Spring 2018
SBM Welcomes Keynote Speakers to Its 39th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions
SBM is proud to welcome the following keynote speakers to the 2018 Annual Meeting!
Sandro Galea, MD, MPH, DrPH, believes public health must do more than improve healthcare. For the public to be truly healthy, public health professionals must fix the social problems that cause poor health, problems like poverty, violence, and mass incarceration. Dr. Galea is dean of Boston University’s School of Public Health and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. He has published more than 700 scientific journal articles and 13 books, including his latest, Healthier: Fifty Thoughts on the Foundations of Population Health. Dr. Galea writes a column for the American Journal of Public Health and is a regular contributor to Fortune. Thomson Reuters has named him one of the “World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds.”
Thursday, April 12; 9:30 – 10:30 a.m.; Grand Ballroom CD
Gary Bennett, PhD, is SBM's president and a prominent researcher who designs, tests, and disseminates digital obesity treatments. He co-founded two digital health startups and developed the interactive obesity treatment approach. His work has been featured in The New York Times and TIME Magazine as well as on NPR, CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox News. His research has been continuously supported by the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bennett is a member of the American Psychological Association’s obesity treatment guidelines panel and works with committees at the Institute of Medicine, American Heart Association, and American Council on Exercise. Dr. Bennett directs Duke University’s Global Digital Health Science Center and serves as the school's Bishop-MacDermott Family Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience. He previously served on the faculties of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Thursday, April 12; 5 – 6 p.m.; Grand Ballroom CD
Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc, has spent her career improving healthcare for those who need services the most, but have the most barriers to access and adherence. A New Orleans native, she was a professor of medicine and vice dean for community affairs and health policy at Tulane University's School of Medicine. After Hurricane Katrina, she founded an award-winning network of community-based healthcare providers to serve low-income, uninsured, and other vulnerable individuals. She also served as New Orleans health commissioner, restoring healthcare to devastated areas and establishing a new public hospital. Under the Obama administration, Dr. DeSalvo worked as assistant secretary for health and national coordinator for health information technology, the government’s top health IT post. She is a newly elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and recently joined the faculty at The University of Texas at Austin's Dell Medical School.
Dr. DeSalvo will be joined by Aaron Carroll, MD, MS, a professor of pediatrics and associate dean for research mentoring at Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Carroll writes the popular Incidental Economist blog as well as a New York Times column.
Friday, April 13; 9:30 – 10:30 a.m.; Grand Ballroom CD
James Hamblin, MD, and Gretchen Reynolds write about healthcare for well-known and prestigious media outlets, helping millions understand the complexities of health and wellness. Dr. Hamblin writes and edits for The Atlantic, hosts the video series If Our Bodies Could Talk, and authored a health book with the same name. He has been called one of "the most influential people in health media." Ms. Reynolds writes the popular Phys Ed column for The New York Times, and authored The First 20 Minutes, a book that blends science and personal stories to advocate for physical activity. She has won a number of awards for her writing and reporting, including two nominations for the prestigious National Magazine Awards.
Friday, April 13; 5 – 6 p.m.; Grand Ballroom CD
Tom Farley, MD, MPH, has taken on Big Tobacco and Big Soda. As the current Philadelphia health commissioner, he restricted tobacco marketing. As New York City health commissioner under then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Dr. Farley worked to ban smoking in city parks and to prohibit tobacco sales to people under 21. He also helped propose the much-talked-about ban on large sodas. Earlier in his career, Dr. Farley worked for the Louisiana Office of Public Health and Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Farley advocates for prevention, and believes in enlisting community leaders to help combat health problems. He has authored books on his experiences, including Saving Gotham: A Billionaire Mayor, Activist Doctors, and the Fight for 8 Million Lives.
Saturday, April 14; 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.; Grand Ballroom A