Dr. Robert Kushner, Chair
Dr. Robert Kushner is Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Clinical Director of the Northwestern Comprehensive Center on Obesity, and Medical Director for the Center for Lifestyle Medicine in Chicago. He recieved his medical degree from the University of Illinois. After finishing a residency in Internal Medicine at Northwestern University, he went on to complete a post-graduate fellowship in Clinical Nutrition and earned a Masters degree in Clinical Nutrition and Nutritional Biology from the University of Chicago. Dr. Kushner is past president of The Obesity Society (TOS), past president of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) and past president of the American Board of Physician Nutrition Specialists (ABPNS). Dr. Kushner is currently serving as the first Chair of the American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM). He is on the editorial board for Obesity and the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. In November, 2010, Dr. Kushner was inducted as an Hororary member of the American Dietetic Association.
In 2002, Dr. Kushner was the recipient of the distinquished Dannon Institute Award for Excellence in Medical/Dental Nutrition Education presented by the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, and recepient of the Atkinson-Stern Award for Public Service by The Obesity Society in 2011. Dr. Kushner has authored over 180 original articles, reviews, books and book chapters covering medical nutrition, medical nutrition education, and obesity, and is an internationally recognized expert on the care of the overweight and obese patient. He is author of Dr. Kushner’s Personality Type Diet (St. Martin’s Griffin Press, 2003; iuniverse, 2008), Fitness Unleashed (Three Rivers Press, 2006), and editor of the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Assessment and Management of Adult Obesity: A Primer for Physicians (2003) and Treatment of the Obese Patient (Humana Press, 2007) His most recent book, Counseling Overweight Adults: The Lifestyle Patterns Approach and Tool Kit, was published in August, 2009 by the American Dietetic Association. For more information, visit www.ncco.northwestern.edu.
Dr. John Cleek, Vice Chair
Dr. John Cleek is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine. He attended Duke University for his undergraduate studies and obtained his MD from the Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Cleek completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Carolinas Medical Center. He has obtained certification as a Physician Nutrition Specialist. He serves as Vice Chair for the American Board of Obesity Medicine. Dr. Cleek is medical director for Carolinas Weight Management and Wellness Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dr. Joan Temmerman, Secretary/Treasurer
Dr. Joan Temmerman is a Board-Certified Obesity Medicine Physician, a Board-Certified Family Physician, and a Board-Certified Nutrition Specialist. She works at Fayette Regional Health System in Indiana as a Family Medicine and Wellness Physician. Dr. Temmerman earned a BS in Biology from the University of Illinois, a MS in Biology fro Roosevelt University in Chicago, and a Doctor of Medicine from Rush Medical College in 1994. She is currently working on a MPH in Nutrition at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Dr. Temmerman serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. Her focus is on a lifestyle approach, and community education and wellness. Dr. Temmerman is a frequent speaker at local and national conferences, and is a clinical instructor in lifestyle medicine and obesity management.
Directors
Dr. Louis Aronne
Dr. Louis Aronne has been involved in obesity research and treatment since 1986. A Clinical Professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University, and an Assistant Attending Physician at the New York Presbyterian Hospital. He developed and is Director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Program, a multidisciplinary obesity research and treatment center. Dr. Aronne was chairman of the development committee for the Practical Guide to the Identification, Evaluation and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults, a joint publication of the National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and is the former President of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity. Dr. Aronne is on the Executive Council of The National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention’s MOVE (Management of Overweight and Obese Veterans Everywhere) Program. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Trinity College and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dr. Aronne’s research has focused on determining the response of the nervous system to weight loss and weight gain as part of a larger effort to understand how the body regulates energy intake and metabolism, and to develop more effective treatments for obesity, as well as the management of drug-induced weight gain. He has authored or co-authored more than 30 papers and book chapters. Dr. Aronne has won several awards for teaching during his career including the Davidoff Prize from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Eliot Hochstein Award and faculty Alpha Omega Alpha from Cornell University.
Dr. Denise Bruner
Denise E. Bruner, MD, is a second generation physician and also a second generation graduate from Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC. She has been a member of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians since 1983. She has held the offices of Vice-President, President, and Chairman of the Board of ASBP, and currently serves on the American Board of Obesity Medicine. She has been a frequent guest on both radio and television programs such as Oprah, The Dr. Phil Show, The Today Show, and Dateline.
Dr. Wayne English
As a Board Member of the American Board of Obesity Medicine, Dr English represents the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He earned his medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine and completed his general surgery residency at St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. As a member of the ASMBS, he is actively involved in multiple committees, acting as Chair of the Rural Subcommittee of the ASMBS Quality Standards Committee and Co-Chair of the Access to Care Committee. He is a Past-President of the Michigan Bariatric Society and a Clinical Assistant Professor at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. He practices in the rural setting of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and his goals are to develop a rural and low-volume bariatric surgery network within ASMBS that can help programs attain “Center of Excellence” status and to promote the application of telemedicine in bariatric surgery.
Dr. Dyan Hes
Dyan Hes, M.D., completed her undergraduate studies at The Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland, where she obtained a B.A. in Public Health. She attended medical school at the American Program of the Sackler School of Medicine, University of Tel Aviv, Israel.
Dr. Hes completed her residency in Social Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York. In this unique program, she was able to combine her love of pediatrics with her passion for public health. As a resident, Dr. Hes researched obesity among children and adolescents long before the epidemic became the focus of worldwide attention.
After completing her residency, Dr. Hes worked at New York Methodist Hospital as a full time member of the pediatric faculty. For ten years she was a pediatric attending in both the primary care setting and the pediatric emergency room. In 2003, Dr. Hes developed the Pediatric Weight Management Program at New York Methodist Hospital, where she continues to serve at the director. In conjunction with the Park Slope YMCA, Dr. Hes created the Be Fit program for overweight children. Be Fit served as a successful model of collaboration between hospitals and community centers in the battle against childhood obesity.
Website: http://www.gramercypediatrics.com/pediatric-obesity-program/
Dr. Shirley Huang
Shirley Huang, M.D. is Attending Physician and former Medical Director for the Healthy Weight Program and Attending Physician in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). She is also the Program Director for the Nutrition Fellowship Program at CHOP. She is Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She received her B.S. in Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University and her M.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She completed her general pediatrics residency at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her nutrition fellowship at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Huang’s interests and expertise include clinical nutrition (obesity prevention and management, dyslipidemia, and nutrition support), nutrition education, and international nutrition. Her medical mission is to empower children and their families with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Website: http://www.chop.edu/healthyweight
Dr. Robert Huster
Dr. Robert Huster is a graduate of the University of Missouri – Columbia, School of Medicine and is board certified in both Obstetrics/Gynecology and Obesity Medicine. He served as the Chairman of the American Board of Bariatric Medicine from 1997-1999 and is currently serving as a director of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. Dr. Huster practices both Gynecology and Bariatric Medicine in his private practice in Liberty, Missouri, just north of Kansas City.
Dr. Julie Swindler
Dr. Swindler is board certified in bariatric & family medicine. She currently is the CEO, and medical director for Medical Bariatrics of Lexington where she also trains physicians starting into bariatrics. She has been a key speaker in numerous national and local lectures including the American Society of Bariatrics Physician’s national conferences, residency training on bariatric medicine, and the Kentucky diabetic association. Dr. Swindler is on the Kentucky Board of Medicine anorectic task force where she is advising the rewriting of KY anorectic legislation. She has a special interest in public education leading to a multitude of TV and radio obesity updates as a monthly weight loss expert.
Dr. Daniel Weiss
Dr. Dan Weiss is originally from the New York area. He received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas, home of many Nobel Prize winning physicians. More importantly, Dr. Weiss met his bride-to-be there in Dallas. After a year at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse New York they moved to Iowa City where Dr. Weiss completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in diabetes/endocrinology/metabolism. In Iowa, Dr. Weiss also served on the faculty of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and moved to Cleveland in 1986.
Dr. Weiss is medical director of Your Diabetes Endocrine Nutrition Group, Inc. He enjoys teaching medical students and residents who come to the office to learn about the care of patients with diabetes and other endocrine disorders. Dr. Weiss is a board certified endocrinologist and one of less than a dozen board certified physician nutrition specialists in the state of Ohio. Dr. Weiss has been active in clinical research since 1993. He has received the designation of Certified Physician Investigator by the Association of Clinical Research Professionals and the Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians and Investigators. Dr. Weiss is on the Board of Directors for the American Board of Obesity Medicine. Dr. Weiss was honored in 2010 with the Circle of Hospitals Award from the American Diabetes Association. This award is given to an individual who has made significant impact to improve the lives of people affected by diabetes.
Website: http://www.yourdiabetes.net/ and Blog: http://www.drdanshealthandhormones.com/
Dr. Susan Williams
Susan E. Williams, MS, MD, CCD, FACN, FACP is on staff in the Medicine Institute and Endocrine Calcium Clinic as part of the Endocrinology and Metabolism Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. In addition to her official roles in both institutes, she is a nationally recognized expert in the diagnosis and treatment of metabolic complications seen in bariatric surgery patients and is one of four experts in metabolic bone disease currently practicing in the Endocrine & Metabolism Institute.
Dr. Williams is board-certified in internal medicine, nutrition, nutrition support, and bone densitometry; and is a diplomate of the American Board of Physician Nutrition Specialists. She is an associate professor of medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, and also an assistant professor of clinical medicine at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio.
Staff
Dana Brittan
Dana Rasis Brittan is the Executive Director of the American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM). Mrs. Brittan completed her MBA at the University of Miami where she specialized in Management Science and Operations. Mrs. Brittan began her career in high-tech manufacturing working for companies like Agilent Technologies and Unaxis focusing on supply chain optimization. She is the former Executive Director of the American Board of Bariatric Medicine (ABBM) and was instrumental in the collaboration that formed the American Board of Obesity Medicine.
Board Disclosures
Please click here to view disclosures from the ABOM Board, last updated December 4, 2012.
