor of Pediatrics, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology & Diabetes, and the Lawson Wilkins Chair of Pediatric Endocrinology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Magge is a clinical investigator focused on pediatric obesity, youth-onset type 2 diabetes (T2D), and insulin resistance, as well as the cardiovascular implications of these conditions.

Dr. Evanna Mills received her PhD from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. She has spent the last 4 years as an Assistant Professor in Immunology Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School, Boston where her focus is metabolite regulation of macrophages in health and disease.

Dr. Robyn Pashby is a licensed clinical health psychologist and internationally recognized expert in the psychological and behavioral treatment of weight and weight-related chronic health conditions. As the founder of Health Psychology Partners, she leads a team specializing in the complex intersection of mental health, obesity, and chronic illness. Dr. Pashby integrates evidence-based psychological and behavioral health strategies with medical science, bridging the gap between psychology and medical care to offer comprehensive, patient-centered treatment.

With nearly two decades of experience, Dr. Pashby has contributed extensively to the field through clinical practice, research, and leadership. She serves on key national committees for The Obesity Society, the Obesity Action Coalition, and the American Diabetes Association. She is also a Research Assistant Professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, where she helps shape the future of clinical health psychology.

Eileen Seeholzer, MD MS is Medical Director of MetroHealth Weight Loss Surgery and Weight Management Center and the MetroHealthy Employee Wellness Initiative for the MetroHealth System. She is also Co-Program Director of the MetroHealth Obesity Medicine Fellowship. A Professor of Medicine, faculty of the Population Health Research Institute at Case Western Reserve University at MetroHealth. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine. Her projects: 1) develop/implement tools, programs, and systems-based interventions to help all kinds of people engage/sustain healthier lifestyles, (obesity/metabolic syndrome focus); and 2) support the professional development and job satisfaction of providers to lead high-value, patient-centered team-based care.

Colleen Sloan is a double board-certified physician assistant and registered dietitian, and faculty member at South University. She is the founder of Exam Room Nutrition podcast and creator of the Obesity Medicine Nutrition Course, where she equips clinicians with practical strategies for patient-centered nutrition counseling.

Dr. Kristy Townsend received a PhD in Neuroscience from Boston University and then completed postdoctoral training at King’s College London, and Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard Medical School, where she was promoted to Instructor in Medicine. In 2014, Townsend joined the faculty at University of Maine and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2019. In 2020, Townsend was recruited to The Ohio State University where she is now Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery and runs the Neurobiology & Energy Balance lab, focused on investigating brain and peripheral nerve remodeling in the regulation of metabolic health. Townsend is also Associate Dean for Research Operations and Compliance.