Fatima Cody Stanford is an American obesity medicine physician, internist, and pediatrician and an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

of medicine and pediatrics at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

. She is one of the most highly cited scientists in the field of

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

Early life and education

Stanford was born and raised in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, and she attended the

Atlanta Public Schools Atlanta Public Schools (APS) is a school district based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is run by the Atlanta Board of Education with superintendent Dr. Lisa Herring. The system has an active enrollment of 54,956 students, attending a t ...

where she was valedictorian of

Benjamin E. Mays High School Benjamin E. Mays High School is a public school located in southwest Atlanta, Georgia, United States, serving grades 9-12. It is a part of the Atlanta Public School System and is a Georgia School of Excellence. The school was established in the ...

and finalist in the

International Science and Engineering Fair The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is an annual science fair in the United States. It is owned and administered by the Society for Science, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. Each May, more tha ...

. She received a Martin Luther King Scholarship to complete undergraduate studies at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

, and also completed a

Master of Public Health The Master of Public Health or Master of Philosophy in Public Health (M.P.H.), Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), Master of Medical Science in Public Health (MMSPH) and the Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.), International Masters for Healt ...

degree at the same university. She is a Diamond Life Member of

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta ...

. Stanford completed her medical training at the

Medical College of Georgia The Medical College of Georgia (often referred to as MCG) is the flagship medical school of the University System of Georgia, the state's only public medical school, and one of the top 10 largest medical schools in the United States. Established ...

, where she was the first black class president. She completed her medical residency at the University of South Carolina and her fellowship in

obesity medicine Obesity medicine is a field of medicine dedicated to the comprehensive treatment of patients with obesity. Obesity medicine takes into account the multi-factorial etiology of obesity in which behavior, development, environment, Epigenetics, epigene ...

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...

and

. She completed her

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

at the

Harvard Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the public policy school, school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in p ...

as a Zuckerman Fellow in the

Center for Public Leadership The Center for Public Leadership (CPL) is an academic research center at Harvard University that provides teaching, research and training in the practical skills of leadership for people in government, nonprofits, and business. Located at Harvard ...

and her Executive

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

at Quantic School of Business and Technology.

Career

She has served as the chair of the Minority Affairs Section (MAS) for the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016. The AMA's state ...

, chair of the

American College of Physicians The American College of Physicians (ACP) is a national organization of internists, who specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and care of adults.Sokanu "What is an Internist?" Retrieved October 20, 2014 With 161,000 members, ACP is the largest ...

Obesity Advisory Committee, executive committee member of the

American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an American professional association of pediatricians, headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. It maintains its Department of Federal Affairs office in Washington, D.C. Background The Academy was founded ...

Section on Obesity,

The Obesity Society The Obesity Society is a scientific society dedicated to the study of obesity and its treatment. It was founded in 1982 and has approximately 2,500 members. The official scientific journal of the society is ''Obesity'', which is available in print ...

Advocacy, Public Affairs, and Regulatory Board of Directors member, the

American Board of Obesity Medicine The American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, self-appointed physician-evaluation organization that certifies physicians practicing obesity medicine. The American Board of Obesity Medicine is not a membership society, e ...

Outreach and Awareness Committee, and the Massachusetts Chapter of the

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and death ...

Board of Directors. She is the director of diversity and inclusion for the Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard (NORCH). Through the

NIH The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

, she serves as the director of the Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC) working group on workforce diversity. Stanford's research focuses on the utilization of anti-obesity pharmacotherapy after

bariatric surgery Bariatric surgery (or weight loss surgery) includes a variety of procedures performed on people who are obese. Long term weight loss through the standard of care procedures ( Roux en-Y bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and biliopancreatic diversion ...

, outcomes and utility of adolescent

, pharmacotherapy for the treatment for obesity, physician and education and training in obesity care. She has also published work in

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

disparities with

Esther Duflo Esther Duflo, FBA (; born 25 October 1972) is a French–American economist who is a professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is the co-founder and co-director of the Ab ...

and

Marcella Alsan Marcella Alsan is an infectious disease physician and an applied microeconomist studying health inequality. She is currently a Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and was previously an Associate Professor of Medicine at Stan ...

. Stanford has conducted interviews with the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

, U.S. News & World Report,

Glamour Glamour may refer to: Arts Film * ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film * ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film * ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film Writing * ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women * ''The Glamour ...

, and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

. On January 1, 2023, Stanford appeared on

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

with

Lesley Stahl Lesley Rene Stahl (born December 16, 1941) is an American television journalist. She has spent most of her career with CBS News, where she began as a producer in 1971. Since 1991, she has reported for CBS's ''60 Minutes''. She is known for her ne ...

, stating

is a chronic genetic neurological disease and that there is physician bias against those with excess weight. She urged patients to “throw willpower out the window” since obesity is determined largely by genetics and weight “set point,” regardless of willpower, diet and exercise. She is a deputy editor for ''

Contemporary Clinical Trials ''Contemporary Clinical Trials'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering clinical trials and research design in clinical medicine. It was established in 2005 and is published by Elsevier. The editor-in-chief is JoAnn E. Manson, MD, MPH, ...

''. In 2018, Stanford said she was racially profiled when she administered medical assistance to a fellow passenger on a

Delta Airlines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along wit ...

flight. Flight attendants did not believe that she was a physician despite her presenting her medical license to them. The

United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

and

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

named Dr. Stanford to the 2025

Dietary Guidelines for Americans The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) provide nutritional advice for Americans who are healthy or who are at risk for chronic disease but do not currently have chronic disease. The Guidelines are published every five years by the US Department ...

Advisory Committee as one of 20 nationally recognized nutrition and public health experts.

Books

* ''Facing Overweight and Obesity: A Complete Guide for Children and Adults'' with J.R. Stevens and T.A. Stern (Mass General Hospital Psychiatry Academy, February 4, 2019) * ''Deja Review: Behavioral Sciences, 1st Edition'' (McGraw Hill, November 1, 2006)

Honors and awards

*1995:

Finalist *1996:

Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar *2001: United States

Congressional Award The Congressional Award is an award for young Americans, established by the United States Congress in 1979 to "recognize initiative, service, and achievement in young people." It is nonpartisan, voluntary, non-competitive, and open to all youth a ...

*2005: American Medical Association Foundation Leadership Award *2013:

Joseph E. Johnson Leadership Award *2013:

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

Loan Repayment Program- Disparities *2014:

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Zuckerman Fellow *2015:

Fellow *2016: National Minority Quality Forum Top 40 under 40 in Minority Health *2016:

Department of Medicine Sanchez and Ferguson Research Faculty Award *2017:

Harold Amos Faculty Diversity Award *2017:

Massachusetts Medical Society The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is the oldest continuously operating state medical association in the United States. Incorporated on November 1, 1781, by an act of the Massachusetts General Court, the MMS is a non-profit organization th ...

Women's Health Award *2017:

Top 40 Under 40 *2017:

Physician Scientist Development Award *2018:

Loan Repayment Program- Clinical Research *2019:

Suffolk Community Clinician of the Year *2020:

Anne Klibanski Visiting Scholar Award *2020:

Clinician of the Year for Excellence in Clinical Management of Obesity *2021:

American Medical Women's Association The American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) is a professional advocacy and educational organization of women in medicine, women physicians and medical students. Founded in 1915 by Bertha vanhoosen, Bertha Van Hoosen, the AMWA works to advance ...

Fellow *2021:

Grant V. Rodkey Award for Outstanding Contributions to Medical Education *2021:

Young Mentor Award *2021: Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard Outstanding Manuscript Award *2021:

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is a 501(c)(6) trade association in the United States. With over 112,000 members, the association claims to be the largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. It has registered dietitian nutr ...

Friend of Weight Management Dietetic Practice Group Award * 2021:

Pride of the Profession Award * 2021: Emory Rollins School of Public Health Distinguished Alumni Award * 2021: Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard (NORCH) Mentoring for Diversity and Inclusion Award * 2022: Georgia Society of Endocrinology Dr. Anthony E. Karpas Memorial Lecture Award * 2022:

National Academy of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, En ...

Scholar in Diagnostic Excellence * 2023:

Advisory Committee

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanford, Fatima Cody Harvard Medical School faculty Emory University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Medical College of Georgia alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni African-American physicians 21st-century African-American scientists 21st-century African-American women