Name George Bray | Education Harvard Medical School | |
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Books A Guide to Obesity and the M, An atlas of obesity and weight co, Contemporary Diagnosis and Man, The Low‑Fructose Approach, Contemporary diagnosis and man | ||
Dr. George Bray: Etiology and Pathophysiology of Obesity
George A. Bray is an American obesity researcher. As of 2016, he is a University Professor emeritus and formerly the chief of the division of clinical obesity and metabolism at Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center (PBRC) in Baton Rouge. He is also a Boyd Professor emeritus at PBRC, and a professor of medicine emeritus at the Louisiana State University Medical Center.
Contents
- Dr George Bray Etiology and Pathophysiology of Obesity
- Early life and education
- Academic career
- Research work
- Memberships
- References
Early life and education
Bray was born on July 25, 1931 in Evanston, Illinois. He received his A.B. from Brown University in 1953 (Summa cum Laude and valedictorian), and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1957 (Magna cum Laude). He subsequently interned on the Osler Service of the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD, served as a Research Associate at NIH (Mentor: Robert W. Berliner, MD), was a fellow at the National Institute for Medical Research (Mill Hill: Mentor: Rosalind Pitt-Rivers, PhD) and was a fellow at the New England Medical Center, Boston, MA (Mentor Edwin (Ted) Astwood, MD, PhD).
Academic career
Bray began his academic career at the Tufts-New England Medical Center, in Boston MA in 1964 and in 1970, Bray became the director of the Clinical Research Center at the Harbor–UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA. In between his time at UCLA and his move to the University of Southern California in 1982 as Chief of Diabetes,Bray served as the first Nutrition Coordinator in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health in the US Dept of Health and Human Services in Washington DC. In 1989, he became the first executive director of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, a position he continued to hold until 1999 when he returned to his research career . In 1976, he founded the International Journal of Obesity with Alan Howard, and in 1982, he founded the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (since renamed The Obesity Society). In 1993, he established the journal Obesity Research (now known as Obesity), and served as its editor-in-chief from then until 1997. He was also the founder of the journal Endocrine Practice, serving as its editor-in-chief from 1995 to 1996.
Research work
Since he received his M.D., Bray has spent nearly all his time researching obesity. One of his most cited papers published while at NIH was for a method of measuring radioactivity in aqueous solutions called "Bray's Solution" (B). Phase 1 of his work was conducted while in Boston and Los Angeles and focused on clinical and basic scientific studies relating to mechanisms for development of obesity (C, D, E). After moving to the PBRC in 1989 he began Phase 2 of his research focused on clinical studies He proposed an endocrine and metabolic hypothesis for obesity (C). He also explored obesity in patients with hypothalamic injury (D) and in patients with the Prader-Willi Syndrome (E). After moving to the Pennington Center in 1989 Bray began Phase 2 of his research which focused mainly on clinical studies (F, G, H, I). He has proposed that increasing fructose consumption may be a major contributor to rising rates of obesity. (F). He was co-investigator of the POUNDS Lost trial, the results of which were published in 2009 (G)and in 2012. The study found that strict adherence to reduced consumption of all calories is more effective for weight loss than is strict adherence to a reduced proportion of carbohydrates, fat, or protein. This study also showed a way to use genetic information to develop personalized dietary advice. Bray was one of the 4 investigators who developed the DASH Diet (H) which is now recommended by the Dietary Guidelines and U.S. News & World Report. He was actively involved in the Diabetes Prevention Program and the Look AHEAD clinical trial. Most recently he has explored the consequences of different levels of dietary protein during periods with excess calorie intake (I).
Memberships
Bray is a member of numerous professional organizations including The Obesity Society, The Endocrine Society, the American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and the American Physiological Society. He received the Goldberger Award from the American Medical Association, was elected to the Society of Scholars at Johns Hopkins University, received the Osborne and Mendel Award from the American Society for Nutrition, the McCollum Award from the American Society of Clinical Nutrition, the Mead-Johynson Award and the Tops Award, Stunkard Award and Presidential Medal from the Obesity Society.