Cumc Establishes The Dr. Robert C. And Veronica Atkins Professor Of Obesity Research
Sharon Wardlaw, M.D., Appointed the First Atkins Professor
NEW YORK, NY – April 26, 2006 – The Department of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center has established a professorship focusing exclusively on the study of obesity through a $2 million commitment from the foundation of the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins.
Sharon Wardlaw, M.D., professor of medicine at Columbia University and director of the Neuroendocrine Unit at Columbia University Medical Center, has been named the first Dr. Robert C. Atkins and Veronica Professor of Obesity Research.
“Obesity, as the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States today, has emerged as a crisis of unprecedented proportions,” said Gerald D. Fischbach, M.D., executive vice president of Columbia University Medical Center and dean of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. “Thanks to the Atkins Foundation, our institution now has greater resources than ever before to play a leading role in attacking and perhaps even reversing the effects of this public health epidemic.”
“This action speaks volumes about the quality of Columbia’s existing obesity programs, not to mention their potential to yield important new cures and treatments in the future,” said David Brenner, M.D., chairman of the Department of Medicine at Columbia University.
Dr. Wardlaw, a 25-year member of the Columbia faculty and a respected teacher, investigator and clinician, has extensively researched the neuroendocrinology of obesity, shedding light on the relationship between the nervous and endocrine systems and how hormones and brain neuropeptides can influence weight gain. In particular, she has demonstrated that weight loss induces brain and pituitary gland changes that contribute to weight regain, and that injection of the fat hormone leptin can reverse some of these changes. Her research has also shown that activation of the melanocortin neuropeptide system in the hypothalamus, reduces fat and body weight and improves glucose metabolism.
“With an impeccable record of scientific achievement and some potentially groundbreaking work in front of her, Dr. Wardlaw will make tremendous contributions to our understanding of obesity. We could not be more pleased for her to receive this distinguished appointment,” said Dr. Brenner.
In addition to her clinical and research activities, Dr. Wardlaw will continue to mentor junior faculty who will become the next generation of outstanding clinicians and researchers in this field.
“I am so pleased the Atkins Foundation has chosen to support Columbia for its groundbreaking work in the area of obesity research, and I am honored to be chosen as the first incumbent to this professorship,” said Dr. Wardlaw. “The Atkins Foundation will make it possible for us to take our research to the next level, with the hope that we will be able translate exciting recent basic scientific knowledge into highly effective new therapies.”
About the Atkins Foundation
Established by the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins and his wife Veronica in 1999, the Dr. Robert C. Atkins Foundation has provided over $40 million in support to scientists and academic institutions for the purpose of facilitating groundbreaking research in nutrition and working towards more effective treatments and therapies for obesity and associated diseases. Under the direction of Mrs. Atkins, the foundation actively strives to position itself on the frontline of emerging ideas in the war against obesity, complementing the ongoing efforts of professionals and organizations that sincerely and passionately share its concerns.
###
Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health sciences education, and in patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, nurses, dentists, and public health professionals at the College of Physicians & Surgeons, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the Mailman School of Public Health, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. http://www.cumc.columbia.edu