We are pleased to announce two new appointments to the Steering Committee of the University of Iowa Obesity Research and Education Initiative.

William G. Haynes, M.B.Ch.B, M.D., Professor, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism. Bill is an NIH funded investigator and a leader in the clinical pharmacology of cardiovascular and anti-obesity drugs. He studies vascular and sympathetic function in humans with cardiometabolic diseases including obesity and diabetes. He directs the UIHC Weight Management Clinic, with a focus on pharmacotherapy of obesity and related conditions. He is a talented mentor who has guided and collaborated with trainees and faculty in several departments and disciplines.

Isaac Samuel, M.D., Associate Professor of Surgery, Division of GI, Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery. Dr. Samuel has been Director of the UI Obesity Surgery Program since June 2004. He was awarded a New Clinical Initiative grant from UIHC in 2005 to transform the program into a national Center of Excellence within three years. With an emphasis on patient safety, excellent clinical outcomes and a multi-disciplinary approach to care, he led the program to a designation as a Center of Excellence from the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery in 2007. An NIH and VA funded investigator, Dr. Samuel’s research has addressed pancreatic diseases. He has led his bariatric surgery team to explore novel areas of research that have received national attention including beneficial effects of bariatric surgery on migraine headache, hyperlipidemia and infertility. He was also responsible for starting the first bariatric surgery fellowship training program at UIHC in 2005.

The appointments of Drs. Haynes and Samuel enhance the expertise of the Steering Committee in the key areas of clinical research and bariatric surgery.