Executive Committee
TOS President
Jacqueline M. Stephens, PhD, FTOS
Dr. Stephens is the Claude B. Pennington, Jr. Endowed Chair in Biomedical Research at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center where she has an active research lab in Adipocyte Biology. She is a Professor in Biological Sciences and teaches an Endocrinology course at Louisiana State University every year. She has a strong commitment to service and mentoring of students and junior faculty.
Dr. Stephens earned a PhD in Biochemistry from East Carolina University School of Medicine. She is committed to enhancing the understanding of obesity with rigor and transparency. Dr. Stephens advocates for reducing weight stigma and promotes the benefits of exercise and healthy living practices.
TOS President-Elect
Jonathan Purnell, MD, FTOS
Dr. Purnell is Professor of Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland, Oregon with board-certification in both Endocrinology and Obesity Medicine. He is also Professor of the Knight Cardiovascular Institute at OHSU. Over the past 20+ years, Dr. Purnell has continued to practice obesity medicine in the context of preventive cardiology clinics and integrating these therapies to optimize patient health.
His work involves translational research in obesity and its consequences, including understanding the mechanisms underlying metabolic-bariatric surgery efficacy and health benefits.
Dr. Purnell recently served as Co-Chair of The Obesity Society’s Education Committee. The committee was focused on the development of an obesity curriculum in medical schools. A new “Foundations” course was created and aimed at primary care providers just beginning to incorporate obesity medicine into their practices, and taking the lead on the Obesity Medicine board review course.
TOS Vice President
Molly Bray, PhD, FTOS
Dr. Bray is Professor and Chair of the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also the former Director of the Heflin Center for Genomic Sciences Core Lab at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Children’s Nutrition Research Center/Baylor College of Medicine Genetics Core Lab. She has been passionate about the interplay between diet and exercise in determining energy balance for many years, and her research is focused on the genetics of obesity and response to obesity treatments, including diet and exercise.
Dr. Bray aims to help the Society to build upon the many efforts currently being made to coalesce the obesity research being done in different fields of study to create a more comprehensive understanding of obesity etiology.
TOS Immediate Past President
Marc-Andre Cornier, MD, FTOS
Dr. Cornier is a Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases at the Medical University of South Carolina. He recently transitioned from the University of Colorado where he was on faculty since 2001. He served as the Medical Director of Anschutz Health and Wellness Center clinic in Colorado where he oversaw a large multidisciplinary weight loss practice offering a range of weight loss programs. Dr. Cornier is currently working on growing the weight loss services at MUSC. He actively sees patients, primarily managing individuals with cardiometabolic disorders such as diabetes, lipids disorders and obesity.
He has been funded by the NIH, ADA and VA continuously for over 18 years to study the complex regulation of food intake and body weight and metabolism using a range of tools including brain imaging. Dr. Cornier also highly values his time spent as an educator and mentor.
TOS Secretary/Treasurer
Ursula White, PhD, FTOS
Dr. White is Associate Professor in the Clinical Science division at Pennington Biomedical Research Center and Associate Director of the Human Phenotyping Core for the Louisiana/Pennington Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC). Her research program investigates the physiology underlying body weight regulation and cardiometabolic outcomes during behavioral interventions in adults with obesity, with a special interest in the influence of adipose (fat) tissue responses and distribution.
Dr. White will work with TOS’s Finance Committee and finance team to boost TOS’s revenue by establishing fruitful partnerships as well as leveraging charitable giving strategies for fund development. Her vision is for TOS to expand its membership and strengthen its community impact, while remaining true to its mission to lead the charge to understand, prevent, and treat obesity.
Governing Board
William Troy Donahoo, MD, FTOS
University of Florida
Governing Board: Clinical Practice
2024-2026
Emma Adriana Chávez Manzanera, MD
Instituto Nacional De Ciencias Medicas Y Nutricion Salvador Zubiran
Governing Board: At-Large-Mexico
2024-2026
Blandine Laferrère, MD, PhD
Columbia University
Governing Board: At-Large
2024-2026
Beverly Tchang, MD, FTOS
Cornell University
Governing Board: At-Large
2025-2027
Adam Gilden, MD, FTOS
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Governing Board: Advocacy/Public Affairs/Regulatory
2025-2027
Susanne Votruba, PhD, FTOS
National Institutes of Health – NIDDK
Governing Board: At-Large
2025-2027
Denise Wilfley, PhD, FTOS
Washington University School of Medicine
Governing Board: Population/Epidemiology
/Community
2026-2028
Emily Noble, PhD, FTOS
University of Georgia
Governing Board: Basic/Experimental/Preclinical
2025-2027
Kristina Lewis MD
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
Governing Board: Clinical Research
2026-2028
Geoff Ball, PhD, FTOS
University of Alberta, CAN
Governing Board: At-Large-Canada
2025-2027