Pennington Biomedical Researcher Named Vice President of the Obesity Society

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Released: Wednesday, September 19, 2012

BATON ROUGE, LA - Nikhil V. Dhurandhar, Ph.D., professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, was named vice president of The Obesity Society for 2012-2013.  He was elected to the four year term by the nominating committee, Fellows, and members of The Obesity Society for Council and will serve as president-elect (2013-2014), president (2014-2015) and immediate past president (2015-2016).

The Obesity Society is the leading North American Professional and scientific organization, mainly representing researchers from Canada, the United States and Mexico, dedicated to the study of obesity.  Dr. Dhurandhar will begin his new role at Obesity 2012, the society's 30th Annual Scientific Meeting, which will be held September 20-24, 2012 in San Antonio, TX. 

"Obesity is a complex and serious medical condition that affects our lives in so many ways.  This appointment provides me an opportunity to work with key stakeholders towards a common goal-effective prevention and treatment of obesity and related health risks," said Dhurandhar.

Dr. Dhurandhar is an internationally recognized investigator in obesity research.  The focus of his research is to understand the causes of obesity, specifically obesity caused by certain viral infections.  He is also investigating how some beneficial properties of certain viruses could be exploited for treating diabetes.  Dr. Dhurandhar is a physician and received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Bombay, India, before joining Pennington Biomedical in 2005.  He has been an active member of The Obesity Society since 1994.

Since 1982, seven presidents of The Obesity Society have been faculty members of, or had ties to, Pennington Biomedical, including:  Drs. George Bray (1989-1990), Claude Bouchard (1991-1992), David York (1999-2000), Eric Ravussin (2006-2007), Donna Ryan (2009-2010), Jennifer Lovejoy (2010-2011), and Steven Smith (2013-2014).

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The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is at the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the triggers of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. It is a campus of Louisiana State University and conducts basic, clinical and population research. The research enterprise at Pennington Biomedical includes approximately 80 faculty and more than 25 post-doctoral fellows who comprise a network of 44 laboratories supported by lab technicians, nurses, dietitians, and support personnel, and 13 highly specialized core service facilities. Pennington Biomedical's more than 500 employees perform research activities in state-of-the-art facilities on the 222-acre campus located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.