DIETZ PRESENTED WITH ABOM MASTER AWARD: On Thursday, November 5, ABOM Board Chair Dr. Robert Kushner presented the 2015 Master of the American Board of Obesity Medicine award to William Dietz MD, PhD.

The ABOM Master award is presented to a physician who has made significant contributions to the science, practice and/or advancement of obesity medicine. Dr. Dietz is the Director of the Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness at Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. He also serves as the director of the STOP Obesity Alliance, a collaboration of consumer, provider, government, labor, business, health insurers and quality-of-care organizations united to drive innovative and practical strategies that combat obesity.

Previous winners of the Master of the ABOM award include Dr. Walter Pories (2014), Dr. Donna Ryan (2014), Dr. George Blackburn (2013), and Dr. George Bray (2013).

ARONNE HONORED BY TOS: During The Obesity Society awards presentation on Thursday, November 5, Dr. Louis Aronne received the 2015 Atkinson-Stern Award for Distinguished Public Service. The award recognizes an individual or organization whose work has significantly improved the lives of those affected by obesity, whether through research, public policy, patient care, or other means.

Aronne is a leading authority on obesity and its treatment. He is the Sanford I. Weill Professor of Metabolic Research at Weill-Cornell Medical College and directs the Center for Weight Management and Metabolic Clinical Research, a state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary obesity research and treatment program.

Dr. Aronne is former president of The Obesity Society and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. He has authored more than 60 papers and book chapters on obesity and edited the National Institutes of Health Practical Guide to the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults.

SEEHOLZER NAMED CLINICIAN OF YEAR: On Thursday, November 5, Dr. Eileen Seeholzer received the inaugural Clinician of the Year award from the Clinical Section of The Obesity Society. The American Board of Obesity Medicine sponsored the award, which included a cash prize. Other nominees included ABOM Diplomates Dr. John Cleek and Dr. Scott Butsch.

Dr. Seeholzer is the director of the Weight Management Center at Cleveland’s MetroHealth Medical Center. She is also the Director of the Adult Weight Management and Healthy Lifestyles initiative, a ten-year project funded by the St. Luke’s Foundation measuring the effects of a clinical obesity intervention at a primary care practice serving a largely low-income African-American population. Board certified in Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine, Dr. Seeholzer received her medical degree and a Master of Science in Health Services Research with a concentration in Quality Improvement from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She completed her residency and served as Chief of Residents at MetroHealth Medical Center. She is an Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

RECORD NUMBER OF PHYSICIANS AT TOS REVIEW COURSE: The Obesity Society held a two-day review course geared toward the obesity medicine certification exam prior to the official start of ObesityWeek. More than 180 physicians registered for the review course, which covered topics related to the ABOM Test Content Outline.