Key Lecturers

Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly is director of the Clinical Epidemiology Center and chief of research and development at the VA Saint Louis Health Care System. He is a clinical epidemiologist at Washington University. His research focuses on GLP-1 receptor agonists, pharmacoepidemiology, and global health. He has served on White House committees, testified before the U.S. Senate, and was named to Time’s 2024 list of 100 Most Influential People in Health.

Lotte Bjerre Knudsen has a degree in biotechnology from Denmark’s Technical University, and a Doctorial degree in Scientific Medicine from Copenhagen University. She has worked for Novo Nordisk since graduation, and was recently the Lasker-DeBakey clinical medical research award and the Breakthrough Prize of Life Sciences for her work on translating GLP-1 to medicine.

Dr. Michaela Anderson is a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed residency and fellowship training in internal medicine and pulmonary/critical care at Columbia University Medical Center. Her research focuses on the impact of obesity on lung injury and pulmonary disease outcomes.

Dr. Ariana M. Chao is an associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, with a joint appointment in the School of Medicine. She directs research at the Healthful Eating, Activity and Weight Program and practices as an obesity medicine nurse practitioner. Her work centers on innovative obesity treatments that address both physical and mental health.

Dr. David Lefer is a professor at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Smidt Heart Institute. He earned his PhD from Wake Forest University and conducts research on cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure and acute myocardial infarction.

Dr. Chiadi Ndumele is director of Obesity and Cardiometabolic Research at Johns Hopkins University. A preventive cardiologist and epidemiologist, he studies obesity’s impact on cardiometabolic risk and cardiovascular disease—especially heart failure—and explores how social determinants influence health outcomes.

Dr. Stephen O’Rahilly is a renowned endocrinologist who has shaped understanding of metabolism and severe obesity. His discoveries include monogenic causes of obesity and leptin deficiency. His research has identified over 20 genetic disorders and informs development of targeted therapies.

Dr. Evan Reynolds is an assistant professor at Michigan State University, specializing in statistical modeling of neurologic disorders. His work uses clinical cohorts and large datasets to study links between metabolic risk factors and outcomes like dementia and neuropathy.

Dr. Philipp Scherer is professor and director of the Touchstone Diabetes Center at UT Southwestern. He discovered adiponectin, an adipose-derived hormone. His research explores energy regulation and adipocyte function. His accolades include the Banting Medal and multiple international awards for scientific achievement.

Dr. Heleen Serlie is a professor of medicine at Yale and the University of Amsterdam. An endocrinologist, her lab investigates how brain pathways regulate food intake and metabolism, with particular focus on obesity and insulin resistance.

Dr. Arya M. Sharma is emeritus professor at the University of Alberta and a leading figure in obesity medicine. He founded Obesity Canada and has held major leadership roles in the field. He was inducted into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2020.

Dr. Grant Tinsley is an associate professor at Texas Tech University and director of its Energy Balance & Body Composition Lab. His research focuses on body composition and its modification, with more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and 20 funded projects.

Dr. Deirdre Tobias is a nutrition epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Her research examines dietary risk factors for obesity-related diseases. She co-teaches at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and trained under Dr. Frank Hu.

Dr. Hanieh Yaghootkar leads the Precision Health group at the University of Lincoln. Her team uses big data, machine learning and genetic analysis to study obesity-related disease risk. Her work focuses on internal fat distribution as a predictor of cardiometabolic outcomes.