Clinical Advisory Board
Caroline M. Apovian, MD, FACP, FTOS, DABOM
Dr. Caroline M. Apovian, MD, FACP, FTOS, DAB is Co-Director of the Center for Weight Management and Wellness (CWMW) in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Hypertension at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. For over thirty years, Dr. Apovian has held a position at the forefront of the obesity and nutrition fields. One of the world’s premier weight management experts, she has distinguished herself as a leading researcher, healthcare provider, teacher, and New York Times bestselling author.
In collaboration with the Divisions of Gastroenterology and Metabolic Surgery, the CWMW will offer comprehensive, multidisciplinary care for patients seeking weight loss. Under Dr. Apovian’s direction, the Endocrinology arm of the Center will specialize in the assessment and treatment of obesity and its comorbidities. Nationally, she is one of the founding creators of the American Board of Obesity Medicine which provides certification and recognition for physicians who have specialized knowledge and training in the practice of obesity medicine.
Her current research interests are weight change and its effects on adipose tissue metabolism and inflammation, obesity and cardiovascular disease, resolution of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in the bariatric surgery population, disparities in the treatment of obesity in underserved populations, and novel pharmacotherapeutic agents for the treatment of obesity. She is also an expert in sampling subcutaneous adipose tissue and muscle tissue in humans and has been studying the relationship between adipose tissue inflammation and obesity for over 15 years.
Dr. Apovian has published over ten books and over 200 peer-reviewed original research and review articles on obesity and nutrition. Dr. Apovian was a member of the expert panel for updating the 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults, published in the Circulation and Obesity journals and was the Chair of the Endocrine Society Guidelines for Medical Treatment of Obesity published in the Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism in 2015. She is a former Nutrition Consultant for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Dr. Apovian has given over 200 invited lectures nationally and internationally and served as President of The Obesity Society in 2017-2018. She is also a past Co-Director for the NIH-funded Boston Nutrition and Obesity Research Center.
Juan Pablo Frías, MD
Dr. Juan Pablo Frías is Medical Director and Principal Investigator at the Los Angeles Institute for Metabolic Research and serves as Adjunct Clinical Professor of Medicine at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, California. He received his medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and completed his fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Frías has held academic appointments at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes) and the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. He has more than 25 years of experience in clinical and translational research focused on diabetes, obesity, metabolic liver disease, and other metabolic conditions, and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, including first-author articles in New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, Diabetes, Diabetes Care, and Cell Metabolism.
Michael Horowitz, MBBS, PhD
Professor of Medicine, University of Adelaide; Director, Endocrine and Metabolic Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital
Michael Horowitz has led the Centre of Research Excellence in Translating Nutritional Science to Good Health at Adelaide University since 2007 and was Director of the Endocrine and Metabolic Unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital from 1997-2025. His research activities focus on gastrointestinal motor, sensory and hormonal function, particularly in relation to diabetes , appetite regulation and critical illness. He is currently an Editor of Nutrients and an Editor-in-Chief of the World Journal of Diabetes. He has co-authored 810 peer-reviewed papers and 42 book chapters -and his h-index is 136 (google scholar). Prof Horowitz was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science by the University of Adelaide in 2021, in 2022 the Camillo Golgi Prize by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (the first non-Europe based scientist to receive this prestigious award) and ,in 2023, was listed as an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to endocrinology, particularly diabetes, as a researcher, educator and clinician.
Ali Tavakkoli, MD
Dr. Ali Tavakkoli, MD, is Chief of the Division of General and Gastrointestinal (GI) surgery, and Co-Director of the Center for Weight Management and Metabolic Surgery at Mass General Brigham Hospital System
Carol H. Wysham, MD
Carol H. Wysham, MD, is Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine and she is a Clinical Endocrinologist at Multicare/Rockwood Clinic in Spokane, Washington. Dr. Wysham earned her medical degree at the University of Iowa College of Medicine in Iowa City. She completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland and a fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. She is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine with subspecialty certification in Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Dr. Wysham is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a member of the American Diabetes Association, and the Endocrine Society. She is Past-President of the Endocrine Society and has served as Chair of the ADA Clinical Practice Committee, as a member of the Council of the Endocrine Society and member and Chair of the Annual Meeting Steering Committee of the Endocrine Society. Her research interests are in management of cardiovascular complications of diabetes, having participated as principal investigator of ACCORD, EMPA-REG, CANVAS, LEADER, EXCEL and SURPASS-CVOT. Her clinical interest is in management of diabetes in the elderly.