Obesity Clinical Science produces valuable knowledge in understanding the chronic disease of obesity, preventing and treating its complications, and promoting health and quality of life among people living with obesity

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Dr. Kimberly Gudzune — Principal & Founder

I am an international leader in obesity medicine – from patient care to clinical research to medical education. My primary career goal is to transform health and healthcare for people living with obesity.

Over the course of my career, I have held multiple leadership positions within the field of obesity medicine nationally and internationally. For example, I chaired the American Diabetes Association’s Professional Practice Committee in developing the first-ever Standards of Care in Overweight and Obesity. Under my leadership, the committee published chapters on Introduction & Methods, Weight Stigma & Bias, Pharmacologic Treatment of Obesity in Adults, and Screening, Diagnosis, Evaluation & Staging of Obesity in Adults. I have served on committees for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education International to develop the Advanced Specialty Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education in Obesity Medicine and Competency Milestones for Obesity Medicine Fellowship – I championed the establishment of U.S. standards for obesity medicine fellowship training in collaboration with the Obesity Medicine Fellowship Council. I am regularly invited to speak on obesity at health professional organizations’ national and international meetings, such as the American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, American Psychiatric Association, and The Obesity Society.

During my tenure as an Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, I developed a robust clinical research program focusing on obesity, specifically how obesity influences healthcare experiences and the efficacy of obesity prevention and treatment strategies, including lifestyle interventions and obesity medications. My research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health, Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, as well as other organizations throughout my career. I have over 130 peer-reviewed publications including multiple publications in JAMA and Annals of Internal Medicine (H-Index: 28). I have been principal investigator or co-investigator on several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of obesity treatment interventions funded by the National Institutes of Health, including an ongoing multi-site, placebo-controlled RCT testing the long-term effectiveness and safety of the obesity medication, phentermine.

At Johns Hopkins, I founded and directed the Healthful Eating, Activity & Weight Program – a multidisciplinary clinic delivering evidence-based management of obesity and its related conditions through lifestyle changes, medication management, and periprocedural care. Baltimore Magazine recognized me annually as a ‘Top Doctor for Weight Management’ from 2019 through 2023. I established and directed the Johns Hopkins Obesity Medicine Fellowship, and I was recognized for my outstanding mentoring with the 2015 Frederick L. Brancati Excellence in Mentoring Award. I received media training at Johns Hopkins and have been frequently featured in national and international news and media outlets.

Since 2019, I have served as an advisor and research collaborator with industry. For example, I co-chaired the Perceptions, Barriers, and Opportunities for Anti-obesity Medications in Obesity Care: A Survey of Patients, Providers and Employers (OBSERVE) study advisory board for Eli Lilly, which resulted in several publications. I partnered with Novo Nordisk to design and test a clinical decision support system in the electronic health record to promote high quality obesity care in the primary care setting, which has also resulted in peer-reviewed publication.

I previously served as the Medical Director for the American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM), where I oversaw the obesity medicine certification exam for U.S. and Canadian physicians – I successfully managed committees of obesity medicine subject matter experts and developed expertise in item-writing. In 2023, I led ABOM’s initiative to define the body of knowledge for the field of obesity medicine through a rigorous practice analysis, which informed updates to the current content and blueprint of the ABOM certification exam. During my tenure as Chief Medical Officer for the ABOM Foundation, I focused on strategy development and execution, outcomes research with ABOM-certified physicians, engagement and professional development of ABOM-certified physicians, and collaboration with other health professional organizations to support the field of obesity medicine. For example, I led the research team to compare clinical practice habits among ABOM-certified physicians by patient, physician and clinic factors and partnered with the Obesity Action Coalition to develop a “Commit to Care” promise aimed to strengthen the patient-clinician partnership in obesity care that was released on World Obesity Day 2026.