Friday, May 10, 2019 2:00 – 5:30pm, Hale Building for Transformative Medicine 

On Friday May 10^th, nearly 100 researchers and clinicians from over 20 institutions gathered at BWH to share ideas, promote cross-collaborative research efforts and identify new areas for further investigation to address the challenging public health crisis caused by obesity. This 8^th annual symposium commenced with short talks by selected junior speakers, all of whom received an award of $500. They were followed by keynote speaker, Caroline Apovian, MD, who gave an outstanding overview of the key research discoveries that have made significant contributions to the way obesity is treated in the clinic. This was followed by an electronic poster session featuring 30 presentations covering a broad range of research addressing many different aspects of obesity. Four posters stood out among the rest and were awarded prizes of $250.

This event is a great opportunity for investigators meet colleagues, learn what they are working on and set the foundation for future collaborations. If you were not able to join us this time, we hope to see you next year.

Keynote Speaker

Translating Obesity Research to the Practice of Obesity Medicine 

Caroline Apovian, MD, Professor of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine 

Poster Winners

Leveraging Immunometabolic Control to Prevent and Treat Obesity Related Asthma

Furkan Burak, MD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Hepatocyte p53 ablation induces metabolic dysregulation that is corrected by food restriction and vertical sleeve gastrectomy

Bethany Cummings, DVM, PhD, Cornell University

Inhibiting Mitochondrial Fission Enhances Mitochondrial Respiratory Capacity and Insulin Signaling in Culture Myotubes Derived from Obese Humans

Benjamin Kugler, MS, University of Massachusetts Boston

The contribution of obesity to adult initiation of chronic prescription opioid use in the US: Results from MEPS, 2000 – 2015

Dielle Lundberg, Boston University School of Public Health

Selected Speakers

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation by Oral Capsules for the Treatment of Obesity: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Trials

Jessica Allegretti, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Identification of novel microbe-metabolome signatures associated with insulin sensitivity in mice

Jennifer Lee, PhD, Instructor in Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Investigating how the source of dietary fat shapes the anti-chancer immune response in obesity

Lydia Lynch, PhD, Instructor in Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Hypertension, Brigham and Women’s Hospital