Obesity Medicine Fellowship

Obesity afflicts the health of greater than forty percent of adults in the United States and is closely associated with many of the most common chronic illnesses including hypertension, hyperlipidemia, heart disease, sleep apnea, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. Despite this, very little is taught about weight management in medical school and residency training programs. In fact, training in Obesity Medicine has been virtually non-existent until recently, and as a result there have been very few physicians available to provide specialized care. Primary care physicians typically report multiple barriers to delivering quality weight management counseling to their patients, frequently citing inadequate training in this area.

Our year-long Obesity Medicine fellowship fulfills standards set forth by the American Board of Obesity Medicine and the Obesity Medicine Fellowship Council, and provides dedicated weight management training under the guidance of multiple distinguished experts in the field of Obesity Medicine at Weill Cornell’s Comprehensive Weight Control Center. Chief among those physicians is Dr. Louis Aronne, a world-renowned expert in the medical management of obesity. Our center has established state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment protocols to address the broad spectrum of patients that travel from far and wide to receive this unparalleled care. Fellows will be well prepared to sit for the American Board of Obesity Medicine examination by the end of the fellowship year, and will become comfortable addressing a wide range of cardiometabolic cases. Our goal is to educate and train future leaders in the field, and we provide ample opportunities for clinical research. Fellows will also have the opportunity to attend and contribute to local, regional, or national meetings.

Fellow Requirements

1. Completion of an ACGME-accredited residency program
2. Completion of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Steps 1, 2, 3
3. USA citizenship or permanent resident/green card
4. New York State medical license, which must be obtained in advance of fellowship start date

Application Process

For information on fellowship dates and application information, please visit the Obesity Medicine Fellowship Council website.

Program Co-Directors

Beverly Tchang, M.D.
Sarah Barenbaum  

Associate Program Directors:

Louis J. Aronne, M.D.

Research Director:

Alpana Shukla, M.D.

Administrative Coordinator:

Tony Nepomuceno
Tel: (646) 962-2111
ObesityFellowship@med.cornell.edu