The Obesity Society Awards

The Obesity Society (TOS) offers awards to promote, reward, and encourage the kinds of research and service you and your peers are doing in the field of obesity.

Awards from The Obesity Society recognize specific research achievements as well as other major contributions to the basic science, treatment, and prevention of obesity. The Society’s prestigious awards also highlight the careers of obesity researchers.

TOS offers three categories of awards: named awards, section awards, and abstract-based awards.

We are pleased to announce our newest award, The Xavier Pi-Sunyer Award, in honor of Professor Xavier Pi-Sunyer, MD, FTOS. For more information on Dr. Pi-Sunyer, click here.

We are now accepting nominations for Named and Section Awards until Friday, May 8, 2026.

See below for nomination instructions!

View Current and Past Award Honorees

Explore our current and past Award Honorees and celebrate the leaders whose work has advanced the field of obesity science and care.

Named Awards

The Atkinson Stern Award for Distinguished Public Service 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. This award was established by a donation from Thomas A. Wadden, PhD. The recipient receives a plaque and a $1,000 award.

The Friends of Albert (Mickey) Stunkard Lifetime Achievement Award is designed to recognize individuals who, like Stunkard, have made a lifetime of outstanding contributions to the field of obesity through scholarship, mentorship, and education. The recipient receives a plaque and a $1,000 award. The award is presented during a concurrent session, and the recipient will present the Friends of Albert Stunkard Lifetime Achievement Award Lecture. To be eligible for the award, the recipient must be a TOS member in good standing.

The George A. Bray Doctoral Dissertation Award recognizes one student for their doctoral dissertation that was successfully defended by the date of application submission. Applications will be judged on significance, relevance/potential impact in the field of obesity, scientific methodology, writing quality, overall approach, scope, and innovation. The recipient will receive a $2,000 award and a plaque to be presented at ObesityWeek®. They will also receive complimentary registration for the current ObesityWeek®. To be eligible for the award, the recipient must be a TOS member in good standing.

The George A. Bray Founders Award recognizes an individual for significant contributions that advance the scientific or clinical basis for understanding or treating obesity and for extensive involvement with The Obesity Society. The recipient receives a plaque and a $1,000 award. The award is presented during a concurrent session at ObesityWeek® where the recipient is invited to present the George A. Bray Founders Award Lecture. To be eligible for the award, the recipient must be a TOS member in good standing.

The George A. Bray Master’s Thesis Award recognizes one student for their master’s thesis that was successfully defended by the date of application submission. Applications will be judged on significance, relevance/potential impact in the field of obesity, scientific methodology, writing quality, overall approach and scope and innovation. The recipient will receive a $2,000 award and a plaque to be presented at ObesityWeek®. They will also receive complimentary registration for the current ObesityWeek®. To be eligible for the award, the recipient must be a TOS member in good standing.

The George L. Blackburn Award for Excellence in Obesity Medicine was created to recognize the outstanding contribution of an exceptional mid-career individual in the field who is making significant and innovative contributions to Obesity Medicine in the spirit of the transformational contributions made by Dr. George Blackburn during his career. Defining aspects of the recipient should include not only exemplary research achievement, but also demonstrable impact on the advancement of the practice of obesity medicine. This award is funded by the George L. Blackburn Foundation for Nutrition Medicine (GLBFNM). The recipient receives a plaque and a $5,000 award which are presented during the George L. Blackburn Symposium In Nutrition And Metabolism.

The Jules Hirsch Innovation Award recognizes an early-career investigator whose novel work will significantly impact the field of obesity. The recipient receives a plaque and a $2,500 award. The award is presented during a concurrent session at ObesityWeek® where the recipient is invited to give a talk. To be eligible for the award, by the time of the nomination, the recipient must be within 10 years of completing their final training experiences and be a TOS member in good standing.

The Thomas A. Wadden Award for Distinguished Mentorship honors a mid-career or senior TOS member for distinguished mentorship of the Society’s early-career investigators. The award is named for Professor Thomas Wadden, PhD. For more than 30 years, Wadden has mentored many individuals who pursued successful careers in obesity research and clinical care. The recipient receives a plaque along with a $1,000 award. To be eligible for the award, the recipient must be a TOS member in good standing.

The TOPS Research Achievement Award recognizes an individual for singular achievement or contribution to research in the field of obesity. This award is made possible through an annual donation from the Take Off Pounds Sensibly Club, Inc. (TOPS). The recipient receives a $5,000 award, a plaque, and a $1,000 travel stipend to cover travel to the current ObesityWeek®. The award is presented during a concurrent session, during which the recipient delivers the TOPS Research Achievement Award Lecture.

The Xavier Pi-Sunyer Award recognizes a mid-career investigator who is making an innovative and impactful contribution to obesity research, treatment, or clinical care. The recipient will receive a $2,000 award and a plaque to be presented at ObesityWeek®. The award is presented during a concurrent session at ObesityWeek® where the recipient is invited to present the Xavier Pi-Sunyer Award lecture. To be eligible for the award, by the time of the nomination, the recipient must be within 15-25 years of completing their terminal degree and is a TOS member in good standing.

Section Awards

The Alison Field Early-Career Award for Excellence in Research in Pediatric Obesity is a new award, founded in 2024 by the Pediatric Obesity Section of The Obesity Society, that recognizes an early-career investigator who has made a significant contribution to advancing our understanding of the causes, consequences, treatment, or prevention of pediatric obesity. The recipient will receive complimentary registration to the current ObesityWeek® and will be presented with a plaque during the Section meeting at OW.

Additional requirements for Section awards:
  • Nominee must be a TOS member in good standing and a member of the Pediatric Obesity Section
  • Nominee must have been a Section member for at least one year prior to nomination
  • Nominee must be within 10 years or less of completing their final training experiences

Clinician of the Year Award for Excellence in Clinical Management of Obesity was founded in 2015 by the Clinical Management of Obesity Section of The Obesity Society to recognize significant contributions in the evidenced-based treatment of obesity. The recipient will receive complimentary registration to the current ObesityWeek® and will be presented with a plaque during the Section meeting at OW.

Additional requirements for Section awards:
  • Nominee must be a TOS member in good standing and a member of the Clinical Practice Section
  • Nominee must have been a Section member for at least one year prior to nomination
  • Nominee must be certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM)

The Oded Bar-Or Award for Excellence in Pediatric Obesity Research, named for Oded Bar-Or, MD, was founded in 2007 by the Pediatric Section of The Obesity Society to recognize significant contributions to basic and applied pediatric obesity research that have resulted in major advances in our scientific understanding of the etiology, prevention, and treatment of pediatric obesity. The recipient will receive complimentary registration to the current ObesityWeek® and will be presented with a plaque during the Section meeting at OW.

Additional requirements for Section awards:
  • Nominee must be a TOS member in good standing and a member of the Pediatric Obesity Section
  • Nominee must have been a Section member for at least one year prior to nomination

Practitioner of the Year Award for Excellence in the Clinical Care and Management of Obesity is a new award founded in 2024 by the Clinical Practice Section of The Obesity Society to recognize outstanding service in the evidence-based treatment of obesity by a Nurse Practitioner, Physician Assistant, Clinical Psychologist, or Nutritionist/Dietitian. The recipient will receive complimentary registration to the current ObesityWeek® and will be presented with a plaque during the Section meeting at OW.

Additional requirements for Section awards:
  • Nominee must be a TOS member in good standing and a member of the Clinical Practice Section
  • Nominee must have been a Section member for at least one year prior to nomination
  • Nominee must be certified / licensed as a clinical practitioner in their respective area of practice

Nomination Instructions for Named and Section Awards

Step 1
 Review the award information and ensure the nominee meets all the criteria for the selected award. Nominators may submit only one award nomination per nominee per year. Self-nominations are not allowed.
Step 2
 Compile required support documents:

  1. A letter of recommendation addressed to the TOS Awards Committee that includes:
    • Rationale for nomination
    • Nominee’s qualifications for the selected award
    • Summary of the nominee’s contributions to the field of obesity
    • Signatures of two current TOS members
  2. The nominee’s complete CV
  3. Optional: Additional letters of support
  4. Additional requirements for George Bray Thesis and Doctoral Dissertation Awards only:
    • A PDF of the applicant’s complete master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation (respectively) successfully defended before the application submission date
    • Bray Application Form signed by both the committee chair and student, attesting to successful defense
Step 3
 Submit the nomination to [email protected]

Abstract-Based Awards

The Early Career Travel Award supports early-career investigators in their efforts to contribute to the field of obesity. Two TOS members will receive a travel stipend of $1,500 to assist with travel-related expenses to the current ObesityWeek.

The Ethan Sims Young Investigator Award recognizes excellence in research by young investigators, as determined by their submitted abstracts and presentations during ObesityWeek. Each year, several finalists who are TOS members at the Student or Early Career stage are selected during the “Call for Abstracts.” Each finalist will receive complimentary registration and a $1,500 travel stipend to cover travel expenses for the current ObesityWeek. The finalists are invited to present their oral abstracts during a concurrent session where the award is presented. At the conclusion of the session, two recipients will be selected, one for Basic Science and the other for Clinical Research. They will each be awarded a $1,000 award.

The Rolls-Simons Travel Award is part of The Obesity Society’s commitment to young investigators in the field of obesity research. This award was established by TOS Past President Barbara Rolls, PhD, FTOS, after losing her mother, Pat Simons, to obesity-related disease. This travel award is for TOS members who are students or post-graduate trainees. Selection is based on the scoring of an abstract submitted for presentation at ObesityWeek. Selected recipients will receive a travel stipend of $1,000 to help offset the cost of attending the current ObesityWeek.

These awards are administered as part of the Call for Abstracts for the Society’s Annual Meeting at ObesityWeek. Please visit the abstracts submission webpage for more information.