Role: Contributor

DIRECTOR DIVISION OF DIABETES TRANSLATION; CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION Dr. Ann L. Albright assumed the position of Director, Division of Diabetes Translation (DDT) in January 2007. She received her doctoral degree in Exercise Physiology from the Ohio State University. Dr, Albright completed a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellowship in nutrition at the …

RHEUMATOLOGY FELLOW, THE JOHNS HOPKINS SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Dr. Brittany Adler is a Rheumatology Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins. She received her MD from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

DIRECTOR OF POPULATION HEALTH WELLMED Dr. Osman (“Ozzie”) Ahmed, MD, MPH, the director of population health at WellMed, studied at Cairo University, where he received his MD. He graduated from Zagazig University with a Master’s degree in public health. He then continued on to the University of Pittsburgh, earning a doctorate degree in public health …

MD CANDIDATE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI Melissa An is an MD candidate at the University of Missouri, where she is involved in leading the student-run clinic and global health interest group. She worked at Close Concerns as an Associate after graduating from Dartmouth College in 2014, with a major in Neuroscience and minor in the Anthropology …

NUTRITIONAL BIOCHEMISTRY, DIABETOLOGY, NUTRITION AND DIETETICS ALEXANDRIA UNIVERSITY Dr. Samir H. Assaad-Khalil is a Professor of Internal Medicine at the Alexandria University Faculty of Medicine Unit of Diabetes and Metabolism. He is a member of the Council of the Diabetes Education Study Group (DESG) and European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). He is …

SENIOR STRATEGY SCIENTIST, US HEALTH OUTCOMES CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT ELI LILLY AND COMPANY Dr. Sanjay Bajpai is a Senior Strategy Scientist, US Health Outcomes Engagement at Eli Lilly and Company. He studied at Ohio State University, where he earned his MS in Pharmaceutical Administration, his MABA in Marketing, and finally his PhD in Pharmaceutical Administration. He …

CONSULTANT DIABETOLOGIST DASMAN DIABETES INSTITUTE, KUWAIT Dr. Abdullah Ben Nakhi, works with the Dasman Diabetes Institute, which was established to address the growing diabetes epidemic – the fastest growing chronic condition – in Kuwait. The Dasman Diabetes Institute works to prevent, control, and mitigate the impact of diabetes and related conditions in Kuwait through research, …

SENIOR RESEARCHER, TEAM LEADER STENO DIABETES CENTER, COPENHAGEN Dr. Paul Bloch, is a Senior Researcher and Team Leader at the Steno Diabetes Center, Copenhagen, focusing on health promotion.

PROFESSOR EMERITUS, PHARMACOTHERAPY DEPARTMENT; DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF PHARMACY WSU COLLEGE OF PHARMACY R. Keith Campbell a professor in the Pharmacotherapy Department at Washington State University. He earned his Bachelor of Pharmacy and Master of Business Administration at Washington State University. In 1990, he was presented with the President’s Faculty Excellence Award for public service

CLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, NURSING GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY Karis Casseus is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Nursing and is enrolled at Georgia Regents University studying to earn her Doctorate of Philosophy in Nursing. She received her BS at Georgia State University in Nursing, and her Master’s degree in Nursing at Mercer University. She appeared in the …

EXECUTIVE VICE DEAN FOR ACADEMICS AND CHAIR OF MEDICAL EDUCATION THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN DELL MEDICAL SCHOOL Dr. Susan “Sue” Cox, MD, MA, is the Executive Vice Dean for Academics and Chair of Medical Education of The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School. She also serves as President of the Alliance …

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT VANDERBILT PROGRAM IN INTERPROFESSIONAL LEARNING, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Dr. Heather Davidson, PhD, is the Director of Program Development for the Vanderbilt Program in Interprofessional Learning at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She previously worked as the Manager of Strategic Initiatives at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. …

MD/MBA CANDIDATE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PERELMAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND WHARTON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Jessica Dong is a current MD/MBA candidate and University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and Wharton School. She worked at Close Concerns from 2012-2014 after graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College with a BA in …

COORDINATOR OF THE M.ED HEALTH PROMOTION THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES, ST. AUGUSTINE Dr. Bernice Dyer-Regis is the current Coordinator of the M.Ed Health Promotion Programme at the University of the West Indies, with over twenty years combined experience in the public health sector and in academia, developing and implementing health promotion/health education programs …

PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO Dr. Steven Edelman is a professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of California, San Diego. He is Director of the Diabetes Care Clinic at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Diego as well as the founder and director of …

PROFESSOR FAMILY COMMUNITY MEDICINE, UCSF SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Dr. Lawrence Fischer is the Director of the Behavioral Diabetes Research Group in the Department of Family & Community Medicine at the University of California San Francisco, where he also serves as a Professor in Family Community Medicine. His primary research activity addresses the social, behavioral, self-management …

PROFESSOR DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH BEHAVIOR, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA Dr. Edwin Fisher, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Health Behavior at the University of North Carolina. Dr. Fisher has wide-ranging research interests. He works alongside Patrick Tang, serving as global director of Peers for Progress, a program that documents the benefits of peer …

HEAD OF CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY UNIT INSTITUTE IDIPAZ, HOSPITAL UNIVERSITY LA PAZ (MADRID) Dr. Rafael Gabriel Sánchez is the Head of the Research Methodology Unit at Universidad Autónoma in Madrid. He is the Head of Clinical Epidemiology Unit at Instituto IdiPAZ at Hospital Universitario La Paz. He is also a Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the …

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR FAMILY AND PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING AND NURSING ADMINISTRATION DIVISION, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN DELL MEDICAL SCHOOL Dr. Alexandra A. Garcia, PhD, RN, is an Associate Professor in the Family and Public Health Nursing and Nursing Administration Division. She is the director of the master’s public health nursing concentration and coordinates study …

DIRECTOR PRIMARY CARE-POPULATION MEDICINE PROGRAM Dr. Paul George, MD, MHPE, is the Director of the Primary Care-Population Medicine Program and Director of second year Integrated Medical Science curriculum at the Brown University Alpert Medical School. He also serves as an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at Brown. He completed his residency training in Family Medicine …

VICE PRESIDENT OF CONSULTING AND APPLIED RESEARCH IBM WATSON HEALTH Dr. Ron Goetzel is the Vice President of Consulting and Applied Research at IBM Health, as well as a senior scientist at Johns Hopkins. He has worked as a Research Professor at Emory University and served as Vice President of Data Analysis and Evaluation Services …

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POPULATION & PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCES; SENIOR STATISTICIAN LEICESTER CLINICAL TRIALS UNIT, UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER Dr. Laura Gray is the Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences at the University of Leicester. She joined the University of Leicester in 2008 after being awarded her PhD from the University of Nottingham. She has …

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS DEPARTMENT OF POPULATION HEALTH, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN DELL MEDICAL SCHOOL Tracee Hall, MPH, a Houston, Texas native, serves as the Director of Community Partnerships in the Department of Population Health and previously served as the Director of Public Health and Community Engagement in the Health Disparities Division at …

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FINLAND’S ASH Mervi Hara is the Executive Director of Finland’s Action on Smoking and Health program, directing the strategic planning of various national projects on tobacco policy. She began her career in public health in 1982 at the Cancer Society of Finland and in 1989 at the University of Helinski, Department of Public Health. …

PROFESSOR OF DIABETES MEDICINE NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY, UK Prof. Philip Home is a Professor of Diabetes Medicine at Newcastle University and practiced in diabetes care and disorders of lipid metabolism at the Newcastle Diabetes Centre and at the Newcastle Hospitals until end of 2011. He was Vice-chair of the NICE Appraisal Committee, the UK drug reimbursement …

PROFESSOR OF HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, FACULTY OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF ADVENT INDONESIA Dr. Albert M. Hutapea is a Professor of Human Physiology at Universitas Advent Indonesia and is a certified human physiologist and exercise physiologist. He received his PhD in Human Physiology from Mahidol University in Thailand. He also earned his MPH and BSc in biology …

DIRECTOR EDC CENTER FOR DIABETES EDUCATION Dr. Mahmoud Ibrahim is the Director of the Education, Dedication, Care (EDC) Center for Diabetes. He also works as a Consultant Endocrinologist, as an Editor of the Annals of Internal Medicine, Middle East Edition, and is a member of the Michigan Center for Diabetes Translational Research. Dr. Ibrahim studied at …

MEDICAL STUDENT WARREN ALPERT MEDICAL SCHOOL OF BROWN UNIVERSITY Varun Iyengar is an MD candidate at the Brown University Alpert Medical School. He worked as a Senior Associate at Close Concerns from 2014-2016. He also worked as a Research Assistant at his alma mater, Amherst College. He studied at Oregon Episcopal School and Amherst College, …

CHIEF RESIDENT HARVARD COMBINED ORTHOPEDIC RESIDENCY PROGRAM, MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL Dr. Jenny Jin is an orthopedic surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA. She completed her residency in the Harvard Combined Orthopedic Residency Program, was Chief Resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, and completed her fellowship training in arthroplasty at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. …

DEAN THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN DELL MEDICAL SCHOOL Dr. S. Claiborne “Clay” Johnston, MD, PhD, has served as the inaugural Dean of The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School since 2014. He also serves as the Vice President of Medical Affairs and is the Frank and Charmaine Denius Distinguished Dean’s Chair …

ATTENDING PHYSICIAN EMERGENCY MEDICINE, JOHNS HOPKINS Dr. Erin Kane is currently an emergency physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Howard County General Hospital and the assistant medical director of John Hopkins Capacity Optimization at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She studied at Harvard, where she earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in History and Science, and eventually her …

RN EMORY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL Anita Khimani works as a Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) at Emory University Hospital in Georgia. She graduated second in her class at Aga Khan University, then received her Masters at Georgia State University (GSU) as she worked as a family nurse practitioner. She received the National Conclave of Grady Graduate …

PHYSICIAN NEW YORK-PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL Dr. Dhruv Khullar, MD, MPP, is a physician at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and researcher at the Weill Cornell Department of Healthcare Policy and Research. He is a contributor at the New York Times, where he writes about the intersection of medicine, health policy, and economics. He previously worked in the ABC …

PROFESSOR OF PRIMARY CARE DIABETES & VASCULAR MEDICINE, GENERAL PRACTITIONER UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER Prof. Kamlesh Khunti is the Head of Department and Professor of Primary Care Diabetes and Vascular Medicine at the University of Leicester. He leads a research group that is currently working on the early identification of, and interventions with, people who have …

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE DIVISION OF ENDOCRINOLOGY, DIABETES, AND METABOLISM, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO Dr. Sarah Kim, MD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at University of California San Francisco’s Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism. Dr. Kim practices at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital where she treats people with type 1 and type …

MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF THE MUSCULOSKELETAL INSTITUTE; ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SURGERY & PERIOPERATIVE CARE AND RESIDENCY PROGRAM DIRECTOR THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN DELL MEDICAL SCHOOL Dr. Karl Koenig, MD, MS, is the Medical Director of the Musculoskeletal Institute and Assistant Professor of Surgery & Perioperative Care at The University of Texas at Austin Dell …

MD/MPH CANDIDATE ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI Adam Kraus is an MD/MPH candidate at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he is a Dean’s Scholar in Global Health. His academic interests include the intersection of medicine, global health, and social justice, especially as it relates to migratory populations. He has …

CERTIFIED NURSE PRACTITIONER HENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEM, DIVISION OF ENDOCRINOLOGY, DIABETES, BONE AND MINERAL DISEASE Davida F. Kruger has worked over 30 years as certified nurse practitioner in diabetes research and clinical practice at Henry Ford Health System/Detroit, Michigan. Ms. Kruger has served as past Chair of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Research Foundation, and …

CONSULTANT PHYSICIAN GLAN CLWYD HOSPITAL NHS Dr. Mick Kumwenda is the Director of Renal Services at Glan Clwyd Hospital NHS and a Consultant Nephrologist on the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. He holds multiple degrees including an MB, ChB, FRCPUK, and MSc from the University of Liverpool. He serves as the regional adviser for North …

CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER FIGURE 1 Dr. Joshua Landy, MD, is the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Figure 1, a free-access, mobile health startup that serves as a repository of medical images and network for the global medical community. He is a critical care specialist, completing his critical care medicine residency at the …

CLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE JOAN AND SANFORD I. WEILL DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE DIVISION OF ENDOCRINOLOGY AND METABOLISM AT THE WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE Dr. Adam Z. Law is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Department of Medicine Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Weill Cornell Medical …

CHIEF EDUCATION OFFICER SCHOLARRX Dr. Tao Le, MD, MHS, is the Chief Education Officer at ScholarRx and Senior Editor of First Aid for the USMLE Step 1, where he works to develop evidence-based, adaptive learning solutions designed to address the most pressing curricular issues facing medical schools across the globe. He is the Chief of …

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH POLICY, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL, MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL Dr. Douglas Levy, PhD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Assistant Professor in Health Care Policy at the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital. His primary area of research is focused on …

CEO QUIZZIFY Al Lewis, the co-founder and CEO of Quizzify, wears multiple hats. He’s an author whose critically-acclaimed bestseller on outcomes measurement, Why Nobody Believes the Numbers, was named 2012 healthcare book of the year in Forbes. Cracking Health Costs: How to Cut Your Company’s Health Costs and Provide Employees Better Care, released in 2013, …

PROFESSOR OF SURGERY DIVISION OF GENERAL AND GI SURGERY, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Dr. Edward Lin has served as the Surgical Director of the Emory Bariatric Center since 2006. He is the Chief of the Division of General and GI Surgery in the Department of Surgery at Emory University’s School of Medicine. Dr. Lin …

MD CANDIDATE HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL Marissa Lynn is currently an MD candidate at Harvard Medical school and graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 2013. While at Dartmouth she majored in Biology and minored in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. She completed biomedical research focused on developing novel therapeutics for …

PRINCIPAL RESEARCH FELLOW RURAL CLINICAL SCHOOL OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA AND KIMBERLEY ABORIGINAL MEDICAL SERVICES Dr. Julia Marley, a principal research fellow at the University of Western Australia’s Rural Clinical School, concentrates on outcomes of diabetic patients at Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service Council (KAMSC) clinics. She is also chairs the Kimberley Aboriginal Health Planning Forum Research Subcommittee. …

PRESIDENT AND CEO THE ACCREDITATION COUNCIL FOR CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION (ACCME) Dr. Graham T. McMahon, MD, MMSc, is the President and CEO of The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). Dr. McMahon serves as Associate Dean for Continuing Education and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, teaching at both Harvard Medical School …

FOUNDER AND PATIENT ADVOCATE PATIENT IS PARTNER Dr. J. Greg Merritt, PhD, is the founder of Patient is Partner, where he works as an educator and patient advocate. He previously worked as Director of the Coleman-Munger Fellows Program and Senior Associate Director of University Housing at the University of Michigan. He received his PhD in …

DIRECTOR UA CENTER FOR BORDER HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA HEALTH SCIENCES Dr. David G. Marrero is a distinguished expert in diabetes education and research. His work focuses on medication adherence, community health programs, early diabetes intervention and translational medicine. His research interests also include strategies for promoting diabetes prevention, improving diabetes care practices used by …

CHIEF RESIDENT EMERGENCY MEDICINE, ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI Dr. Brendan Milliner joined Close Concerns in 2008 after graduating from Amherst College with a degree in neuroscience. After a year with the team, he headed to the east coast for med school, and is currently finishing his last year of Emergency Medicine residency …

CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER MICHIGAN PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE Michelle Napier-Dunnings is both Executive Director of Michigan Food & Farming Systems (MIFFS) and Chief Communications Officer of Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI).  Michelle has worked with governmental agencies, educational institutions, businesses, and non-profit collaboratives tackling challenges in food systems, healthcare, and organizational development. Michelle earned her MFA …

STAFF SCIENTIST FOGARTY INTERNATIONAL CENTER, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH Dr. Martha Nelson served as a medical writer and researcher at Close Concerns from 2003 to 2005 and continues to engage with the company. She graduated with a Biology degree, magna cum laude, from Amherst College in 2004. She studied infectious disease dynamics during her doctoral …

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 18 REASONS Sarah Nelson has worked on food-related projects in the Bay Area since 2008. She launched Cooking Matters in the Bay Area in 2010. In her previous work with Bay Area farmers’ markets, she created the Bay Area’s first Market Match program, which gives farmers’ market customers who use food stamps extra …

DIRECTOR OF CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO, SF DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH Dr. Rita Nguyen is the Director of Chronic Disease Prevention for the City and County of San Francisco Department of Public Health. She has been working for much of her life to unite the humanitarian promise of medicine with the …

MD CANDIDATE THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Blake Niccum is an MD candidate and The University of Virginia School of Medicine. His research focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship in medical education. Niccum was recognized as a University of Virginia Medical School’s C. Richard Bowman Scholar, an award dedicated to medical students who, at …

DIRECTOR RIVERSIDE DIABETES CENTER Lucia Novak, the director of Riverside Diabetes Center in Riverdale, Maryland, received her Bachelor’s degree in the science of nursing at Duquesne University and earned her Master’s at the Catholic University of America. In April 2015, she was awarded the title of Master Clinician at the Walter Reed National Military Medical …

FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH PROMOTION Dr. Michael P. O’Donnell, PhD, MPA, MPH, is the founder, president and editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Health Promotion and is the CEO of the Art and Science of Health Promotion Institute. He has managed more than 50 workplace health promotion programs for medium, large, and very large …

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE DIVISION OF ENDOCRINOLOGY, METABOLISM AND LIPIDS, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Dr. Darin Olson is a physician at Emory University and Atlanta VAMC. He earned his BSC in electrical engineering at Duke, then proceeded to receive his PhD in Biomedical engineering at Boston University. He continued on to Boston University School …

CERTIFIED DIABETES EDUCATOR ESSENTIA HEALTH Ani Othman is a registered nurse and certified diabetes educator in at Essentia Health’s Lakewalk Clinic in Duluth, Minnesota.

PRESIDENT EMERITUS INTEGRATED BENEFITS INSTITUTE Dr. Thomas Parry is President Emeritus of the Integrated Benefits Institute. Before co-founding IBI, he served 11 years as Research Director at the California Workers’ Compensation Institute. His research at CWCI encompassed a wide variety of topics in workers’ compensation, including medical treatment patterns, vocational rehabilitation costs and effectiveness, legal …

MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY & RESEARCH IHEED Dr. Kunal Patel, PhD, MD, is the Medical Director of Advocacy & Research at iHeed, which is dedicated to developing, fostering and supporting innovation in health education globally through providing online education and training programs. Dr. Patel is a Travel and Tropical Medicine physician and academic and global …

PRESIDENT BEHAVIORAL DIABETES INSTITUTE Dr. William H. Polonsky is the president of the Behavioral Diabetes Institute. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from Yale University and has served as Chairman of the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators, Senior Psychologist at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston and Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical …

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR USC CHAN DIVISION OF OCCUPATIONAL SCIENCE AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY Dr. Beth Pyatak, PhD, MS, MA, is an assistant professor at her alma mater, USC. She has primary research interests in the intersection of chronic care management, occupational engagement and health and well-being among individuals with chronic illness and/or disability. In 2011 she was …

DIRECTOR USC OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY FACULTY PRACTICE Dr. Chantelle Rice, OTD, is the Director of the USC Occupational Therapy Faculty Practice and is an Associate Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy at University of Southern California’s Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. As a Certified Diabetes Educator, she works predominantly with Lifestyle Redesign® Weight Management …

CO-FOUNDER BRIGHTER BITES Dr. Shreela Sharma is the co-founder of Brighter Bites. She received a BSc in physical therapy at the University of Mumbai, an MA in physical therapy at the University of Iowa, an RD in nutrition and dietetics at the University of Houston, and A PhD in epidemiology at the University of Texas …

BOARD MEMBER JDRF Lorraine Stiehl has been a diabetes partner and patient advocate for over 30 years. She is the co-author of What To Do When Your Partner Has Type 1 Diabetes: A Survival Guide. Lorraine has been active with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) since 1987. As a local, regional and national staff …

PROGRAM MANAGER PEERS FOR PROGRESS Patrick Yao Tang, MPH, is the Program Manager at Peers for Progress, a program of the Department of Health Behavior in the Gillings School of Global Public Health and the Department of Family Medicine in the UNC School of Medicine. He manages Peers for Progress projects and collaborations, providing technical …

MANAGED CARE MEDICAL LIAISON DEXCOM Roy Thomas is the present Managed Care Medical Liaison at Dexcom. He attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, earning a degree in pharmacy. He has worked as a Senior Clinical Manager of Payer Relations at CVS Health, and a clinical pharmacist at United Healthcare.

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL, MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL Dr. Anne Thorndike, MD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an Associate Physician at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her clinical and research interests are in the prevention and treatment of obesity through lifestyle modification. She is currently researching the effects …

CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF POPULATION HEALTH AND PROFESSOR OF POPULATION HEALTH DELL MEDICAL SCHOOL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN Dr. William Tierney, PhD, MD is the inaugural Chair of the Department of Population Health, and a professor of Population Health, at the Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin. …

MD/PHD CANDIDATE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO Dr. Melissa Tjota is an MD/PhD candidate at the University of Chicago. She recently finished her PhD coursework in immunology and will be returning to medical school for her last two years. Melissa Tjota worked at Close Concerns from 2008-2010 as a full-time associate after graduating from Harvard College summa …

PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Dr. Guillermo E. Umpierrez first joined the Emory University School of Medicine faculty from 1992-1997. He returned in 2003 to focus on diabetes and metabolic disorders. Dr. Umpierrez’s research interests include mechanisms for ß-cell dysfunction in minority populations with ketosis-prone type 2 diabetes, the effects of free …

MEDICAL DIRECTOR MEDTRONIC DIABETES Col. Dr. Robert Vigersky, former president of the Endocrine Society and Director Emeritus of the Diabetes Institute at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, is medical director for Medtronic Diabetes. He has focused on the use of technology and decision-support systems to improve outcomes for patients with diabetes and has been …

MANAGING DIRECTOR WARBROS. LLC Michael Warburg is the co-founder and Managing Director of Warbros Venture Partners, a private investment firm focused on expansion stage companies with unique consumer product or business service offerings. Prior to co-founding Warbros, Michael spent the majority of his career in commercial banking. He went through the Commercial Bank Management Training …

PROFESSOR AND DEAN EMERITUS COLUMBIA GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING, AND PRESERVATION Mark Wigley has written extensively on the theory and practice of architecture and is the author of Constant’s New Babylon: The Hyper-Architecture of Desire (1998); White Walls, Designer Dresses: The Fashioning of Modern Architecture(1995); and The Architecture of Deconstruction: Derrida’s Haunt (1993). He co-edited The Activist Drawing: Retracing …

MEDICAL ONCOLOGY FELLOW THE JOHNS HOPKINS SIDNEY KIMMEL COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER Dr. Mark Yarchoan is a Hematology-Oncology Fellow at The Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. He completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, after receiving his MD from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He …

CLINICAL DIETITIAN AND CERTIFIED DIABETES EDUCATOR Susan Yake is a clinical dietician and a certified diabetes educator and the current industry chair at Diabetes Care and Education Dietetic Practice Group. She studied food and nutrition at Brigham Young University – Idaho, receiving her BSc in dietetics. Her various awards include: Navy Surgeon General Blue Health …

PROFESSOR OF DIABETES MONASH UNIVERSITY Prof. Paul Zimmet is Professor of Diabetes at Monash University and formerly Director Emeritus, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute. In 1984, he founded the International Diabetes Institute which merged with the Baker Institute in 2008. He is on the diaTribe advisory board. He is Honorary President of the International …

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL AFFAIRS MERCK Dr. Yun-Ping Zhou, PhD, is Executive Director, Scientific and Medical Affairs at Merck. He joined Merck Research Laboratories in 2003 as a Research Fellow, and participated or led several diabetes drug discovery programs before becoming the Director for Scientific Affairs in China. He is also an experienced general …